More than 1,000 delegates attended SHARE Columbus Aug. 21-26. From modernizing a mainframe to sightings of mainframes in pop culture, some of the most-attended sessions focused on mainframe culture and how the technology can be improved through containers, hybrid cloud, and more.
SHARE members continue to strive to get the most from their systems and share their knowledge with others. The turnout made for a great conference. We can’t wait for next year’s SHARE Atlanta, held March 5-8, and hope you’ll plan to join us. Below, we share a byte of some of the sessions you may have missed.
A Look at SHARE Columbus’ Most-Attended Sessions
Mainframe Modernization Panel
In this session, attendees learned from leaders in the industry about prerequisites of modernizing a mainframe as part of their software delivery and management goals.
Broadcom Distinguished Engineer Matt Hogstrom, IBM Fellow Rosalind Radcliffe, Broadcom Solution Strategy Lead Michael Kiehl, Ensono Mainframe Systems Programmer Paul Buchanan, BNY Mellon Systems Engineer John Klavon, and Kyndryl Chief Technology Officer Richard Baird talked about the advantages of hybrid cloud and the impact it has on z/OS and zCX regarding development and operations.
A Tour of z/OSMF Software Management
Most mainframers know how to use z/OSMF Software Management to install software products on the mainframe, but Kurt Quackenbush, senior software engineer at IBM, demonstrated during this session some of the lesser-known functions of z/OSMF Software Management. He showed attendees how to see a consolidated view of all software installed on sysplexes, such as middleware, subsystems, and program products; the data set content of software; and how to deploy existing software within and across sysplexes, as well as how to run maintenance reports and queries.
Installing z/OS 2.5 Using z/OSMF - (BRB) Banco de Brasalia's Experiences
In this session, Banco de Brasília's Mainframe System Engineer João Victor Autran Loreto, IT Manager Roberto Souza de Carvalho, Senior IT Specialist Marco Colarullo, IBM Certified System Z CTS Carlos Afonso M. y C. de Moraes Lima, and Saulo Sampaio offered lessons learned during the process of migrating from Unisys to IBM z/OS 2.5. Their real-world experience helped attendees understand the conditions and reasons for the upgrade, as well as how it was accomplished.
Changing Your Mainframe Culture With Python
SHARE Columbus attendees were able to get in-depth technical knowledge through a number of sessions, but sessions also focused on mainframe culture. This session was a key example. IBM Software Engineer Luisa Martinez and IBM Chief Technology Officer for DeClunkification Frank DeGilio explored the use of four-decade-old Python language by enterprises in distributed platform management and how that could be applied to z/OS resources. They discussed how using Python could change how users manage and see the mainframe.
Martinez explained, "We wanted to make people aware that those who are new to z/OS have a steep learning curve ahead of them. Python and Z Open Automation Utilities allow a company to flatten that learning curve and help those who are new to z/OS jumpstart their journey to z/OS expertise."
Additional top-attended sessions included:
- Mainframes, Movies and Me: A Journey Through Hollywood's Perception of Mainframes, Dance Movies, and Aliens
- So You Just Bought a z114! A Guide for Those Looking To Own a System Z
- MVS Program Opening and Spotlight Speaker
- The Next Steps of zCX Container Orchestration — An Overview of zCX for OpenShift
- IBM WSC Performance Hot Topics & MVSP Opening
- Hybrid Cloud Multi Architecture Build and Deploy
Hear from attendees about their favorite moments from the conference in our recap video.
We hope you join us at SHARE Atlanta in 2023. Attendees will enjoy a weeklong program of unparalleled education and networking opportunities to grow their skills and their businesses.