Mainframes are ubiquitous. They handle critical applications for top airlines, retailers, banks, and government agencies. In a recent blog post, by Greg Lotko at Broadcom, SHARE offers 5 reasons why the mainframe is more relevant than ever. Those peer-to-peer payments you make from your phone? Mainframe. All those lines you avoided by shopping online this holiday? Mainframe. Those flights you booked for spring break? Mainframe. Even your government services are likely to have mainframes behind the scenes doing the heavy lifting. It's all mainframe.
Posted February 10, 2025
Whether learning about the mainframe as a six-year-old child in your parents' workplace or finding out about computer languages like Fortran and assembly in college, those first mainframe memories can jumpstart a career that lasts a lifetime.
Posted May 06, 2024
Since the early days of the mainframe, women have been coding and working with the platform to help not only researchers, but also the government.
Posted April 22, 2024
Orlando, Florida, is the land of sunshine, amusement parks, and citrus, and for SHARE members it was entertaining and educational. Attendees took a trip down Mainframe Memory Lane, and hosted a 60th birthday party for the platform, complete with retro party favors, cake, and a plethora of technical sessions.
Posted April 08, 2024
Application vitality is a key to long-term business success and developers are the gatekeepers. How can we help them be as productive as possible? There are ways to ensure developers focus less on lower value, time-consuming activities that are common in the AppDev environment and allow them to focus on coding.
Posted March 25, 2024
SHARE Orlando (March 3-7) will shine a light on some of the latest technologies and strategies in securing and utilizing today's mainframe.
Posted February 26, 2024
SHARE President Scott Fagen writes: Now that we are three years into the post-COVID environment, new realities and challenges have emerged for people, businesses, and organizations. Our members and volunteers have been working hard to meet all of them head on.
Posted February 12, 2024
Orlando, Florida, may be the home of a famous mouse, but it is also one of the fastest growing technology hubs in the nation, according to the University of Central Florida.
Posted January 22, 2024
SHARE's new education platform, SHARE'd Knowledge is an incredible resource for mainframe education and insight. This tool, available with SHARE's new individual membership, allows members exclusive on-demand access to educational videos on many useful topics such as Zowe, z/OS Systems Programming, Hybrid cloud, and more.
Posted January 08, 2024
The tradition of New Year's resolutions stretches back 4,000 years. In Babylon, people sought the favor of the gods for a good harvest by making promises to return borrowed items or to repay debts before their crops were planted, according to History.
Posted December 18, 2023
Laticia Carrow, a 2023 IBM Z Champion, sat down with SHARE'd Intelligence to give the mainframe community insight on her YouTube podcast program, "Tish Talks Tech", and how members can join in to share their own expertise with other mainframers and those looking to dip their toes into the business.
Posted December 04, 2023
For decades, SHARE has been an invaluable resource for IT professionals. SHARE offers a wealth of knowledge to the IT industry by providing networking opportunities, blogs, webinars, on-demand learning on SHARE'd Knowledge, year-round events, and much more.
Posted November 27, 2023
This fall, SHARE welcomed two new board members, including Sean Waldron of Erie Insurance Company. Read on to learn all about Sean's experience with the mainframe, and then check out the profile on Steve Hosie, new deputy director of veterans in IT if you haven't yet.
Posted November 13, 2023
SHARE is evolving with the technology that powers the mainframe. One part of that evolution has been to move away from static programs and projects to five Focus Areas with Tracks: Core Platform, New and Innovative Technologies, Service Delivery, Application Development, and Professional Skills.
Posted October 23, 2023
If you've ever found yourself in a house so old that it smells like the last century and emits random creaks, you may have wondered if it had non-corporeal inhabitants, like the spirits in "Poltergeist" or "Ghostbusters." You may not immediately envision such disembodied gremlins inhabiting our computers.
Posted October 09, 2023
New Orleans, Louisiana is the hub of jazz, around-the-clock nightlife, spicy cuisine, and, of course, the home of Mardi Gras. Mainframers at SHARE New Orleans had little choice but to let loose and soak up not only the technical knowledge around them, but also the spicier side of life in the Big Easy.
Posted September 25, 2023
As Mark Twain once said, "the report of my death was an exaggeration." This is the same with mainframes for an enterprise. As far back as the early 1990s, consultants, advisors, and executives have claimed that the mainframe is an outdated computer infrastructure that is both expensive and inflexible.
Posted September 11, 2023
Dr. Cameron Seay, IBM Champion and adjunct professor at East Carolina University: I often bristled when someone referred to "soft skills" as a set of make-or-break career competencies. Over time, I've found these skills enable IT professionals to navigate their careers with greater finesse.
Posted August 28, 2023
As a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing education and resources to the mainframe community, SHARE is continuously striving to grow our user base and expand our digital footprint. In pursuit of this goal, we have recently revamped our membership format and are now introducing SHARE'd Knowledge, a Learning Management System (LMS), to enable a dynamic learning environment where members can share ideas.
Posted August 14, 2023
At the SHARE New Orleans session "Surviving and Thriving in the New Century Mainframe Landscape," join a cadre of industry voices to discuss the enduring power of the mainframe. With the recent rise and evolution of cloud and AI, the mainframe is still as relevant as ever for many enterprises around the world.
Posted July 31, 2023
SHARE individual membership is a new tool you can use to steer your career trajectory, and it enables you to have enterprise IT knowledge at your fingertips, earning digital badges along the way. Our corporate delegate memberships are not going away, but the individual membership offers each SHARE member a more personalized and flexible experience.
Posted July 17, 2023
Database administrators (DBAs), who are the eyes and ears of the enterprise, work long hours dedicated to the smooth operation of mainframe systems applications, and ensure those applications have quick and seamless access to necessary data.
Posted July 03, 2023
Reg Harbeck, Chief Strategist at Mainframe Analytics, writes, "A computer is more than just a glorified calculator — and yet we still call it a "computer" — the first of many job descriptions that migrated from people to computers."
Posted June 19, 2023
IBM mainframes are powerful and sophisticated systems that are widely used by large organizations to store, process, and manage critical business data. Due to the importance of this data, it is essential to ensure that they are secured against unauthorized access and the growing number of cyber threats.
Posted June 05, 2023
Cynthia Overby, SHARE Secretary and Chair of the Membership Committee: We all know the technology world evolves at a breakneck speed, and SHARE has been at the forefront of many of those changes.
Posted May 22, 2023
In the latest United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, scientists indicated that the window for reversing climate change is closing fast, with global warming "likely" to exceed the 1.5-degree threshold set in the Paris climate agreement by 2030. In order to stay beneath 1.5 degrees, greenhouse gas emissions would need to fall by 50% by 2030, and "negative emissions" would also need to be implemented.
Posted May 08, 2023
Attendees of SHARE Atlanta engaged in open and collaborative discussion about Kubernetes (K8s), containers, open source on the mainframe, and much more. From Bring Your Own Device labs to sessions on the environmental sustainability of today's technology and the need for enterprises to incorporate it into their own business continuity planning, attendees experienced a wide range of thought leadership and practical advice for their day-to-day work.
Posted April 24, 2023
Climate change's connection to the frequency, severity, and longevity of future storms and natural disasters is a significant concern for governments and businesses worldwide. The latest models show that hurricane rainfall rates will increase by 2100. Determining how far climate has shifted can aid researchers in their search for solutions and remedies.
Posted April 10, 2023
March is Women's History Month, a time of year dedicated to celebrating the women trailblazers who have paved the way for women in various industries. Women within the STEM arena, the spacious space of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics have faced numerous barriers and challenges throughout history.
Posted March 27, 2023
For decades, women have been meaningful contributors in the technology industry. Some of the earliest contributions were from Dr. Grace Hopper, a computer scientist and U.S. Navy rear admiral, whose work led to the development of COBOL and the first computer compiler, to the more recent contributions of Kimberly Bryant, founder and chief executive officer of Black Girls Code, which provides coding education to young women of color.
Posted March 13, 2023
Talent retention and satisfaction is a year-round priority for many enterprises, which is why diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) begins with leaders and company culture.
Posted February 27, 2023
Atlanta is one of the key cities in the civil rights movement and the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr., and it easily attracts diverse talent. More recently, the city has expanded into new business areas, including cyber security and fintech.
Posted February 13, 2023
Preston Rominger, Director for Year Round Education at SHARE: By the end of the year, many of us make resolutions to improve something in our lives, such as drinking more water or sticking to a healthier diet.
Posted January 23, 2023
Data privacy regulations, the continuing onslaught of data breaches, and the desire to protect sensitive data all work together to expand the requirements on organizations to protect their sensitive data. One technique for better protecting sensitive data is data masking.
Posted January 09, 2023
The demand for skilled mainframe technologists is high in government, enterprises, and other organizations. Although colleges and universities offer computer engineering and computer science programs, many of these programs leave gaps in students' education. For members of minority groups and veterans, this gap is wider.
Posted December 12, 2022
Mainframers are no strangers to hard work, dedication, and persistence, nor are they unfamiliar with how to work as part of a larger team. Hispanics in technology embody many of these traits and are pushing for stronger organizations and teams in an industry where they are in the minority.
Posted November 21, 2022
SHARE'd Intelligence, the content hub for SHARE, an independent, volunteer-run information technology association, now seeks authors and contributors passionate about educating others on the enterprise technology ecosystem.
Posted November 07, 2022
Everyone has a story, and not everyone comes to the mainframe environment in exactly the same way. At SHARE Columbus, attendees were blown away by high school student Enzo D'Amato's passion and perseverance in acquiring his own mainframe, which he put together in his parents' garage.
Posted October 31, 2022
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.
Posted October 17, 2022
Enterprises are taking the lead on mainframe training. Optum Technology and others are engaged in a movement to disseminate not only legacy knowledge to the next generation of mainframers, but to provide a scaffolding on which those mentees can stand and grow their careers.
Posted October 03, 2022
When was the last time you thought about your career? We work in a world that constantly demands our time and attention, so it's easy to forget about career advancement.
Posted September 19, 2022
The 2022 IDUG North American Db2 Tech Conference was held in Boston the week of July 11, 2022. For those who do not know, IDUG is the International Db2 User Group and it has been supporting Db2 users and conducting conferences across the world since 1988.
Posted September 06, 2022
IBM's z16 platform has a suite of compiler products to help customers modernize their business- critical applications to accelerate digital transformation. At SHARE Columbus (Aug. 21-26), Roland Koo, program director of product management and strategy, compilation technologies, and enterprise products at IBM, will talk about the new language portfolio on z/OS in his session.
Posted August 22, 2022
Mainframers are familiar with the myth that their systems are outdated, expensive, and in need of replacement. Other common refrains include COBOL being outdated and hard to learn, or that modernization means moving everything onto the cloud.
Posted August 08, 2022
Research shows that inclusive workforces provide a competitive advantage. But how do you address diversities that can't be seen? We spoke with Cynthia Coupé, co-founder and CEO of Outreach Advocacy Resources and Services (OARS), to learn how companies can build a stronger workspace for neurodivergent employees.
Posted July 25, 2022
Mainframers are familiar with the myth that their systems are outdated, expensive, and in need of replacement. Other common refrains include COBOL being outdated and hard to learn, or that modernization means moving everything onto the cloud.
Posted July 11, 2022
Creating a curriculum and materials to make the mainframe visible to students is the driver behind the textbook "Introduction to Enterprise Systems." In this interview with authors Dr. Cameron Seay, Reg Harbeck, Karl-Erik Stenfors, and David Boyes, we explore mainframe misconceptions, how history informs the future, and the importance of mainframe culture.
Posted June 27, 2022
Ransomware has proven to be a problem for financial firms, but also for health care, education, and other industries. These attacks also impact supply chains, the environment, and the economy.
Posted June 13, 2022
IBM Fellow Rosalind Radcliffe, IBM's DevSecOps chief technology officer, is the latest technologist to be recognized for her contributions. In this article, she shares some of her goals, advice, and what being an IBM Fellow means to her.
Posted May 31, 2022
After SHARE Dallas, several DevOps experts offer their thoughts on DevOps culture, mainframe modernization and the future of the discipline.
Posted May 16, 2022