Modernizing IBM Z for the Future
For application executives overseeing mission-critical workloads in hybrid-cloud environments, 2025 is a defining year. The pressure to modernize applications and deliver innovative digital solutions has never been greater. At the same time, the need to maintain security, reliability, and performance remains non-negotiable.
The question is no longer if you should modernize, but how — and how quickly. The clock is ticking. Organizations that fail to act risk falling behind competitors, losing market share, and struggling to meet evolving customer and regulatory demands.
Application modernization is inherently risky, slow, and costly. Much of this stems from the challenges of accessing and integrating data from legacy systems, which often requires complex ETL and change data capture processes, custom coding, and manual interventions. These hurdles not only increase costs but also introduce delays and risks that can derail modernization efforts.
VirtualZ is here to help application executives overcome these challenges, delivering the tools and solutions needed to achieve their 2025 goals — without disruption, risk, or costly overhauls.
Top 2025 Goals for Application Executives
1. Modernize Applications for Agility and Innovation
Challenge: Application modernization is often risky, slow, and costly, with much of the complexity tied to accessing and integrating data from legacy systems.
Solution: VirtualZ’s Lozen™ provides direct, secure access to mainframe data without replication, eliminating the need for complex ETL processes. This enables faster integration with modern tools and platforms.
Outcome: Reduced risk, lower costs, and faster time-to-market for modernized applications.
Industry Insight:
“Lozen enables partial and incremental re-platform projects, with some applications being re-platformed and others staying on the mainframe. Being able to transparently access mainframe VSAM data in real time really helps re-platform projects move forward — without having to build additional processes or controls around moving the workload, all while maintaining data integrity and currency. Rocket Software (formerly Micro Focus) provides a mainframe-equivalent CICS JCL IMS environment running COBOL and PL/I applications on distributed platforms. If VSAM data continues to reside on the mainframe, the tight integration VirtualZ has developed between Lozen and our File Handler means that batch applications can now access it remotely. Lozen provides a really good way of providing shared access to critical mainframe data between batch and online applications.”
— Neil Fowler, SVP, Software Engineering, Rocket Software (formerly Micro Focus)
2. Seamlessly Integrate Storage Data in Hybrid Cloud Environments
Challenge: Siloed systems and limited cloud integration hinder the ability to leverage the scalability and flexibility of hybrid IT environments.
Solution: VirtualZ’s Zaac™ allows IBM Z applications to use cloud storage as if it were native DASD, enabling seamless integration with platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
Outcome: A unified hybrid IT ecosystem where mainframe and cloud applications interoperate, share data, and deliver end-to-end business solutions.
Industry Insight:
“Perhaps most challenging to conventional thinking is the company’s Zaac solution, which allows mainframe applications to use cloud storage as if it were native DASD. This brings the kind of flexible storage options that distributed systems have enjoyed for years to the mainframe world, but without compromising on the platform’s renowned security and reliability characteristics.”
— Dale Vile, Co-founder, Freeform Dynamics
3. Enhance Security and Compliance in Hybrid Environments
Challenge: Ensuring secure, governed access to sensitive mainframe data while meeting regulatory requirements is increasingly complex in hybrid environments.
Solution: Lozen enforces encryption and role-based access controls (RBAC), ensuring secure data access without replication.
Outcome: Strengthened data security, simplified compliance with GDPR, NIST, SOC 2, and PCI DSS, and reduced risk exposure.
Customer Insight:
“Lozen was incredibly easy to install and configure. The step-by-step documentation made the process seamless, and with responsive support, everything worked as expected on the first try… Even with our complex AWS and mainframe environment, Lozen integrated smoothly, ensuring secure, real-time data access.”
— Gilberto Biondo, Sr. Specialized Solutions Architect, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
4. Optimize Costs and Maximize ROI
Challenge: The high costs of maintaining legacy systems and manual processes strain budgets and limit investment in innovation.
Solution: VirtualZ’s solutions automate log management, data access, and compliance monitoring, reducing operational overhead and enabling cost-effective modernization.
Outcome: Lower total cost of ownership (TCO), improved ROI, and more resources available for strategic initiatives.
5. Enable Real-Time Data Access and Analytics
Challenge: Legacy systems often lack the ability to process and analyze real-time data, limiting insights and decision-making.
Solution: PropelZ™ streams IBM Z logs and performance data in real time, integrating with modern analytics platforms and enabling AI/ML use cases.
Outcome: Enhanced business intelligence, faster decision-making, and the ability to deliver data-driven customer experiences.
6. Drive Digital Transformation and Competitive Advantage
Challenge: Organizations must innovate faster to meet customer expectations and stay ahead of competitors.
Solution: VirtualZ’s tools enable application executives to modernize IBM Z applications, integrate with hybrid cloud environments, and adopt cutting-edge technologies — all while preserving the platform’s core strengths.
Outcome: New business models, revenue streams, and a competitive edge in the digital economy.
Industry Insight:
“Lozen will be a total game-changer in the z/OS to cloud native migration space. The ability to transparently move enterprise applications to the cloud without having to move all the dependent data off the z/OS platform will revolutionize the process, the speed, and the risk mitigation involved in these complex efforts. We are excited to partner with VirtualZ as they bring this revolutionary technology to market. Lozen will be great for the Microsoft Azure business, and our mutual customers will see tremendous benefits and cost savings.”
— Barry Wordell, Worldwide Mainframe Migration Strategist, Microsoft Corporation
Why VirtualZ is the Application Modernization Partner You Need for 2025
VirtualZ’s solutions are designed to help application executives achieve their 2025 goals without disruption or complexity. Here’s how:
- Lozen ensures secure, governed access to mainframe data, eliminating the need for complex ETL processes and reducing risk.
- Zaac extends cloud storage and compute capabilities to IBM Z, enabling seamless hybrid cloud integration.
- PropelZ delivers real-time observability and integration with modern tools, enabling faster innovation and improved operational efficiency.
Don’t Wait — Transform Your Application Modernization Today
The future won’t wait, and neither should you. VirtualZ is here to help you meet your 2025 goals — faster, smarter, and more efficiently than ever before. Take the next step to see how VirtualZ can help you modernize your IBM Z applications.
- Watch demos of Lozen, PropelZ, and Zaac.
- Try Lozen, PropelZ, and Zaac.
- Read our white papers: Accelerating Application Modernization with VirtualZ and AI and Application Modernization.
- Visit our online resources: Solutions, Thought Leadership papers, Solution Briefs, YouTube channel, podcasts, and blog.
With VirtualZ, you can future-proof your hybrid-cloud investments and lead your organization into a new era of innovation and growth.