Sulagna Saha of Gestalt IT discusses a growing skills gap in the mainframe IT sector that risks impacting businesses depending on this technology. Factors contributing to the shortage include the sector’s outdated image, insufficient training programs, and the allure of newer technologies for tech talents. She emphasizes the need for increased training investments and educational reforms to attract and prepare new candidates for crucial mainframe roles, underscoring the importance of modernizing perceptions of mainframe technology. Read more and watch the delegate discussion from SHARE Kansas City 2024!
The Mainframe is Still Going Strong
Despite the hype about modern applications, the mainframe remains central to enterprise IT and is rapidly adopting new technologies. This episode of the Tech Field Day podcast features Steven Dickens, Geoffrey Decker, and Jon Hildebrand talking to Stephen Foskett about the modern mainframe prior to the SHARE conference. The modern datacenter is rapidly adopting technologies like containerization, orchestration, and artificial intelligence, and these are coming to the mainframe world as well. And the continued importance of mainframe applications, especially in finance and transportation, makes the mainframe more important than ever. There is a tremendous career opportunity in mainframes as well, with recent grads commanding high salaries and working with exciting modern technologies. Modern mainframes run Linux natively, support OpenShift and containers, and support all of the latest languages and programming models in addition to PL1, Cobol, DB2, and of course zOS. We’re looking forward to bringing the latest in the mainframe space from SHARE to our audience.
Geoffrey Decker
IBM Champion 2024, Computer Science Instructor at Northern Illinois University, IBM Mainframe Evangelist
