While 2020 has kept us socially distant, TPFers around the globe found a bit of familiar community in the first ever virtual TPF Users Group conference. The annual meet-up, featuring panels and discussions among developers and users of the z/TPF platform, was a resounding success in its fully digital format, with approximately 250 people in attendance.
The presentations given by IBM at the 2020 TPFUG conference are now available online here.
Over the course of five sessions, the TPF Development Lab showcased the latest capabilities that will help users achieve the fastest, lowest-cost performance in transaction-based computing. As always, the Lab is continually listening to, and delivering against the needs of our users—and we are also enabling z/TPF to evolve as a platform.
To that end, we wanted to review the key themes of this year's conference. With our focus spanning all the way from system architecture to real-time analytics, z/TPF is positioned to be the linchpin of your core business.
Hybrid cloud
With the needs and dependencies of your organization changing constantly, it's essential that you're able to operate between platforms with ease: from the public cloud, to your on-premises environment, to Linux on Z and beyond. Now, you can add z/TPF to that equation.
You can leverage z/TPF core services and data in a hybrid multi-cloud architecture through the use of open standards. With new enhancements to support the use of REST, OpenAPI, JSON, DFDL, and MongoDB, the z/TPF platform is more flexible and "open" than ever.
We're also exploring how OpenShift may be utilized to manage z/TPF within a multi-cloud environment. This would enable a number of new capabilities, including self-service provisioning of z/TPF test systems, unit testing in the IBM public cloud, and cloud native-like system monitoring of production z/TPF systems.
For more information in these areas, we recommend checking out the following presentations:
The IBM z15 Mainframe
With each new generation of the IBM Z mainframe, boundaries have been pushed. The z15 is no exception. Offering new advantages in encryption, cyber resiliency, and cloud-native computing, this machine allows you to position and manage z/TPF at the center of your hybrid cloud universe.
But to talk of dollars and cents, there are a couple of key advantages that can save you on both money and stress:
You can significantly reduce IT costs by leveraging IBM z15 on-chip hardware data compression. With the ability to compress 10x - 498x faster than previously possible on the z14, new possibilities emerge to leverage compression across z/TPF systems code and application-level data.
You can also minimize the impact of unplanned outages through System Recovery Boost (SRB). By utilizing extra CPU capacity to rapidly IPL z/TPF and process backlogged transactions, all without operator intervention, you can worry less about accidental surges or impacting service-level agreements.
For more information on this, we recommend checking out the following presentations:
Modernization
Along with changes made to architecture and hardware, you're likely thinking about how to position z/TPF for the future—from the languages you use, to your overall DevOps processes. Modernization on z/TPF is made possible by enhancements to Java support on z/TPF, as well as the z/TPF Test Framework.
You can progressively modernize in place on z/TPF to improve time to market for new business requirements, improve code quality, grow your business, strengthen your competitive advantages, all at lowest cost and risk.
For more information on this, we recommend checking out the following presentations:
Analytics and insight
With all the optimizations you're planning for your z/TPF environment, it's critical that you keep a finger on the pulse of your system. When a problem occurs, it's not helpful to slog through unformatted diagnostic data—and thus delay a resolution. We've introduced new capabilities to access critical insights about your system, as well as a starter kit to visualize the information in an open source, user-friendly dashboard.
You can leverage real-time analytics to improve operational efficiencies and use data insights to optimize business practices. Instead of hunting for answers, you can quickly ascertain system state and application trend information, and thus lessen (or prevent) impacts to service-level agreements.
For more information on this, we recommend checking out the following presentation:
Looking forward
Even with all that's been announced, there's a lot of new ground to cover. As always, we encourage clients to join the effort as sponsor users and to offer feedback on specific projects to ensure they align with your organization's needs. If you have any questions about the sponsor user program, please connect with Danielle Tavella: Danielle.Tavella@ibm.com.
Before closing out, we want to offer a special thank you to the TPF Users Group board members who worked tirelessly to make this year's conference possible. Even with the obstacles posed by COVID-19, we were able to organize a spectacular event with a strong turnout. More than anything, it's a testament to the resilience of TPFers across the globe, who—in spite of the challenges of our present moment—have pushed our platform into the future.
While this virtual TPFUG conference was a success, we're excited for a near future where we may return to a bit of "normalcy" and reconnect with the TPF community in person.