We’re excited to announce IBM Automatic Binary Optimizer (ABO) for z/OS 2.3, designed to unleash the full power of IBM z17. With cutting-edge optimization technology, ABO 2.3 helps modernize your COBOL applications by reducing CPU usage, improving processing time, and—most importantly—lowering CPU usage of your business-critical workloads. ABO 2.3 allows customers to optimize applications without recompilation. It can significantly reduce testing cost because programming logic remains the same throughout the optimization process. It also enables users to assess comparable performance on legacy binaries that are not yet in plan for recompilation. Automatic Binary Optimizer (ABO) Assistant comes with this offering to help clients find and optimize top CPU consuming COBOL batch applications. It supports batch COBOL applications as well as COBOL applications running with CICS.
ABO 2.3 supports the IBM z17 architecture and earlier, delivering significant COBOL performance improvements by combining new hardware features with advanced optimization techniques. One of its key advantages? No source recompilation required. ABO works directly on your existing COBOL binaries, accelerating time-to-value while minimizing development and testing efforts.
ABO 2.3 is designed for COBOL applications that are not in active development or frequently recompiled. It delivers performance gains comparable to recompiling with Enterprise COBOL for z/OS 6.5, optimizing code compiled with versions ranging from VS COBOL II 1.3 to Enterprise COBOL 6.5. On IBM z17, ABO 2.3 reduces CPU usage by an average of 58% over Enterprise COBOL 4.2 applications—matching the performance of Enterprise COBOL 6.5 without the need for source code changes.
Enterprise COBOL for z/OS 6.5 and ABO 2.3 are complementary offerings. IBM z17 introduces new hardware features designed to improve the performance of COBOL workloads. To maximize the ROI from IBM z17, it is important to update your COBOL applications with the latest instructions to leverage these new hardware advancements. By combining ABO 2.3 for legacy binaries and Enterprise COBOL 6.5 for active development, you can maximize your return on investment (ROI) and take full advantage of the performance capabilities of IBM z17.
Ready to take your COBOL applications to the next level? Explore the power of IBM ABO 2.3 today. The IBM Automatic Binary Optimizer for z/OS (ABO) Trial Cloud Service allows you to see the performance benefits of running ABO-optimized programs in your environment without having to install the on-premise ABO trial version on your system. Start your 90 day trial.
Disclaimer: The performance improvements are based on the geometric mean of IBM internal measurements on IBM z17 running a z/OS 3.1 LPAR with 1 CP and 80GB Central Storage, and IBM zEC12 running a z/OS 2.3 LPAR with 1 CP and 80GB Central Storage. All benchmarks optimized with IBM Automatic Binary Optimizer for z/OS 2.3 use the new ARCH(15) option and default settings for all other options. The input COBOL benchmarks modules optimized by IBM Automatic Binary Optimizer for z/OS were all compiled by Enterprise COBOL 4.2. All benchmarks compiled with IBM Enterprise COBOL for z/OS 4.2 use the options OPT(STD), LIB.
Performance results for customer applications will vary, depending on the source code, the compiler options specified, and other factors.