We’ve been talking a lot about Blockchain recently, from pervasive encryption to the ways Blockchain is changing the world. At SHARE Sacramento, March 11-16, we’ll hear from mainframe experts and educators on subjects ranging from demystifying the Blockchain technology to how to integrate Blockchain with your system of record.

We spoke to one of those experts, Wilhelm Mild, to get a sneak peek at what he has in store for Sacramento. If you haven’t already, register for SHARE Sacramento here.

1. Could you describe your background in mainframe? How long have you been involved in SHARE?
   
   I am an IBM Executive IT Architect, addressing global IT strategy and strategic direction. I work on projects central to IBM Z® to integrate workloads from multiple platforms and environments, with a high focus on virtualized environments, high availability and mobile solutions on IBM Z and LinuxONE. My focus on the conceptual and holistic view of solutions originated more than two decades ago, in data management development for IBM Z. I’ve also been a speaker at international customer events for many years, and I teach workshops worldwide at international conferences. Today, I lead activities with a focus on digitalization for new services at customers, containerization, Microservices and creating secure mobile architectures and cloud concepts.
    
2. You’re leading several technical sessions on Linux and several technical sessions on Blockchain this year – can you describe broadly what you hope to cover in those sessions?
   
   The sessions at SHARE Sacramento will demonstrate how Linux on IBM Z and LinuxONE can make a big difference, as well as the advantage of z/OS colocation. I’ll cover a fundamental introduction of Blockchain technologies based on the Hyperledger project, and the integration of IBM Z System of Records with Blockchain. And, I’ll show new solution architectures with Linux on Z, such as an Enterprise Content Hub, or an Analytics Hub with Linux on IBM Z.
    
3. What are your thoughts on how mainframe pros are currently utilizing and integrating Blockchain technologies? Is there anything you wish everyone knew about Blockchain?
   
   Using mainframe technology is the only way that the security and trust for a business process can be recorded in the Blockchain across enterprises and various applications. With the IBM Blockchain platform, customers have a trusted cloud implementation that IBM builds across an entire chain of businesses.
    
4. What’s the next paradigm shift in mainframe and how do you hope to prepare mainframe pros for that?
   
   The next paradigm shift for the mainframe will be full integration in a hyper-converged infrastructure, delivering hybrid cloud services around the clock for the most trusted and secure IT environment on the planet.
    
5. What do you hope attendees walk away with?
   
   I hope that attendees get one new idea from each presentation about how they can leverage the mainframe in a new way, from new technologies like containers, to increased overall security like pervasive encryption, to other new solutions in a world of unpredicted, unmatched scalable service needs.