Author: Yuliya Varonina

People often talk of apps as something new – an area of IT development that has only been around since smartphones became commonly used, but that’s not right. At IBA Group we have been developing apps for over 25 years. Before your iPhone, we were developing apps that could run on mainframe systems – we have over 80 teams and over 100 products in this area.

Every year we bring dozens of young people into our development team, often from those we see at the various hackathons we organize. There are still many new ideas for how to improve development inside mainframe culture.

It’s true that mainframes often look like legacy systems. I know that’s how I felt when I approached my first mainframe project three years ago. The infrastructure is quite complicated and the qualifications to work on these systems are quite specialized. It’s not an easy environment, but our teams are enthusiastic and they embrace new ideas.

Some of the key problems developing in the mainframe environment are:

1. DevOps pain; a lot of manual operations for code building, customization, and setup for various environments.
2. Development cycle; typically the cycle is between a week to a month – it’s not a rapid development environment.
3. Version control; we have systems to help, but nothing is integrated with the modern version control systems most development environments use today.
4. Limited automation.
5. Poor visibility and control at all stages of development.

If you also work with mainframe development then you might know about these problems already. So what did we do in our own development environment to try addressing these problems?

1. Automation; we started using the UrbanCode family of tools to start automating some of the infrastructure tasks.
2. Integration; we integrated the UrbanCode processes with the Rational tools family – RTC Rational Concert and RQM- Rational Quality Management.
3. Reducing tools; we reduced the number of tools being used so we could focus on using the remaining ones more effectively.
4. Scalable Pipeline; we built one project using the new DevOps methods and then assisted all teams to develop their projects this way, so these methods scaled across all development teams.
5. Security; increased automation left gaps in security so we used DevSecOps to embed security functionality.

I can talk in detail about how we did all this, and the benefits we found, but for the sake of this blog it’s better to just highlight the main benefits we found from this approach to DevOps.

1. Faster deployment; it’s faster to develop new processes and systems therefore your business operations can be more efficient.
2. System Thinking; building this DevOps environment creates a culture of system thinking which means that responsibility, transparency, and feedback are all improved. Systems Thinking creates a much more focused team that works together.
3. Increased Effectiveness; IT development is typically full of waste. People are waiting on others to deliver and they cannot work until a specific part of a project is handed over. Managing pipelines makes deliveries more predictable and allows resource to be allocated more effectively.
4. Better Quality; We now have more tests, more automation, and User Acceptance Testing. We also trust the pipeline. People are used more effectively and this also increases the quality of deliveries.

We know from our own experience that our team now spends 20% less time on unplanned work and reworking problems. This has led to a 40x reduction in systems failure and the team is 50x more satisfied with their work. Even when a failure occurs, we can now recover 20x faster than before.

The list of benefits from this approach is endless. If this blog has sparked your interest in what is possible then please leave a comment here or get in touch with me. I can give you more detail and also personal experiences of going on this transformation journey.

Author: Andrew Dvirnyk

For many of us in the business of providing and working with technology solutions, mainframes are the old standbys that we love to hate. Sometimes, mainframes feel like the dinosaurs the next generation of developers and engineers joke that they are. But in truth, with the right solutions, mainframes can run smarter and more efficiently.

But it is not all about cheering the virtues of the mainframes that some still see as a necessary evil in our day-to-day operations. Let’s take a moment to look at how, with the right tools, we can resolve mainframe issues and free up time for our engineers, programmers, and technology managers, to get back to the reasons we all do this work.

Once we solve the common mainframe issues that slow us down, by implementing DevOps, we are able to return to the business of being creative and innovative. We can explore how automation opens up new avenues. And we can do more, better, faster, all while knowing that we no longer need to worry about mainframe issues that threaten to stop us in our tracks and keep us from running our operations smoothly.

What is DevOps?

DevOps is flexible. It taps into the scalability, flexibility, and agility that we most often associate with cloud computing and open source development solutions. With DevOps, therefore, we see that we are able to improve efficiencies in real and important ways that matter not only to the business on a large scale, but to the everyday life of everyone who works with the mainframe.

First and foremost, DevOps enables us to meet one of the most common challenges we all face. It helps us to develop software faster. Great, you might be thinking, but I am concerned with how to solve the immediate challenges that I am facing now. While it is interesting to think ahead, you may be saying, I just need to get through my day.

This is an excellent point, and a challenge that we help our clients face. Even though it is part of our ethos as programmers and engineers, to think ahead to future solutions, we are here to help you solve problems now, so we can all free up space to design the future together.

That is why it is time to look at how DevOps makes every day more efficient and more productive. Simply put, DevOps makes it possible to deploy updates faster. And, solving one of the most common issues that threatens productivity (and frustrates us all!), DevOps also makes it possible to dispatch fixes faster.

Better, Stronger, Faster

In many ways, DevOps implementation moves mainframes out of the old idea that they are rigid, slow, and laborious to maintain and manage. The new era DevOps brings all of our cloud knowledge, open source creativity, and automation power, to resolve mainframe issues. DevOps enables us to have more reliable mainframes.

And it makes those mainframes easier to service. At the same time, and this is important for all of us, DevOps also allows us to provide on-demand solutions. One of the chief complaints about mainframes is that they are harbingers of the old era. Now, our technology world is defined by smart solutions that allow us to deploy creative, flexible solutions in near real-time.

These are the kinds of solutions that we can all get excited about. And, taken together, we have found one approach (DevOps) that allows us to be better, faster, and stronger. All the while, we are decreasing costs over time, and increasing efficiencies almost immediately.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the specifics of how DevOps really is stronger, better, and faster. And what that means for your business on the day-to-day, and as you continue to grow.

Move Beyond Manual Operations

We all know (too well) how taxing manual operations can be. In our new world of innovation and efficiency, there is little room for the manual operations that slow us down. And, frankly, bore us, and prevent us from flexing our muscle as developers and engineers.

So, what does DevOps do to help us move beyond manual operations? It frees us up from having to do manual code building to resolve mainframe issues or enable new solutions. It allows for environment setups that make it easier to do what you need, more quickly, and to customize responses, outputs, and solutions.

Further, moving beyond manual operations allows for the installation of a new level of code. All of that, clearly, benefits those of us who work with mainframes day-to-day. It also improves the functionality of the mainframe, and the technology solutions overall. It does this in the immediate, and over time, because of the flexibility that we are now able to access, deploy, and scale. To ensure these kinds of future-forward benefits, DevOps also includes all levels of testing.

Shorten Deployment Cycles

Now, we all understand that if we really want to move into the future, we need to get there faster. We need to start to bring the future to us. That is why one of the chief benefits of DevOps, as we see it, is that is shortens the deployment cycle.

In these cases, we are looking at deployment cycles of one month, or even deployment cycles of one week. That is a major difference from standard expectations without solutions like DevOps.

Improve Control

When it comes to control, we encounter one of the biggest frustrations that we all associate with mainframes. Namely, that, while current sets of programs like SCLMs (Software Configuration and Library Manager) may work, they are not at all integrated with modern technologies.

On the other hand, DevOps solutions focus version control for mainframes that fully integrates with the scope and pace of modern technologies. This means that you can expect more from your mainframe. And it will deliver.

With improved control for mainframes, we see yet another opportunity to increase efficiency, lower costs across the board, and free up time and resources to focus on doing new, better, and more creative work.

Embrace Automation

Whether we are talking about control, troubleshooting, or customization, automation is at the forefront of our minds as we develop and deploy technologies across business platforms. So, of course, when it comes to working with mainframes and providing solutions for improved responses and efficiencies, it is necessary to look at how to bring automation into play. At the same time, that automation must not, for any reason, reduce quality or reliability.

This is where DevOps for mainframes offers additional value. Even with a limited set of automation tools, we know that we are able to deliver more for less cost and in a shorter amount of time. This brings together the overall benefits of DevOps for mainframe, while also introducing automation into a space that has been lacking.

This is where DevOps for mainframes offers additional value. Even with a limited set of automation tools, we know that we are able to deliver more for less cost and in a shorter amount of time. This brings together the overall benefits of DevOps for mainframe, while also introducing automation into a space that has been lacking.

Excite the Next Generation

So, it seems that working with a mainframe does not mean that you are in the dinosaur days, after all. Rather, the mainframes that we all have to deal with have become a new landscape of opportunities for creative solutions that make us able to do our jobs, faster, smarter, and better than we once were able to do.

This is good news for our next generation of programmers, engineers, and technology managers. Let’s face it, it’s not easy to attract talent using the promise of working on mainframes! Now, on the other hand, we have simple, smart, future-forward solutions like DevOps, that changes the game. And this helps us to get the next generation excited about taking on the responsibilities and challenges associated with mainframes.

It assures creative programming and engineering talent that there is a place for new ideas and new projects. And it not only acknowledges, but it embraces the open source mentality that the next generation (and certainly some of us “more experienced” older folks) gets excited about. Ideas about flexibility, innovation, and agility do not have to be separate from work with (and work on) mainframes. In fact, it is just the opposite.

In this new context, we are giving the next generation a newly improved canvas to work with and to put their stamp of creativity on. With DevOps, we are giving them the opportunity to experiment with open source tools on mainframe. It is the best of both worlds. And the future is ripe for innovation that brings better functionality, and better experiences to everyone who uses the systems, and to all our businesses.

What’s Next?

In our next article, we are taking a closer look at DevOps from the inside out. We are going into the what, why, and how of the DevOps value as an agile solution, and a smart addition for your business.

Looking ahead, in our series on DevOps and the New Mainframe, we will be taking you behind the scenes, where we will walk you through everything from APIs to zSystems, and talk about the mainframe DevOps lifecycle and what that means for you.

Finally, we wrap up our series with more on how DevOps helps us at IBA bring to life our mission to Co-create a SMART future. A future that, like IBA, is Sustainable, Multi-faceted, Automated, Reliable, and Trusted.

Author: Mark Hillary

I have written about DevOps recently on this blog, but to summarise the concept, DevOps refers to Development Operations. It is a combined set of software development practices that bring together the development of software with IT operations. The aim is to improve the systems development environment so the software lifecycle can be shorter – it’s bringing software development closer to the business that it serves.

So far it sounds like DevOps is just focused on software development and the environment used to build software systems – it’s all about coding and process. So what are the skills needed to work in DevOps? Logically you might assume that ‘hard’ subjects such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) might dominate, but I read an article recently that turns this expectation upside down.

Tech Beacon magazine listed four key ‘soft’ skills that everyone working in DevOps requires and none of them are focused on STEM skills. They are:

1. Collaboration and Communication
2. Empathy
3. Customer Experience
4. Problem Solving

Why would these be the essential skills and not coding or process design? Well think for a moment about what I said in the introduction – we are bringing the software development process closer to the business that needs this technology system. So some of the key skills will be focused on that process of getting closer to the sponsoring business people.

Collaboration with people outside the IT team will be essential and the ability to communicate technical problems to non-IT professionals. Empathy implies more listening – especially listening to the people who want the system built for their business. Trying to put yourself in the shoes of the customer so you can improve the customer experience is also an important skill that many people ignore, and the ability to solve problems as they are thrown at you is extremely valuable in any team.

I would argue that these four skills are essential for any DevOps team. If you can find people to join the team with all these skills then it is almost certain they can learn the technical skills you need them to use. If you hire for technical ability only then it will be much harder to create great communicators or problem-solvers through training.

It may seem like the opposite to conventional wisdom, but sometimes the best team members in a technical DevOps team are the least technical.

Author: Mark Hillary

What is DevOps? If you don’t directly work on the development of IT systems then this might be a strange concept, but for any executive who needs to purchase new technology systems, or modify existing ones, this is an important concept to be aware of.

In short, DevOps refers to Development Operations. It is a combined set of software development practices that bring together the development of software with IT operations. The aim is to create an environment where the systems development lifecycle can be shorter and more features and updates can be performed – in general, it aims to bring IT development much closer to the business that is being served.

The broad goals span the entire lifecycle of a software project:

• Increased frequency of project deliveries
• Faster time to market on the original delivery
• Lower failure rate of delivered software
• Shorter lead time between business requests and fixes being applied
• Faster recovery time when failure does occur

By using a DevOps approach the IT team can maximize the predictability of new releases. Efficiency and security are both increased and the code becomes easier to maintain.

IBA Group has conducted research into the effect of using a DevOps approach to software development – although this research was focused on mainframe DevOps. These are some of the key findings:

• 20 x faster to recover when software fails
• 22% less time spent on rework to fix problems
• 30 x more deployments of new software
• 40 x lower failure rate of delivered software
• 50 x greater IT team satisfaction

All this data comes from real mainframe client projects at IBA Group. Deployment becomes more reliable and more frequent when people work together using this type of framework. The IT team uses a form of system thinking, which really means that they create a culture of shared responsibility for the project. This culture encourages transparency and shared responsibility – problems that one team member may have hidden in a regular organization are shared and managed together.

Automation is also an important part of the DevOps culture. The aim is to automate all the routine tasks a developer usually needs to manage. This also creates a far more satisfied developer who can focus on the more interesting and challenging parts of the project. This naturally leads to better quality and performance – enhancing the reputation of the team.

Most executives outside IT are not really familiar with software development practices, but it is becoming more important to understand because a different approach to the way that software development is managed leads directly to business effects, such as better quality, fewer failures, and a team with higher satisfaction in their job. DevOps is well established as a practice with a decade of conferences and articles all exploring how it can be used effectively. If you need to purchase any form of software development from an IT company then how they are managing DevOps should be one of the first things you ask.

Author: Andrew Dvirnyk

In our previous article, we gave you the bird’s eye view of DevOps for mainframe. We talked about some of the unique advantages of DevOps. And we looked at how we make it possible to stop looking at your mainframe like it is a dinosaur. Then, we introduced the idea of how you can improve your mainframe by introducing the agility and flexibility we associate with the cloud, and the future-ready, resource saving solutions we associate with automation.

Today, we are taking an even deeper dive into DevOps from the inside out. Together, we explore how and why DevOps adds agility and flexibility. We talk about the value of continuous delivery for the mainframe, a function that sets DevOps apart from the traditional experience of working with a mainframe. And we look at the ways in which DevOps helps to reduce budget concerns and improve employee experience and productivity.

And, we take a hard look at how to simplify DevOps migration projects. Let’s be honest. We can have all the great ideas in the world, and all the tools that we know will make our lives and our work better. But if we are not able to implement those tools – or migrate to new ways of doing things – we are never going to get anywhere. Once we start dealing with lag and inefficiencies, even if they occur on the road to greater efficiencies and cost savings, we have a problem. That’s why, when we partner with our clients, we keep in mind not only how to connect them to the best solutions to their problems, but how to implement the technology we present in ways that are seamless, and that take into account your needs, your budgets, and your goals.

IBA from the Inside Out

Just as we are looking more closely at DevOps, we want to take a moment to show you a bit more of who we are. IBA Group was established in 1993, when the computing and the technology world was a creative, dynamic space, and engineers like us came in and provided a high level of value and an experience that made (and continues to make) our clients feel heard, feel cared for, and feel like they were connecting with real partners they could trust. That is the kind of thing that people long for even more now. As faceless IT solutions pop up, and it becomes difficult to tell what you are really getting, knowing that you are working with real people, with real experience, who are here to co-create a SMART future with you, goes a long way.

Back in the day, our initial focus was on IBM products, that is part of why we are such experts on mainframes and DevOps. We understand where you are. We have been there for a long time, always with the goal to make things better, stronger, more efficient and more sustainable.

Our expertise in development and support of mainframe applications makes us a leader, with more than 80 teams for more than 100 products.

And, just as we talked about in our last post, inspiring and preparing the next generation to be creative, savvy problem solvers is important to us. It inspires us to educate and employ the next generation of technology leaders. We train and employ at least 25 young people for z Platform every year. We host hackathons and generate new ideas for the development of the mainframe culture. And we love it! Just like we love working to bring DevOps to everyone who needs it.

Agile Problem Solving

DevOps do a lot to improve mainframe app agility. Using DevOps on the mainframe allows you to do what you are already doing with better results, and greater speed, by shortening the lifecycle on mainframe applications.

DevOps facilitates new ways to organize development stages, including pushing mainframe test environments over to distributed test environments. This allows for simulations and other scenarios to run tests. And to run them quickly. This kind of agility enables you to get information faster and to draw accurate conclusions quickly. Ultimately, the level of agility that DevOps provides on the mainframe helps you to identify and resolve issues quickly and accurately.

Continuous Delivery

Continuous delivery of performance information makes it possible to produce continued improvements. This is where we see scalability, responsiveness and customization come to life with mainframe DevOps application.
Because of this continuous delivery of information, response times improve across the board. This means that problems are resolved in near real-time. It also means that fewer problems arise, because they are dealt with rapidly, and effectively. After all, DevOps is about the people involved in our processes, not just the technology itself.

When you receive higher quality information, you get better outcomes. You improve your mainframe. Now, let’s add speed to that equation. When you are able to receive better information faster, you improve your mainframe even more. Suddenly you, in this environment, you end up seeing improvements that are not limited to these processes. You begin to see the positive impact on the people who make up your business. That lends a level of sustainable success to your organization, whose value is unparalleled.

Automation

Improved automation means that you can expect even greater improvements to processes. And, as we have just discussed, it also means better opportunities, experiences, and outcomes for all the people who work with the mainframe and throughout your organization.
Automation simplifies processes across all your organization’s IT. The ability to automate and deploy software projects is a significant value of DevOps, across mainframe applications. When we talk about automation, we are looking at so much more than freeing up time (even though freeing up time is important to all of us). We are talking about making it possible for your teams to be creative, agile, and productive.

Cost and Budget

This is exactly the kind of outcome you need if staffing and budgets are a concern. And, as we all know, these are both always a concern for organizations, to one degree or another. Saving time and resolving issues with agility and flexibility addresses immediate cost constraints that a business may be facing.

The agility that DevOps provides, also allows you to work with even modest budgets, and still get the results that you need. Within a wide range of budgets, with the proper deployment of DevOps, you should be able to expect results that maximize and improve your mainframe and other technology investments.

Inside Out Challenges in Your Business

Author: Andrew Dvirnyk

We have been exploring the many ways in which DevOps improves mainframe functionality. We looked at how improving flexibility and infusing agility makes it easier to achieve goals and overcome challenges. Those challenging range from limited staff to budget constraints. And the opportunities range from more sustainable solutions to more engaged employees who are able to focus on generating creative solutions and accessing automation to improve the day-to-day operations of your organization.

Today, we are sharing more of the ways that DevOps can improve your existing capabilities. Further, we are looking at how you are able to test for success with DevOps. Let’s take a look at the impact of DevOps from this perspective – as a time saver, and efficiency booster, and a quality improver.

Reduce Cycle Times

DevOps reduces cycle time. We all know what a critical problem cycle time is and how important it is to reduce cycle time from a productivity standpoint, a budget standpoint, and an overall sustainability standpoint.

But how does DevOps help to reduce cycle times and delays? Simply put, outside of the DevOps scenario, we see weeks to months as the period to deliver a change on the mainframe. In the current pace of our needs, that simply is not acceptable. But, outside of the DevOps scenario, we see how it is possible. This longer period takes into account the time taken up by development, testing, quality assessment, staging, and production. Importantly, it also factors in incident management across the mainframe. And as we all know, that is no small task for the system or for our teams.

Now, in the case of DevOps, set up time is greatly reduced. So, out of the gate, we are already seeing improvements in cycle time and delivery time.

DevOps shortens the delivery process to a considerable degree. And it does so without any loss of quality. Rather, we see the opposite come into play. With DevOps, because we are able to access information more quickly, we are able to isolate and resolve issues more quickly. And more effectively. This helps to reduce cycle times, certainly. But it also helps to improve quality and operations overall.

More Automation, Fewer Silos

In the DevOps environment, we see that silos are limited. This makes it significantly easier to access information across segments. As a result, it also becomes easier to add in automation.

Photo by Joshua Sukoff on Unsplash

Automation improves access to information and the ability to share information. Importantly, automation in the DevOps environment allows for agile development. This works to the advantage of the development team because it enables the development team to do more, better, faster.

It also enables the development team to provide more creative and flexible solutions to problems. They are able to manage incidents with a flexibility and an expediency that is not possible outside of the DevOps environment.

Improve Software Delivery

Taken together, shorter cycle times, the ability to respond quickly, automation, and access to un-siloed information improve overall software delivery efficiencies in the DevOps environment.

Further, and again with a debt to the power of automation, the DevOps environment allows for easier standardization. This saves time and eliminates delays. Be aware, this means that efficiencies are popping up not only in the immediate, but also over the course of the lifecycle of projects and systems.

Improved software delivery is essential to the power of DevOps and the value for your organization. The ability to create efficiencies and standardize those efficiencies and responses frees up development teams to work on new innovations and solve other problems, rather than being trapped in an infinite loop of mainframe troubleshooting.

Improve Quality

One critical way in which DevOps improves quality is the way in which DevOps resolves the multiple process issues that threaten both quality and productivity over time.

In the DevOps environment, we are able to overcome challenges associated with ad hoc and fragile integration that mark systems that have been patched. DevOps eliminate the problems that are the consequence of multiple troubleshooting workarounds that have become entrenched over generations.

DevOps is a solution to Point-Point issues. It resolves visibility issues. And we all recognize this as a major challenge for anyone working with mainframe. Finally, DevOps helps to maintain a stable, accessible, flexible environment. Fewer problems arise in this type of environment. And, further, when those problems do arise in a DevOps environment, you are able to test, detect, and resolve them efficiently and effectively.

Continuous Delivery

Imagine if you never had to go hunting for information. Imagine if you never needed to back into a solution for a problem, after finding the problem many steps down the road from where it originated. We are all familiar with this scenario. After it had already done more damage than it ever needed to.

This is the DevOps environment. Continuous feedback fuels incident management with information immediately. This shortens the cycle and it enables you to resolve minor issues before they even have the chance to try to become major problems.

Collaboration

As we discussed in a previous post, DevOps is ultimately about people, about process, and about information. Collaboration is the people piece of DevOps.

The ability to communicate, and therefore collaborate across disciplines means that you can enjoy a much faster evolution and you can, therefore deploy business services more quickly. On top of that, those business services are of a higher quality. At the end of the day, this means improvement across thr portfolio. It also means a healthier, happier, stronger team.

Improved Process

In the context of collaboration, within the DevOps environment, we are able to see significant and important improvements to process. These process improvements mean that you can enjoy a much faster evolution. As a result, you are able to deploy business services more quickly. On top of that, those business services are of a higher quality.

These improvements include the ability to develop and test at a higher level, and the ability to validate the quality of operational characteristics continuously. As we discussed, it is that continuous delivery of information that is key to the efficiency and the success of the process. Ultimately, all of this comes together to reduce cost and to reduce risk.

Information and Continuous Delivery

Just as collaboration fuels process improvements, information empowers collaboration. The ability to access, test, and validate is at the core of the value DevOps provide.

Unique to DevOps, information access is built on open standards concepts. This brings together a new generation approach with a longstanding need to keep mainframes running with as few incidents as possible, and to create solutions that keep them running reliably.

Continuous delivery of information creates a lifecycle for collaboration that improves efficiencies and reduces both risks and costs.

So, what does this continuous delivery look like? And why does that information matter so much? Continuous delivery includes everything from a delivery dashboard to instrumentation and auditing. It encorporates automation. It also involves library services to access information generated and stored over time. And it provides the reporting and analytics capabilities that enable us to resolve issues now and in the future, and to report on them clearly to improve processes.

At the heart of it all are integration tools that make this stream of relevant information easy to access and easy to act upon.

Testing Across the Lifecycle

Looking deeper at the impact on people, processes, and information, we see how DevOps enables testing across the lifecycle that is not only continuous, but automated.

In this context, system programmers, developers, and testers are able to access and get much needed information from the system.

The system programmer is able to deliver mainframe configurations. The developer can deliver application code. And, importantly, the tester can deploy system tests and functional tests.  They do all of this through source control, which, once built, feeds the library.  In turn, the relevant information is fetched, and that feeds the automation.

At this stage, we are able to ask the important questions that help us to keep running and to keep running well. We are able to determine if deployments succeed. We are able to run smoke tests and get quick results. As we go deeper through the process enabled by DevOps. we can run system wide tests and performance tests without having to shut things down.

Gathering even more information, it is possible to determine if any new errors arise throughout the process. We can test transactions, and view logs without an information lag.

If you think that this type of development environment moves beyond just allowing us to meet our goals, you are right. This is exactly the type of development environment that inspires the kind of innovation and creativity that we crave. It empowers the kind of innovation and creativity that our business environment demands.

And that is why DevOps is an essential piece of what IBA provides. Because, like us, it is a SMART solution in the immediate and paves the way for a more innovative and sustainable future.

Author: Andrew Dvirnyk

If you have been reading along with us, you know that we view DevOps an essential resource for quality, efficiency, and innovation related to mainframe. You also know that we understand the value of DevOps as it extends to people, to processes, and to information. These are not only the key components to DevOps. They are also the key components of successful projects, functional products, and fully operational systems. With all of that in mind, we are unmasking even more of what DevOps does and how. From the absolute basics, to the day-to-day life of what it feels like to work with DevOps (and how much it helps you to accomplish).

We understand that DevOps shortens cycle time, reduces cost, makes it easier to resolve issues before they become major problems, reduces risk, and helps us eliminate silos. Today, we are excited to talk even more about how DevOps accomplishes this much. And why, even though DevOps enables us to do so much more, it does not necessitate an exceptionally long learning curve, or force us to take on a new job of working with a new tool when we already know how to do things well enough the “old way.”

Simply put, DevOps takes us through the whole cycle. At the outset, DevOps helps you to track and plan everything. When it comes to implementation, DevOps lets you dashboard everything. Then, as you continue through processes, DevOps lets you test and version everything. Add to that the ability to instrument, audit, and automate, and you can see why we are so excited that we get to help our clients bring DevOps to your mainframes.

Adopting Mainframe DevOps

And that brings us to the fun part. How do you go about adopting DevOps for mainframe?

The DevOps methodology application to mainframe teams is basically a four-step process. This process includes analysis, unification, automation and optimization. While there may be some slightly nuanced approaches in each case, let’s walk through the general best practices, and standard expectations, for Mainframe DevOps Adoption.

Analysis

First thing first, we review the existing development lifecycle to identify the stages that need to be automated and optimized.

In most cases, this research will show teams integrations. It also highlights both the technical side of the development processes, and the cultural changes that need to take place within the teams.

Unification

Next, it is important to unify mainframe application. Unifying makes change management possible because it simplifies operations.

This falls into the category of versioning. It is also part of the tracking and planning aspect of the process.

Automation

Automation of all stages, including versioning, deployment, and testing, is a key aspect of DevOps transformation.

Automation makes the solution more stable. And it improves scalability and productivity

Optimization

Finally, it is time to optimize the operation. Both visualization and testing come into play here, as does data conditioning.

With these steps in order, everything is in place for DevOps adoption.

Continuous Integration

In our previous post, we talked about the importance of continuous information delivery. Now, we are looking at the value of continuous integration.

Continuous integration in the development environment enables developers to create code that satisfies change requests quickly and productively. It enables developers to meet needs without a lag in response time. They are not forced to overcome confusion, or to hunt down the information they require to produce the solutions that they need to build.

Here is how that works in the DevOps environment. If you are not using DevOps, you will note the differences that you experience managing and responding to change requests and other demands, including incident resolutions, related to your mainframe.

All of this starts in a development environment that is automated, that issues continuous testing, and that allows for the creation of a test environment. Note, the test environment that we are able to create with DevOps is isolated. This is an important thing to have, as you know. Now, in this context, a developer is able to see a change request right away.

Then, the developer is immediately able to check in, to build, and to deploy code to resolve the issue or satisfy the request. But the capabilities do not stop there. We remember the continuous information and continuous testing aspects of DevOps. Yes, that means that the developer also can run automated tests for his fix right away.

The reusable integration tests that are a part of DevOps make it so much easier to test across the layers. That means, of course, that you are more likely to get the quality you need much faster, and more reliably. This kind of rapid feedback and quality improvement is the perfect example of DevOps at work.

Highlights of Continuous Integration

All of this boils down to real value for your team and for your organization. The continuous integration we get from DevOps is fast and dependable. The automatic feedback that we have means that solutions are able to be deployed at a much faster rate. Further, thanks to DevOps generally, and continuous integration specifically, you are able to lower the cost of application testing. How? Because, now, you can move it off-mainframe and into the development environment we have just described.

Taken together, continuous integration boosts confidence in the system across layers. Automatic tracking makes for healthier code. And faster turnaround time makes for happier people.

Versioning to Break Down Silos

Anyone who has spent time with enterprise applications knows all too well how many disconnected parts they include, and how, ultimately, they all need to point toward the same goal. DevOps versions, packages, and defines pipelines. This reduces the common challenges that we all associate with so many disconnected parts.

In so doing, DevOps resolves issues that result from missing assets and missing information. Instead, DevOps links these formerly disparate parts. Then, DevOps provides both automation and standardization. This goes a long way to resolving the most common frustrations we associate with enterprise application. It also greatly improves cycle time, lowers cost, and reduces risk. To do this, DevOps connects resource management, libraries, and running system environments. Bringing in cloud solutions adds even more power to DevOps, making it easier and more accessible.

What are My First Steps with DevOps?

When it comes to getting started with DevOps, you have many options. It makes sense to define a specific project first, and to try out DevOps adoption on this project. Once you have done this, take a look at your existing infrastructure. What does the code look like? Do you have infrastructure code for the project application? Do you also have infrastructure code for the platform?

Assuming that you do have these in place, take the time to come up with automated tests for your application and platforms. Do not leave conditioned data out of this process. Once you have taken all of this together, you will want to look at a continuous delivery process. Next, you will begin to monitor, and then move through to the delivery stage.

What Happens Next?

Now, it is time to move through the DevOps pipeline through mainframe and distribution code as one solution. This is exactly what we do, across everything from IBM Urban Code Deploy to zUnix, Java, Groovy, IBM Infosphere, and many more.

When it comes to the pipeline architecture, let’s take a look at the development environment. You may be working with a cloud solution. You may be working with operating systems like z/OS, IBM Biosphere, Windows, or others, from there, you move down to the code station, and over to the test environment. Just as we have outlined, this is the scenario that is prime for DevOps. Moving through to deployment, and then into the product environment, DevOps makes it possible for you to continuously test, receive information, deploy solutions, and analyze impact.

Does this Mean I am On My Own?

Absolutely not. Your recognition that DevOps is the right choice for you also means that you have found a partner in reaching your goals. Just as it is important to choose DevOps strategy for your mainframe, it is important to engage with a partner who understands DevOps and who understands your needs and your perspective.

Here at IBA Group, our clients look to us as partners in the valuable work that they do. We take that level of trust seriously, as we have for over three decades. Nothing makes us happier than co-creating a SMART future with you. If you have read this far, that very likely means that your future includes DevOps for mainframe. And it should.

Give us a call, and let’s get started.