1. Mainframe Systems and Career Opportunities
Chris Barber
Mainframe Platform Architect
February 14, 2013

2. Agenda My Background What is a Mainframe? Allstate and the Mainframe
Mainframe Career Opportunities
Why the Mainframe?

3. My Background Education Work Experience Associations
2004 – BS – Applied Computer Science
2007 – MS – Computer Science
2010 – MBA
Work Experience
2003 – 2004 – Undergraduate Fellow
CSCI Computer Programming in Assembler Language
CSCI Computer Systems Organization
2004 – 2010 – Systems Programming
2007 – TDY through the entire mainframe support organization
2010 – 2012 – Performance Tuning and Capacity Planning
2012 – Today – Mainframe Platform Architect
Associations
SHARE
Computer Measurement Group
zBLC

4. What is a Mainframe?

5. What is a mainframe? 50 years Large Scale Computing Platform
Batch
Transaction Processing
Database
Highly reliable
Security
Hardware Redundancy
Operating System Stability
The Original Virtual Server
Who uses them?
99% of top 500 banks worldwide
5 top insurers in the United States
Local to national governments worldwide
50 years

6. Allstate and the Mainframe
Allstate ran mainframe environments in 16 locations across the country
1980’s
Allstate continues to rely on mainframe computing, consolidating to 9 Regional operating centers.
1990’s
Allstate consolidates mainframe environment to 4 locations
Allstate partners with IBM development to create and install the 1st Parallel Sysplex
2000’s
Consolidated mainframe systems from 4 datacenters to 2
Management changes caused lack of focus on mainframe platform
Today
The mainframe environment and applications are critical to Allstate’s strategy
Revitalization effort underway to optimize Availability, Performance, and Environmental management

7. Mainframe Career Opportunities
Infrastructure
Engineering
Operations
System Programming
Performance and Capacity Planning
System Administration
Production Control

8. Systems Programming Software Installation Problem Analysis
Operating System
Subsystems (CICS, MQ)
3rd Party Software
Problem Analysis
IPCS
Modernization Opportunities
z/OSMF
Linux on z
Hybrid Systems
DB2 Analytics Accelerator for z/OS

9. Performance Tuning and Capacity Planning
System Level Analysis
SMF Data
Real-time Monitoring
Hardware Research
Workload Characteristics
Exploitations of Chip, Peripherals, Memory, and Coupling Technology
Modernization Opportunities
Scripting of Manual Reporting
Development of Custom Charts/Graphs

10. Operations/System Administration
Intimate knowledge of company processing
Close relationship with application teams to address problems and fulfill requests
IPL’s
Workload Management
Front-line monitoring
Alert Management

11. Production Control Job Scheduling Event Monitoring 24X7 shift work
Schedule Definitions
Job Execution Monitoring
Event Monitoring
Abend Resolution
System Error Messages
Incident Escalation
24X7 shift work

12. Why the Mainframe? ?

13. Why the Mainframe? Fewer staff to support more processing
More opportunities for advancement
More opportunities to move throughout the organization
Mainframe systems skills not found off-shore
Mainframe systems outsourcing rate – 0%
Unix systems outsourcing rate – 50%
Windows systems outsourcing rate – 42%
Aging & Retiring (finally) workforce
Companies lulled into complacency – lost focus on filling mainframe talent
Improved Economy accelerating departure
Fewer servers to support more processing
1:500 compared to other server environments
Less lifecycle activity combined with years of experience allow technicians to understand inner workings of the system.

14. Why the Mainframe? Exciting new developments New hardware
Faster, more scalable machines
Hybrid computing
Appliances and Accelerators
Operating system redesign
Enhanced usability for future mainframe professionals
Enhanced insights into performance
New workloads gaining traction
Linux on z
Data serving
Transaction processing
Java
Cloud computing
Mainframe virtualization technology made it the cloud before there was a “cloud”
The Bottom Line
The cost of mainframe computing has been on the decline over the past 5 years, as businesses have also begun to realize other platforms are not as inexpensive as once thought.

15. What you can do next? IBM’s Master the Mainframe Contest
Not just about prizes
Job board for only mainframe employment opportunities
NIU Internship and Career Fairs
Read
- ABCs of System programming
Connect
System z official Twitter handle:
@ibm_system_z
Top Facebook pages related to System z:
Systemz Mainframe
IBM System z on Campus
IBM Mainframe Professionals
Millennial Mainframer

16. ?
Questions