z/OS Application Performance Optimization – Are you getting the most out of IBM Z hardware investment?

Have you considered optimizing your COBOL programs?

​IBM compiler experts explain the potential benefit of the latest compiler technology to bring down MIPS consumptions. We highly recommend taking a look at the following presentation: “Reducing CPU Usage for Critical Applications with IBM’s Cutting-Edge COBOL Offerings”. Sophisticated optimization algorithms along with new hardware instructions specifically designed for computation of commonly used COBOL data types are explained. Sounds all good but why now and how does it affect my business?

Historically re-compilation of COBOL programs was minimised on the mainframe platform. Among many reasons, the binary compatibility of programs on the new generation hardware + operating environments, and implicit expectations that new hardware and middleware will bring significant performance improvement without application changes. The point the compiler team is making is the clock speed improvement of hardware alone can NO longer bring the expected benefit. You need to re-compile your programs and make sure your programs are taking advantage of new instructions available on the platform.
Sounds easy? Not quite. When faced with the inventory of thousands of COBOL programs, how do you even get started?
-          Do you know how they were compiled and linked together?
-          Do you know if you have a copy of COBOL source files which matches the right version                 used in production system today?
-          Do you incorporate third party packages/modules into your COBOL programs? Are they               ready for Enterprise COBOL V6 compiler?
-          Do you know dependency of programs and related resources in your applications?
-          How do you prioritise your migration effort so that you get ROI quicker?
-          Do you have good set of automated test cases?

Certainly, you could identify other complications quickly once you start thinking about this. We would recommend assessment of your mainframe assets first. Let us help you document what you have on your mainframe systems completely so we can help you plan the right strategy.

We have the tools to help find answers to key questions above, and tools to streamline & ease your migration effort. We can send you experts who understand this domain very well, and provide coaching around how to get the most out of tools.

​The potential upside is huge for gaining operational efficiency of your mainframe system.  With the right strategy and consultants to guide you through the journey. Talk to us and let’s Innovate.  

Kenichi Yoshimura
Senior product Manager

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Kenichi Yoshimura is Senior Product Manager at HCL Technologies. Responsible for driving strategy for HCL Z Innovation Offerings (ZIO) and IBM Z Systems Software products under IP partnership arrangement between HCL and IBM.