The IBM Champions program is the pinnacle of IBM’s advocacy initiative. It has grown out of a love and appreciation of IBM’s software and hardware among experts, customers, and others, who have seen first-hand how these technologies impact business. Beyond their own day-to-day work, these advocates step up to share their experience, expertise, and passion for technology with others. Libby Ingrassia, program director for IBM Champions, and Shari Chiara, program manager for IBM Champions and Community Advocacy - IBM Z and LinuxONE, share what’s new in the program and how advocacy is something most mainframers are already doing.

As new generations of mainframers arrive on the scene, the overall community is becoming less and less siloed. Mainframers have always been eager to share their technology expertise with one another and to mentor new career mainframers. They also have been big advocates for IBM hardware and software, offering tweaks to systems and sharing their knowledge on ways to improve its application in the business world. This is now becoming an increasing strength in the mainframe, as IBM Champions for Z are getting jazzed about the applicability of artificial intelligence (AI), how to enhance the security of the mainframe, watsonx, and more.

“At IBM, there’s an even bigger internal push from executives for the IBM Champions program,” say Ingrassia and Chiara. “It’s this stronger commitment to the program that has enabled it to grow and include more IBM Champions in 2024 than before and to expand some of the programs that began with the mainframe community to other IBM Champions, including badges and the advocacy hub.”

Connecting Advocates

The IBM Z Advocacy Hub enables mainframers to explore advocacy opportunities, find resources to help them with their advocacy efforts, and help spread the word about IBM Z. Advocates can search for and find other advocates using the profiles on the hub and engage with opportunities, such as content creation, technical contributions to projects, mentoring, and more. Advocacy Hub users can connect with advocates to partner on projects or gather additional knowledge they need for their own projects and advocacy.

According to Chiara, “Each piece of advocacy has to be unique, but the hub allows them to search out areas of interest where they can leverage their expertise and even gain a broader understanding of technology within the mainframe and outside of it.” For instance, if someone is really interested in AI, they can focus their attention on AI on the mainframe and report their advocacy efforts. “For 2024, there were a number of Z Champions who had advocacy focused on and around AI,” she says. “This has generated a lot of cross-pollination and elevated the visibility of AI on the mainframe.”

Z Community Badges

The IBM Z and LinuxONE Community Contributor badge is for those external community members who have contributed at least two pieces of advocacy to the community and are passionate about IBM Z and LinuxONE. Through their efforts they have had a positive influence on the community either through mentoring, content creation, technical contributions, or other ways.

The IBM Z and LinuxONE Community Advocate badge is for those who are active contributors to the community and want to continue doing so, are enthusiastic about their advocacy, are in good standing with their IBM Z and LinuxONE peers, and have expertise in IBM Z and LinuxONE that can be regularly shared with the community. This badge is earned after the contributor badge.

IBM Z and LinuxONE Community Influencer is for those who are thought leaders in the IBM Z and LinuxONE community and who are viewed as technical experts by others and continue to regularly contribute to the community’s knowledge and growth. This badge is earned after the other two.

All these badges have additional advocacy and content creation requirements that applicants must achieve. IBM Champions has additional badges for those working outside of the mainframe space. These badges are awarded through a yearly nomination process, which occurs in the third quarter of each year.

Rising IBM Champions

The IBM Rising Champions Advocacy Badge, which is open year-round, captures advocates where they are. “This program will allow Champions to be identified no matter where they are in their advocacy journey and funnel them to the IBM Champions program,” says Chiara. “It is a robust pathway that provides a great deal of visibility.”

Ingrassia points out, “If you report your acts of advocacy on a rolling basis, you will continue to earn up to that next badge. You must tell us about your latest acts of advocacy, but you don't have to continually reapply.” However, she cautions that for the overall IBM Champions program, it isn’t just about the number of advocacy efforts completed. “There is a qualitative component as well,” says Ingrassia. “The program weighs how much impact those acts of advocacy have on the community and what aspects of the community were impacted.” For instance, becoming an IBM Champion for Z would require an advocate to have made an impact in the mainframe community.

IBM Champions for Z

Chiara says that mainframers are passionate about their work and what they know, and they are engaged in their communities. “I love seeing the visibility that the IBM Champions program gives people within their own companies, too,” she adds. “We often refer to it as building their own eminence. They're creating a name for themselves. And IBM even ran a program last year called ‘Today’s Architects.’”

According to Ingrassia, “While they do enjoy the IBM Champions swag, Champions do tell me that they would continue to advocate for the technology they love and build the community without the swag. In many ways, the most prominent benefit of the program for many Champions is a recognition of their efforts in the community, and that’s what matters most. They are seen and their efforts are appreciated.”

Each Champions’ journey is different. “Some were hairdressers, and others got their first job through an internship,” says Chiara. They can not only talk about what they love about IBM and the mainframe and technology, but they also have a technical community in the IBM TechXchange where they can work with other advocates like themselves. Ingrassia adds, “These are people who are driven similarly and who have built the same kind of eminence.”

Ingrassia recalls one story in which a gentleman on his way to the TechXchange Conference saw another man in the airport carrying an IBM Champions backpack, and he strode up to him and introduced himself. “These are the stories that take the community into the real world because those two IBM Champions worked in different technology areas but were both from Germany and connected in real life, sharing their advocacy and projects with one another,” explains Ingrassia. “They support each other’s advocacy and ideas, and then they meet at multiple events and expand their own thoughts and ideas beyond their initial scopes of work and knowledge.” She adds, “They may each have worked in one specific technical area, but now they find they are influenced by other areas of technology and innovations that expand their own area of expertise.”

Chiara agrees, saying, “When they all come together, they lift each other up to become the rising tide.” In many cases, they start in one area and become interested in adjacent areas that others are working on, and there are Champions available to answer their questions or offer guidance. They say that this circle of feedback not only improves IBM’s technology, including the mainframe, but it also improves the community as a whole and benefits customers.

Growth of IBM Champions Community

The greater visibility of the IBM Champions program and its part in the TechXchange has made it easier for advocates to stand up and be recognized. Ingrassia says, “More people are aware of what advocacy is and are realizing that they have done a great deal of advocacy already.” The badging program, which began with IBM Champions for Z, also has spurred greater interest and a level of structure that makes it easier for technologists to understand. Additionally, IBM Champions are recognizing that their peers are advocates and could become Champions, too.

“It is clearer now that there are far more advocates in the mainframe space than we knew about,” says Chiara. “People who were engaged in projects and speaking at events were identified by their peers. It was like phone a friend where Champions started nominating peers and colleagues.” In some cases, IBM Champions targeted specific colleagues and peers and worked with them throughout the year to help them be in a better position when they were nominated as an IBM Champion.

“What’s astonishing is the type of advocacy that people practice,” says Chiara. “If you look at the list of advocacy acts submitted, none of them look like cookie cutouts.” Ingrassia adds that watsonx products were a big focus in some acts of advocacy, even though those technologies are new.

“With a number of executives across the business continuing to support the IBM Champions and other advocacy initiatives, technical experts, including those who are early- or mid-career professionals, have plenty of opportunity for growth in advocacy and eminence,” say Ingrassia and Chiara. With almost 1,200 IBM Champions in 59 countries around the world, the community has room to grow and expand technology knowledge to more customers, clients, and stakeholders.

Hear from three IBM Champions for Z as they share their advocacy experience:

IBM Champion for Z Aileen Wynne talks about the importance of mainframe to business.

IBM Champion for Z Sugam Kafle talks about his start in mainframe and where he’s headed now.

IBM Champion for Z Laticia Carrow speaks to the power of every mainframer’s story.