Hybrid Cloud: IBM Z Meets Azure Integration
Key Points
- The partnership between IBM and Microsoft enables businesses to extend mainframe workloads to a hybrid cloud model using Azure, preserving mainframe security and reliability while gaining modern development tools.
- IBM Z and the Microsoft Cloud Modernization Stack are offered together through the Azure Marketplace, allowing seamless integration of legacy applications with cloud services.
- In a manufacturing use case, heavy dealer‑driven inventory queries are offloaded to an Azure‑hosted API, reducing mainframe load and providing real‑time updates without compromising performance.
- Developers design and build APIs within Azure using the Modernization Stack, then deploy them to Azure API Management, creating a scalable, low‑latency interface that complements the core IBM Z system.
Sections
- IBM Z & Microsoft Cloud Partnership - The speakers explain how IBM mainframes integrated with Microsoft Azure enable a hybrid cloud approach, using modern tools to relieve mainframe overload during short‑term supply‑chain spikes.
- Exposing OpenAPI via Azure API Management - The speaker explains how an OpenAPI‑3‑based API, deployed on Azure and managed through Azure API Management, is exposed to dealership clients and future low‑code solutions, illustrating the integration of Microsoft Cloud with IBM Z and the extended value across multiple use cases.
- Optimizing Mainframe Storage with Azure - The speaker explains how Azure Blob storage can be used to off‑load cold tape or disk data from IBM Z mainframes to the Microsoft Cloud for cost‑effective, regulated, and redundant storage, noting that data must be retrieved for analytics or transaction processing and highlighting three established integration patterns.
Full Transcript
# Hybrid Cloud: IBM Z Meets Azure Integration **Source:** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqgR_gqBZaA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqgR_gqBZaA) **Duration:** 00:07:44 ## Summary - The partnership between IBM and Microsoft enables businesses to extend mainframe workloads to a hybrid cloud model using Azure, preserving mainframe security and reliability while gaining modern development tools. - IBM Z and the Microsoft Cloud Modernization Stack are offered together through the Azure Marketplace, allowing seamless integration of legacy applications with cloud services. - In a manufacturing use case, heavy dealer‑driven inventory queries are offloaded to an Azure‑hosted API, reducing mainframe load and providing real‑time updates without compromising performance. - Developers design and build APIs within Azure using the Modernization Stack, then deploy them to Azure API Management, creating a scalable, low‑latency interface that complements the core IBM Z system. ## Sections - [00:00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqgR_gqBZaA&t=0s) **IBM Z & Microsoft Cloud Partnership** - The speakers explain how IBM mainframes integrated with Microsoft Azure enable a hybrid cloud approach, using modern tools to relieve mainframe overload during short‑term supply‑chain spikes. - [00:03:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqgR_gqBZaA&t=189s) **Exposing OpenAPI via Azure API Management** - The speaker explains how an OpenAPI‑3‑based API, deployed on Azure and managed through Azure API Management, is exposed to dealership clients and future low‑code solutions, illustrating the integration of Microsoft Cloud with IBM Z and the extended value across multiple use cases. - [00:06:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqgR_gqBZaA&t=373s) **Optimizing Mainframe Storage with Azure** - The speaker explains how Azure Blob storage can be used to off‑load cold tape or disk data from IBM Z mainframes to the Microsoft Cloud for cost‑effective, regulated, and redundant storage, noting that data must be retrieved for analytics or transaction processing and highlighting three established integration patterns. ## Full Transcript
Mainframes.
What about Microsoft Cloud?
Mainframes are critical to your business.
They're secure, reliable and scalable for all your most important
applications and data. To continue to build on this investment.
businesses are looking to extend core applications in a hybrid cloud model as part of Microsoft Cloud.
I agree, that's a smart strategy.
Right! By introducing your mainframe developers to Microsoft Cloud,
you're leveraging modern tools and removing silos in your development process.
Hi, I'm Brian Lang from IBM.
And I'm Shelby Howard from Microsoft.
Today, we're going to explain how we're partnering to bring the strengths
of both IBM Z and Microsoft Cloud to our clients. Ready?
You bet.
So we're already working together by delivering IBM Z
and the Cloud Modernization Stack through Azure Marketplace.
Let's walk through a realistic problem that our partnership can solve.
So imagine a scenario where a client is a manufacturing client.
They have dealerships referencing their parts systems, but their supply chain issues.
So those dealerships are actually hitting the IBM Z looking for parts as they come in
because there's a shortage and they're really hammering the mainframe to get that inventory.
Well, the IBM Z is really overworked in terms of consumption.
It's really delivering a bunch of non-update transactions.
Yeah. And so there's potentially a need for additional capacity.
But to solve a short term issue, because it's ideally not a long term issue with supply chain.
So how do we help this customer solve the problem?
So we're able to add agility by creating an API in Azure
and directing that traffic to Azure.
And this update happens as the inventory is replenished.
So we're timing the update through the API and leveraging Azure API management.
Okay, so now we have an API that's running in the Microsoft Cloud
and it's basically servicing all of the query traffic
that's coming from those dealers without impacting the IBM Z, The IBM Z really gets to sit back and relax.
Yeah, exactly.
So we're getting the value that the dealerships need, being able to
purchase that inventory as it comes up.
But we're not driving that consumption on the mainframe.
And the IBM Z is not really sitting back and relaxing,
it's driving a bunch of transactions.
And obviously one of those transactions is going to be when that inventory gets updated, it
now updates the API, feeding the dealership.
But it's a purposeful transaction.
Absolutely. So now that we've got our client developed
developing code in that Microsoft Cloud with the Mod Stack,
they've got an API, maybe they've expanded that to do multiple APIs.
Take us through how they start that process.
How do they get there?
So the design and develop is actually happening in Azure and leveraging the Mod Stack.
Okay. So I've got a developer interacting with the Mod Stack, running in the Microsoft Cloud.
I've designed I've developed it.
What's the next step?
The next step is going to be to deploy the API.
Okay, so now I've got that API running in the Microsoft Cloud, again,
servicing in between the IBM Z and whatever the end user may be, in this case, our dealership.
But really, how does
anybody even know that that API has been developed?
So the next step is to expose the API,
but you've deployed the API / runtime in Azure.
And also one thing to mention here is that the API is leveraging Open API 3 standards.
Okay.
So really the only reason why we've been able to integrate these things
between Microsoft Cloud and IBM Z is because we're all supporting open industry standards.
So now we're going to expose that API, correct?
Yes. And you're exposing it, leveraging Azure API management,
and that gives you consistency across your environment, managing all of your APIs.
Okay.
So who are we exposing it to?
Obviously, we're exposing it to the dealerships in this example so that they're updating their code,
make sure that they're accessing the API as opposed to IBM Z directly.
Who else might want access to that API?
That's a good point. So we've solved the problem here by exposing the API for this scenario.
But that API can also be leveraged for new capability.
And let's say the client wants to
create a Power App using low-code/no code.
They could also leverage that API in the future.
Okay. So now we're extending that ability.
We're taking the taking the investment that a client's had in Mod Stack and in Microsoft
Cloud--extending the value of IBM Z, not only for this for this problem and solving this problem,
but now solving multiple problems and expanding that value
into other other realms, really.
What other use cases do we have that
we can talk about with our clients?
Yeah, so we're talking about APIs.
One of the other things to mention about Azure API management is that you also have the ability
to deploy security policies using that and control traffic.
So having that consistency is key for development across the enterprise.
The next thing is actually DevOps.
So expanding on development, we can bring the mainframe development
into Azure, leveraging the Mod Stack
and create new capability there too.
So Mod Stack supports both modern languages.
We're talking Java Go, Node.js, but also COBOL, right?
So you can update your zOS applications using Mod Stack with your developers running in Microsoft Cloud.
Yes. And going back to the example where we have an API
that's exposed to maybe a new application in Azure,
you also are removing barriers across
scrum teams by having cloud native development
being done in other areas as well as through the mainframe team.
And again, because it's open industry standards tied in with Azure DevOps,
open industry standards, that code can be written there, the code can be developed there,
and then the application can be deployed back to IBM Z, running on the mainframe.
Yeah. And one of the other important things is that you have testing that happens:
end-to-end testing in Azure leveraging a Z sandbox.
So unit testing on there you're obviously going to bring that back
and do your integration and production level testing back on IBM Z.
Fantastic. Any other use cases that we have?
Yes. One other use case that we have is optimizing storage.
So when we look at this, we're talking about optimizing tape storage or disk storage
by leveraging Azure blob storage and directing that storage into Azure.
So in that case, you're really taking an alternative approach to putting
some cold storage into the Microsoft Cloud.
Obviously, if you need to do any kind of analytics or any kind of data update to that, you actually have to
bring that that data back to the back to the mainframe to actually do transaction processing against it.
Yes, these cases disk optimization, but you also have the ability to have an additional
or redundant storage copy if maybe it's a regulatory requirement.
Great.
So these are the three patterns that we've already delivered.
They're already available in the Microsoft Cloud.
Looking forward to expanding that partnership as we solve more problems for our customers.
I'll give you the last word.
Thank you.
So we have a lot of our clients
investing in both the IBM Z and Microsoft Cloud.
And we walk through an example scenario today where we were solving a problem for a client.
We can also help you solve a real world
example for your environment. And not only just solving a problem--
one of the things that I would encourage is that you look for additional capability
outside of just solving a problem.
Now, knowing that the two platforms can interact a lot more closely.
There may be a different way to look at your environment and adding additional value to your business.
Thanks for watching.
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