Agenda – 20th International GSE Conference

Sponsorship Options

Preliminary Agenda

subject to change

Monday, 28.09.2026

08:00

Conference Registration

09:30 - 10:30

Welcome Coffee

10:30 - 10:45

Welcome

This session provides an up-to-date overview of the latest hardware advancements in IBM z17 and LinuxONE 5, with a special focus on AI integration, security innovations, and key technologies such as the Telum II processor and the new IBM Spyre Accelerator. We will explore how these platforms are being optimized for AI-driven workloads, the latest developments in cyber resilience, and the role of these new hardware components in modern hybrid IT architectures.

10:45 - 11:30

IBM Z & LinuxONE Hardware News

Tobias Leicher

IBM

11:30 - 12:00

21CS Portfolio Update

This presentation will bring our z/VSE, VSEn, z/VM, and z/OS customers up to date on new and important development projects from CSI International. With the announcement of the z17, CSI has been working hard to provide new and comprehensive advances to allow our customers to use their hardware for maximum benefit. This presentation will highlight CSI International’s continued commitment to modernization on z platforms. Z/Cobol is our newest offering designed to bring COBOL code into a modern condition for today's modern applications. Aside from the unbelievable performance improvements, learn about advanced features that truly will make COBOL (again) the workhorse for the 21st century. CSI International has released the GA version for VSE (z/VSE and VSEn) and has a matured Beta process winding down for z/VM and z/OS. We will explore the changes and enhancements available for TCP/IP that address stronger support for security, TLS, and dynamic adjustments to deal with Internet attacks. Examine data and produce reports with DataMiner-DashTM, without blowing your budget on costly solutions from unresponsive vendors. Learn how to do more with a product that offers value and responsive support.

12:00 - 12:30

Mainframe Modernization with CSI International: z/ What You Can Do

Z/Cobol is our newest offering designed to bring COBOL code into a modern condition for today’s modern applications. Aside from the unbelievable performance improvements, learn about advanced features that truly will make COBOL (again) the workhorse for the 21st century. CSI International has released the GA version for VSE (z/VSE and VSEn) and has a matured Beta process winding down for z/VM and z/OS.

We will explore the changes and enhancements available for TCP/IP that address stronger support for security, TLS, and dynamic adjustments to deal with Internet attacks.

Examine data and produce reports with DataMiner-DashTM, without blowing your budget on costly solutions from unresponsive vendors. Learn how to do more with a product that offers value and responsive support.

Barry Boyer

CSI International

In this session we want to highlight new solution capabilities with Linux on IBM Z and Hybrid Cloud on IBM LinuxONE and the areas of value of the Vendor solutions and how you can take advantage of them or find discussion points regarding these solutions.

12:30 - 13:00

New Solution Capabilities and Vendor News

Wilhelm Mild

IBM R & D

13:00 - 14:00

Lunch

Come and hear about the latest news from IBM, 21CS and its partners on the platform. This presentation provides an overview of everything that is new and relevant to z/VM, VSE, Linux and KVM on IBM Z and LinuxONE.

14:00 - 14:45

Overview and News of z/VM, VSE, KVM and Linux on IBM Z & LinuxONE

Stefan Raspl

IBM R & D

Thomas Immel

IBM R & D

Gonzalo Muelas Serrano

21CS

Preparing for cyber incidents and evolving compliance mandates is critical for organizations running mission‑critical workloads on IBM Z and LinuxONE. This topic explores a comprehensive approach to strengthening cyber resilience across these platforms, with a particular focus on z/OS environments. It highlights best practices for incident detection, response orchestration, and recovery, while aligning with regulatory requirements such as data protection, auditability, and operational continuity. By leveraging the intrinsic security capabilities of IBM Z and LinuxONE—such as pervasive encryption, secure execution, and robust access controls—organizations can proactively mitigate risks, ensure compliance, and maintain business continuity in the face of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

14:45 - 15:30

Preparing for cyber incidents and compliance mandates for Linux on Z and LinuxONE workloads

Pradeep Parameshwaran

IBM R & D

15:30 - 16:00

Coffee Break

The presentation will provide insights of our decision criteria, our historic environment, implementation of the first generation of LinuxOne, successes and lessons learned, implementation of the second generation and what will the future hold.

16:00 - 16:45

Customer Experience: DB2 LUW on Linux on IBM Z (Implementation of the LinuxOne platform)

Gamal Khaldi

Lead Architect IT Infrastructure, Federal Public Service Finance, Belgium

16:45 - 17:15

Sponsor Slot 3

17:15 - 17:30

Short Break

Let's talk and exchange our ideas and views about the essential characteristics that an IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE system provides on the different levels, from an Isolation, Scalability, Confidential Computing perspective as well as from an AI perspective in respect of Sovereignty and data placement and transactional workloads.

17:30 - 18:15

Birds of a Feather (BoF): The Mainframe Advantage: Secure Services. Transactional AI. One Platform.

Let’s talk and exchange our ideas and views about the essential characteristics that an IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE system provides on the different levels, from an Isolation, Scalability, Confidential Computing perspective as well as from an AI perspective in respect of Sovereignty and data placement and transactional workloads.

Wilhelm Mild

IBM R & D

Michael Tores

SDK - Süddeutsche Krankenversicherung

Markus Klein

PHOENIX

Berthold Gunreben

DATEV eG

This session is dedicated to new interests and enthusiasts of the IBM Z and LinuxONE technology, covering capabilities like AI, scalability and flexibility, as well as Hybrid Cloud and Multi-Architecture solutions, existing industry environments and their implementations and all the questions that participants might have in this area. The details depend on the questions and interest. We can also highlight the Confidential Computing and Hyper Protect capabilities to host servers and applications on the most secure and scalable platform, IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE.

18:15 - 18:45

For Newbies: Ask me anything about Fundamentals of IBM Z & LinuxONE infrastructure and workloads

We can also highlight the Confidential Computing and Hyper Protect capabilities to host servers and applications on the most secure and scalable platform, IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE.

Wilhelm Mild

IBM R & D

Gonzalo Muelas Serrano

21CS

19:00 - 21:00

Exchange of Experiences and Dinner in the Exhibition Area

Tuesday, 29.09.2026

09:00 - 09:30

Sponsor Slot 4

An overview changes introduced with z/VM 7.5, the new release of z/VM as well as an overview of the current development focus and future areas of investment.

09:30 - 10:30

An overview changes introduced with z/VM 7.5, the new release of z/VM as well as an overview of the current development focus and future areas of investment.

09:30 - 10:30

z/VM Platform Update & Future

An overview changes introduced with z/VM 7.5, the new release of z/VM as well as an overview of the current development focus and future areas of investment.

Frederik Hartmann

IBM

10:30 - 11:00

Coffee Break

Forum for VSE
Forum for Linux, Virtualization and Containers

11:00 - 11:45

21CS VSEn 6.4 installation, upgrade and system license key and IBM z17 Network Express Adapter support with 21CS VSEn

21CS Team

z/COBOL™ is a new COBOL compiler, specifically designed for the future of z/OS, VSE and VM, that embraces the power of the current IBM® mainframe. IBM has spent over 20 years innovating and enhancing the zSeries platform, and as the desire for more and more computing power arrives, so does the requirement to utilize the facilities that are within the zSeries IBM mainframe. z/COBOL is a cutting-edge COBOL compiler that is unmatched in performance. It is more than just paying for cutting-edge hardware; it is having the tools to maximize that investment. This presentation details how the z/COBOL language can combine the power of the mainframe environment with a wide range of tools that are required for the modern world. How Open AI can be integrated into database updates, credit card transactions can be facilitated and managed, SMS and RCS customer interactions can be delivered, the new SPYRE AI Complex can be fully utilized, JSON-RPC can be provided to completely participate in Block Chain and Crypto Currency interactions, WEB3 can be supported from DAPPs, and many other current and cutting edge tools. All of these important advancements within the data processing world, can now be added to z/OS, VSE and VM.

11:45 - 12:30

Modernizing the Mainframe with the Modern Muscle of z/Cobol

This presentation details how the z/COBOL language can combine the power of the mainframe environment with a wide range of tools that are required for the modern world. How Open AI can be integrated into database updates, credit card transactions can be facilitated and managed, SMS and RCS customer interactions can be delivered, the new SPYRE AI Complex can be fully utilized, JSON-RPC can be provided to completely participate in Block Chain and Crypto Currency interactions, WEB3 can be supported from DAPPs, and many other current and cutting edge tools. All of these important advancements within the data processing world, can now be added to z/OS, VSE and VM.

John Rankin

CSI International

12:30 - 13:00

21CS VSEn Connectors and VSEn application development with VSCode: Efficient and modern ways of working with VSEn … and AI

21CS Team

13:00 - 14:15

Lunch

14:15 - 15:00

Customer Experience: tbc

Michael Tores

SDK - Süddeutsche Krankenversicherung

15:00 - 15:45

Introduction and Demo of the upcoming 21CS VSEn ChatBot

21CS Team

15:45 - 16:15

Coffee Break

16:15 - 17:00

Hints & Tips to VSEn

21CS Team

This session serves for discussion and a casual exchange of experiences between the participants. The contributions are translated into German and English.

17:00 - 17:30

This session serves for discussion and a casual exchange of experiences between the participants. The contributions are translated into German and English.

17:00 - 17:30

Discussion, Requirements and Customer Experiences

This session serves for discussion and a casual exchange of experiences between the participants. The contributions are translated into German and English.

Michael Tores

SDK - Süddeutsche Krankenversicherung

Markus Klein

PHOENIX

Gonzalo Muelas Serrano

21CS

18:00 - 22:00

Get Together, Exchange of Experiences

This session is intended for new Linux users on the platform or in general, who want to learn about which way to go to elevate their workloads to the next level. We will highlight hardware features in IBM Z and LinuxONE, that have the potential to improve your workloads, often in terms of performance, but also regarding other non-functional improvements such as security. For each feature, we will discuss how it works, what workloads it benefits, provide hints at implementation, and how to verify that things are really working as they should. After this session, attendees will be able to tell which hardware features are most relevant to their workloads, how to deploy them, and how to verify that they are functioning correctly.

11:00 - 11:45

Put the Pedal to the Metal: Maximising Linux on IBM Z and LinuxONE Feature Usage

After this session, attendees will be able to tell which hardware features are most relevant to their workloads, how to deploy them, and how to verify that they are functioning correctly.

Stefan Raspl

IBM R & D

11:45 - 12:30

Pervasive Encryption (LUKS with CEX)

Reinhard Bündgen

IBM

This talk will give a down to earth overview about modernization techniques and approaches, and how to set achievable targets. Furthermore, it will provide guidance on how to decide what would be the right strategy to implement and how AI systems like Bob can help. Let's build together an efficient and sustainable long term solution for our core infrastructure!

12:30 - 13:00

Is this Art or can we bin it? - The If, What and How of application modernization

This talk will give a down to earth overview about modernization techniques and approaches, and how to set achievable targets. Furthermore, it will provide guidance on how to decide what would be the right strategy to implement and how AI systems like Bob can help. Let’s build together an efficient and sustainable long term solution for our core infrastructure!

Tobias Leicher

IBM

13:00 - 14:15

Lunch

KubeVirt and Containerized Data Importer (CDI) have been ported to ARM and s390x in addition to x86 cluster node architectures. Running these operators on a multi-arch Kubernetes cluster opens up a number of exciting use cases to import, manage, launch and template virtual machines. For example, while only x86 nodes have API access to a certain external commercial VM management platform, by importing a VM through the CDI operator deployed on an x86 node, the VM can be disassembled, templated and re-built as either a VM or a container to run on the s390x or ARM nodes, and tested all in the same K8s cluster. This makes KubeVirt and CDI particularly useful for modernizing complex workloads. Now that we have KubeVirt + CDI running and released on x86, ARM and s390x, there are a few multi-arch deployment options we can execute out-of-the-box, and some (e.g. converting VMware VMs to run on the mainframe) require some additional tools and development. Likewise, there are some options which require no code changes at all, but which provide tremendous benefit to the user. We explore the various options of multi-arch KubeVirt, and consider the options that require the least work/risk and provide are the most benefit -- demonstrations included! Thus Kubernetes and OCP can provide a flexible yet consistent systems management framework that crosses the boundaries between the Mainframe and other platforms.

14:15 - 15:00

Multi-Arch VM deployment options with OCP, Kubernetes, KubeVirt + CDI

KubeVirt and Containerized Data Importer (CDI) have been ported to ARM and s390x in addition to x86 cluster node architectures. Running these operators on a multi-arch Kubernetes cluster opens up a number of exciting use cases to import, manage, launch and template virtual machines. For example, while only x86 nodes have API access to a certain external commercial VM management platform, by importing a VM through the CDI operator deployed on an x86 node, the VM can be disassembled, templated and re-built as either a VM or a container to run on the s390x or ARM nodes, and tested all in the same K8s cluster. This makes KubeVirt and CDI particularly useful for modernizing complex workloads. Now that we have KubeVirt + CDI running and released on x86, ARM and s390x, there are a few multi-arch deployment options we can execute out-of-the-box, and some (e.g. converting VMware VMs to run on the mainframe) require some additional tools and development. Likewise, there are some options which require no code changes at all, but which provide tremendous benefit to the user. We explore the various options of multi-arch KubeVirt, and consider the options that require the least work/risk and provide are the most benefit — demonstrations included! Thus Kubernetes and OCP can provide a flexible yet consistent systems management framework that crosses the boundaries between the Mainframe and other platforms.

Cheryl Fillekes

IBM USA

Thomas-David Griedel

IBM USA

15:00 - 15:45

Customer Experience: Highly Available PostgreSQL Without a Third Node

Berthold Gunreben

DATEV eG

Wilhelm Mild

IBM R & D

15:45 - 16:15

Coffee Break

Terraform from HashiCorp is popular in system administration circles as a tool which facilitates "infrastructure-as-code", often as part of a development team's CI/CD environment. Ansible is a popular Open Source system management framework that can be used to manage a huge array of different types of equipment, from network switches to storage subsystems to operating systems. This session will cover aspects of using Ansible and Terraform to manage z/VM systems, the guests that run on them, and the partitions and machines on which they run. This session has been updated from last year and features integration of the Terraform workflow into a popular CI/CD system.

16:15 - 17:00

Practical z/VM Automation with Terraform and Friends

Terraform from HashiCorp is popular in system administration circles as a tool which facilitates „infrastructure-as-code“, often as part of a development team’s CI/CD environment. Ansible is a popular Open Source system management framework that can be used to manage a huge array of different types of equipment, from network switches to storage subsystems to operating systems. This session will cover aspects of using Ansible and Terraform to manage z/VM systems, the guests that run on them, and the partitions and machines on which they run. This session has been updated from last year and features integration of the Terraform workflow into a popular CI/CD system.

Vic Cross

IBM, Australia

This session serves for discussion and a casual exchange of experiences between the participants. The contributions are translated into German and English.

17:00 - 17:30

This session serves for discussion and a casual exchange of experiences between the participants. The contributions are translated into German and English.

17:00 - 17:30

Discussion, Requirements and Customer Experiences

This session serves for discussion and a casual exchange of experiences between the participants. The contributions are translated into German and English.

Berthold Gunreben

DATEV eG

Oliver Röthinger

SVA

Stefan Raspl

IBM R & D

Wilhelm Mild

IBM R & D

18:00 - 22:00

Get Together, Exchange of Experiences

Wednesday, 30.09.2026

In today's world, we talk a lot about sovereignty. But how can it be defined, and what impact does this growing urge for sovereignty have on IT technology? In this presentation, digital sovereignty will be explained and defined, and the corresponding IT solutions will be discussed in a structured and open-ended manner. The various drivers for (increased) sovereignty will be presented and categorised, and potential responses for IT organisations will be outlined. The technological steps required to achieve the desired or necessary level of sovereignty will be explained to the audience, showing how IBM and Red Hat solutions can support customers.

09:00 - 09:45

Do you want more digital sovereignty? - Structured approach for the next level(s)

In today’s world, we talk a lot about sovereignty. But how can it be defined, and what impact does this growing urge for sovereignty have on IT technology? In this presentation, digital sovereignty will be explained and defined, and the corresponding IT solutions will be discussed in a structured and open-ended manner. The various drivers for (increased) sovereignty will be presented and categorised, and potential responses for IT organisations will be outlined. The technological steps required to achieve the desired or necessary level of sovereignty will be explained to the audience, showing how IBM and Red Hat solutions can support customers.

Ben Haubeck

IBM

IBM Z and LinuxOne Skill Programs/Resources - Z Xplore, Mainframe Skills Depot, Mainframe Career Depot and GSAP (Global Skills Accelerator Program)
AI and GenAI on IBM Z - Watsonx Assistant & Watsonx Code Assistant + use cases

09:45 - 10:30

IBM Z and LinuxOne Skill Programs/Resources - Z Xplore, Mainframe Skills Depot, Mainframe Career Depot and GSAP (Global Skills Accelerator Program)
AI and GenAI on IBM Z - Watsonx Assistant & Watsonx Code Assistant + use cases

09:45 - 10:30

IBM Z Skill Programs and AI Assistants on Z

IBM Z and LinuxOne Skill Programs/Resources – Z Xplore, Mainframe Skills Depot, Mainframe Career Depot and GSAP (Global Skills Accelerator Program)
AI and GenAI on IBM Z – Watsonx Assistant & Watsonx Code Assistant + use cases

Andrey V. Mitrev

IBM Bulgaria

10:30 - 11:00

Coffee Break

Modern IT operations demand proactive issue detection, and observability has become crucial for understanding today’s complex, distributed application landscapes - including mainframe environments. This session introduces the fundamentals of observability and highlights its value, focusing on OpenTelemetry as the emerging industry standard for capturing metrics, logs, and traces. We'll explore how OpenTelemetry can be applied to Linux on IBM Z, demonstrating how infrastructure-level telemetry can be extended down to the hardware layer through instrumentation of the IBM Z Hardware Management Console (HMC). Attendees will learn how capacity metrics, LPAR activity, and hardware events can be integrated into enterprise observability pipelines, facilitating correlation between application behavior and the underlying system infrastructure. The session also examines zero-code instrumentation techniques for Linux on IBM Z, enabling existing workloads to emit standardized telemetry without application source code modifications. We’ll showcase how these capabilities can be implemented with minimal operational disruption. Increasingly, this includes the observability of AI and LLM-powered workloads, allowing us to monitor model performance, prompt behavior, and overall system impact. Finally, we'll provide an overview of current and planned activities within the OpenTelemetry community and the Open Mainframe Project, focused on advancing consistent, enterprise-wide observability across IBM Z and LinuxONE - from hardware to applications.

11:00 - 11:45

Instrumenting the Mainframe: An Introduction to Modern Observability and OpenTelemetry

Modern IT operations demand proactive issue detection, and observability has become crucial for understanding today’s complex, distributed application landscapes – including mainframe environments. This session introduces the fundamentals of observability and highlights its value, focusing on OpenTelemetry as the emerging industry standard for capturing metrics, logs, and traces.

We’ll explore how OpenTelemetry can be applied to Linux on IBM Z, demonstrating how infrastructure-level telemetry can be extended down to the hardware layer through instrumentation of the IBM Z Hardware Management Console (HMC). Attendees will learn how capacity metrics, LPAR activity, and hardware events can be integrated into enterprise observability pipelines, facilitating correlation between application behavior and the underlying system infrastructure.

The session also examines zero-code instrumentation techniques for Linux on IBM Z, enabling existing workloads to emit standardized telemetry without application source code modifications. We’ll showcase how these capabilities can be implemented with minimal operational disruption. Increasingly, this includes the observability of AI and LLM-powered workloads, allowing us to monitor model performance, prompt behavior, and overall system impact.

Finally, we’ll provide an overview of current and planned activities within the OpenTelemetry community and the Open Mainframe Project, focused on advancing consistent, enterprise-wide observability across IBM Z and LinuxONE – from hardware to applications.

Ruediger Schulze

IBM R & D

Agentic AI is a transformative technology that sets itself apart through its ability to take decisions and complete tasks, driving the next wave of knowledge worker productivity . In this session, we’ll discuss the value of Agentic AI and generative AI on IBM Z along with corresponding application areas. Join us to discover how agents can make the difference in your daily operations on the system and for your business.

11:45 - 12:30

Put Your AI to Work: The Power of Agents on the Mainframe

Agentic AI is a transformative technology that sets itself apart through its ability to take decisions and complete tasks, driving the next wave of knowledge worker productivity .

In this session, we’ll discuss the value of Agentic AI and generative AI on IBM Z along with corresponding application areas. Join us to discover how agents can make the difference in your daily operations on the system and for your business.

Khadija Souissi

IBM R & D

Andreas Krebbel

IBM R & D

my bio is in progress

12:30 - 13:45

Lunch

We will share an exclusive look behind the scenes of more than two decades of embracing and contributing to open source projects around Linux on Z. Far from providing step-by-step instructions, we will still talk about various areas such as our experience in contributing to and running Open Source projects, legal and IP aspects, support, aligning schedules, and more.

13:45 - 14:30

Open Source in the Enterprise

Stefan Raspl

IBM R & D

Gonzalo Muelas Serrano

21CS

In 2023, experts in historical cryptography George Lasry, Satoshi Tomokiyo, and Norbert Biermann caused quite a stir with their paper, Deciphering Mary Stuart’s lost letters from 1578-1584. Co-author Norbert Biermann recounts how the three of them discovered some fifty previously unknown letters from Mary Stuart, what these letters reveal about Mary’s life in English captivity, and what it took to decipher them. He also highlights cryptological aspects of Mary's secret correspondence that have more in common with modern cryptography than one might expect.

14:30 - 15:15

Deciphering Mary Queen of Scots

In 2023, experts in historical cryptography George Lasry, Satoshi Tomokiyo, and Norbert Biermann caused quite a stir with their paper, Deciphering Mary Stuart’s lost letters from 1578-1584. Co-author Norbert Biermann recounts how the three of them discovered some fifty previously unknown letters from Mary Stuart, what these letters reveal about Mary’s life in English captivity, and what it took to decipher them. He also highlights cryptological aspects of Mary’s secret correspondence that have more in common with modern cryptography than one might expect.

Prof. Norbert Biermann

Berlin University of Arts

15:15 - 15:30

Closing Session