At the recent IDUG North America 2025 conference in Atlanta, I had the opportunity to present on how we’re leveraging GenAI to close the widening skills gap in the Db2 for z/OS world. We had a spirited discussion on how GenAI differs from traditional AI, and more notably, about what AI technologies exist to address the actual, day-to-day challenges that Db2 teams encounter—whether onboarding new talent, resolving performance problems, or coping with complex environments with lean resources.
While my session was packed with lively and engaged Db2 professionals, it was but one part of an extraordinarily stimulating week in total. Across the conference, there was a pervasive enthusiasm for AI-driven solutions—all the way from hallway chats to the hands-on lab sessions. The interest was not solely focused on GenAI; customers are aggressively exploring ways that AI can be leveraged to transform operations, explain and simplify complexity, and augment expertise throughout their Db2 for z/OS environments.
We're seeing real traction with SQL Data Insights (SQL DI), which is still in visionary status, but already providing value to customers who are looking to gain insights directly from their structured data. That was nicely illustrated in evangelist Thomas Bauman's session, “Diamonds are Forever - Real-World SQL Data Insights Experience,” which generated plenty of interest and discussion.
The Db2 AI for z/OS (Db2ZAI) product is also gaining serious momentum, crossing the chasm from early adopters to early majority. The hands-on lab session for “Infusing Db2 for z/OS with AI” was oversubscribed, a sign of just how eager customers are to explore its potential. From System Assessment to SQL optimization, the capabilities of Db2ZAI have them intrigued, and attendees posed many questions to the Db2ZAI SMEs, such as, “What is adoption like? What will it cost? Where do we start?” The interest in Db2ZAI reflects a broader readiness to embrace AI-driven insights to improve performance and efficiency.
Another highlight of the conference for me was seeing a change in the makeup of our audience. For example, I was encouraged to see new faces amongst the more experienced DBAs and system programmers in attendance in my GenAI session. This blend of different experience levels indicates that early career technical professionals are engaged and committed to developing their Db2 for z/OS skills, and AI can play a critical role here by helping to ease the impact by skill gaps.
The full rooms and vibrant discussions for the following sessions demonstrated that the core Db2 for z/OS product remains essential, with over four decades of empowering mission-critical workloads across continents and across industries.
- “Db2 for z/OS Spotlight: Trends and Directions” from the Lab by Haakon Roberts, Akiko Hoshikawa
- “Key Performance Updates, zSynergy and Best Practices” for Db2 for z/OS by Akiko Hoshikawa
- “Greatest and Latest Db2 13 Online Schema and Application performance enhancements” by Frances Villafuerte
- “Db2 for z/OS Utilities - Best Practices for Maximizing Availability and Performance” by Ka Chun Ng
- “Access Path Management (with and without AI): Best Practices for influencing the Db2 for z/OS Query Optimizer and for Minimizing the Risk of Access Path Changes” by Tom Beavin
- “DDF Best Practice” by Derek Tempongko
My takeaway from the sessions was that our Db2 SMEs are not just maintaining the system. They're pushing it forward, delivering cutting-edge features that keep Db2 for z/OS modern and indispensable.
Based on the great discussions that I had with the incredible IDUG community, and the excitement surrounding AI, the IDUG North America 2025 conference was a strong reminder for me that Db2 for z/OS is not only built to last—it's built to lead.
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