Share26 Orlando Recap: AI, Security, and the Next Era of Mainframe Modernization

As always, Share26 Orlando drew an innovation-focused crowd eager to engage in and learn from future-oriented discussions about the mainframe landscape.

Rocket Software jumped head-first into participating throughout the conference. Our team delivered two speaking Lunch and Learn sessions: “How to Navigate Evolving Regulations and Their Impact on Critical Systems” and “Mainframe Modernization: Real-World Strategies for Agility, Cost, and Compliance.” The sessions spanned several hybrid cloud topics, including IT modernization, mainframe security, DevOps, Db2 utility automation, hybrid storage, and data virtualization.

As we connected with partners, customers, and industry peers during these Lunch and Learns and in various conversations, one theme stood strong: the need for mainframe modernization without disruption. Rocket’s goal at Share26 Orlando was to reinforce our role as a trusted partner for doing exactly that, helping organizations bridge traditional systems with modern hybrid cloud strategies.  

Here’s what stood out from our time there this year:

Modernization Meets AI

Technical sessions hosted by Rocket focused heavily on mainframe modernization, allowing us to explore real-world use cases where AI is making a big difference in everyday operations. Our experts took the time to guide attendees through detailed discussions on these topics, going beyond buzzwords and straight to substance.  

Performance and end-to-end observability aim to enhance CICS performance by leveraging AIOps, which provides smart monitoring, anomaly detection, and predictive analytics. This reduces manual work, boosts system uptime, and shifts teams from reactive troubleshooting to proactive management. It also integrates insights from distributed, cloud, and hybrid systems.  

Speaking of the mainframe, Rocket’s panel “Mainframe Modernization: Real-World Strategies for Agility, Cost, and Compliance” also explored integrating the mainframe into DevOps and managing data in hybrid environments. The panel detailed how to ensure access, governance, synchronization, security, latency, and compliance— all while enabling real-time analytics and fostering modernization.

Security and compliance were also on everyone’s minds. Sessions covered closing the gap between modern IAM policies and mainframe controls, strengthening vulnerability management, addressing insider threats, and navigating regulatory frameworks such as DORA, PCI DSS, NYDFS, and HIPAA. The discussion addressed major challenges, including cost optimization, increased agility through automation, and the development of effective hybrid strategies.

Visionary Panel: Tim Hill on the Mainstage

I joined the Visionary Panel: Modernizing the Mainframe for the Next Decade. During the discussion, he laid out the critical industry challenges enterprises face running critical workloads today and shared strategies to reduce friction between mainframes and distributed cloud platforms. I shared how the growing importance of strong data integration solutions allows organizations to securely access and use mainframe data across applications and analytics platforms.  

Preserving the mainframe's "gold standard" availability while introducing automation and APIs is top of mind for enterprise leaders, as is talent sustainability. I shared practical steps customers are taking to attract and upskill the next generation of professionals, as well as the mindset shifts required to keep the mainframe a competitive advantage over the next three to five years.

Final Thoughts on Share26 Orlando

Although Share26 Orlando has drawn to a close, the conversations that took place there remain ongoing. Some teams are eager to boost their agility and speed by adopting more effective performance and monitoring tools, while others are dedicated to closing compliance gaps through better vulnerability management practices and security-first terminal emulation solutions. Many teams want to accelerate their DevOps processes while making operations safer and more reliable. They're also exploring ways to simplify workflows, reduce costs, and lessen the workload on their talented teams, making the overall experience more efficient and less stressful.  

We're here to support each of these efforts and look forward to seeing the positive progress they make. If there’s one thing we learned at Share26 Orlando, it’s that modernization without disruption in 2026 is achievable. AI, automation, and hybrid strategies are here, but they need the right partner. Rocket is committed to helping enterprises evolve while protecting what makes the mainframe powerful.