What We Learned at the Open Mainframe Summit

December 14, 2023

Open source has quickly become a mainstay for software development, enabling greater collaboration and innovation among developers. As that momentum continues to spread into the mainframe industry, the Rocket Software team headed out to New York for the Open Mainframe Summit and the Open Source in Finance Forum, an event dedicated to fostering greater innovation in financial services with open source software and standards. The event brought together a wide range of attendees who are committed to tapping into the potential for open source software to be leveraged in mainframe development.

Among the sessions, panels and discussions that took place during the event, it was clear just how important open source has become to the future of the mainframe. But even with all that potential, the emergence of open source brings its own set of security risks and concerns that will need to be addressed. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from our time at the Open Mainframe Summit.

The Need to Secure Open Source

It was clear from the conversations and panel sessions we engaged in during the forum that open source has immense potential to transform the financial industry and attendees were excited to share knowledge and experiences around its use. Even with all the buzz, one main theme emerged across those conversations when it comes to putting open source into use on the mainframe—how do we tap into the benefits of this technology reliably and without opening ourselves up to increased security risks along the way?

As is the case with every business, security is critical for the long-term sustainability of operations. So, anytime the decision is made to bring something that wasn’t developed internally into a secure environment, like the mainframe, there’s a risk that may invite new vulnerabilities that put highly sensitive data at risk. Over the course of the event, we saw an acute awareness of this reality, with robust and engaging discussions looking at tools and methodologies, like penetration testing and secure delivery of open source. One potential way to mitigate these concerns is to contract for support from a vendor like Rocket Software to obtain popular open source packages that have been tested, scanned and can be delivered via secured channels.

Attracting the Next Generation of Talent

One noticeable reality from the forum was the interest it garnered from younger generations of tech talent. Particularly at a time when there’s a growing mainframe skills gap, incorporating newer technologies like open source will play an increasingly important role in closing the gap. Mainframe skills are coming at an increasing premium as the technology continues to age. Most developers today are learning, and using, open-source software to innovate and develop applications—a factor that means if the mainframe world wants to capture more talent, it needs to include the tools those developers are most familiar with.

The turnout and enthusiasm among younger developers at the event painted a very promising picture for the future of open source and the mainframe. It’s not just a matter of incorporating more familiarity into a system, it’s a powerful way to turn a complex industry into a much more accessible and appealing space to try and innovate and build a career in.

Open-source tools and software are not traditionally associated with the mainframe, but the potential it can bring to the platform is clear—a sentiment we saw reflected clearly over the course of the Open Mainframe Summit. While new security challenges will inevitably arise, we saw a great deal of passion and energy directed at tackling those head-on, fueled by a new wave of open source developers making their way into the mainframe.

Learn more about how Rocket Software can help you make the most of open source software on the mainframe.