The True Price of Mainframe Altruism

Believing in the “greater good” is an altruistic view that many of us (at least the optimists amongst us) strive to achieve in our lives, whether at work or play. That’s why at CA, we believe in the greater good of the mainframe ecosystem for our customers.

More specifically, I’d like to tell you about CA’s ongoing participation with IBM to collaborate on a variety of installation-related improvements on the z/OS platform.

On October 4, IBM announced z/OS platform software enhancements to help drive improvements in installation, configuration, and deployment, along with functions that are intended to enable independent software vendors (ISVs) to use them. Many of the functions designed to meet these requirements are now available in z/OSMF V2.2 via PTFs, with others planned for Q4 2016 and Q1 2017.

Three-Pronged Promise

Our leadership and participation in this effort validates our continued innovation and investment in mainframe software development around three areas:

• Standardized software installation, deployment, and configuration
• Ease in obtaining and applying maintenance
• Modern customer experience 

This is not just something that we’re announcing today on the back of IBM’s news – we’ve been a leader in this space since 2008 with the release of Mainframe Software Manager (MSM), designed and developed in partnership with dozens of customers. In fact, we’re the only ISV to have participated with IBM in the development of these capabilities.

One for All and All for One

CA is embracing this industry move led by IBM, as it’s the right solution to have a common standard for the benefit of the entire z/OS ecosystem. For the value of our clients as well as the entire z/OS ecosystem, a common software install standard is an imperative for the customer experience as well as simplification, cost reduction, improved efficiency, and addressing the skills challenges faced by mainframe shops.

Over a number of years, we’ve shared our technology and the mainframe community feedback on MSM with IBM. We fully intend to deliver on our mainframe capabilities to conform to these standards.

Money Talks

With this announcement, IBM intends to introduce browser-based software installation functionality for the z/OS platform through z/OSMF, forming a foundation from which IBM and other software vendors can deliver a common software installation experience.

This is the same functionality and outcome we have been delivering to clients for more than eight years, along with some of our industry-leading partners, helping them make their software install with MSM.

The Customer Always Comes First

Finally, CA remains committed to our customers’ experience. We will continue to support our Mainframe Software Manager and Chorus software manager (CSM) customers throughout this transition. Going forward, we will ensure a seamless transition experience to IBM’s z/OSMF capabilities.

We look forward to having you as a customer on this journey with us, and ultimately, delivering great customer experiences together.