Unlock AI, Analytics, and Modernization by Making Your Mainframe Data Instantly Usable Anywhere It’s Needed
The world’s most valuable data often isn’t in your data lake — it’s still locked inside legacy systems, mainframes, and even tape archives. That’s a problem when today’s innovation depends on real-time, cross-platform access to enterprise data. And the challenge isn’t only getting data off the mainframe: cloud platforms, AI models, and distributed applications generate results that need to flow back to the systems of record.
PropelZ by VirtualZ Computing™ solves both sides of that problem.
PropelZ is a patented, no-code mainframe data integration platform built on a simple principle: any input, any output. It extracts and delivers mainframe data to over 100 platforms — and moves data from those platforms back to the mainframe — through a single utility, with no code and no replication risk. Whether the use case is analytics, compliance, reporting, or machine learning, PropelZ makes mainframe data usable where it matters most, in the direction it’s needed.
Your Mainframe Data. Instantly Available to the Entire Stack — In Both Directions.
With PropelZ, IBM Z data flows freely to and from the rest of the enterprise:
- AI & Machine Learning platforms like watsonx, Vertex AI, SageMaker, and Azure ML
- Data Warehouses & Lakes including Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, and Azure Synapse
- BI & Analytics Tools like Tableau, Power BI, Qlik, and Looker
- SIEM & Observability Platforms such as Splunk, Elastic, and Exabeam
- Cloud Storage for tape offload, backup, or modernization
- Cloud databases and applications writing transactional data and analytic outputs back to the mainframe
All of it with no code, no replication risk, and no complex transformations.
Skip the Complexity — Just Move the Data
Legacy ETL pipelines and replication frameworks are slow, expensive, and directional by design. PropelZ replaces all that with a lightweight, no-code alternative that works out of the box.
- Installs in minutes and requires no changes to existing apps
- Transfers data asynchronously in either direction, reducing risk and complexity
- Transforms data automatically into modern, SQL-ready formats on the way out, and into mainframe-native formats on the way in
- Supports 100+ platforms through JDBC or native API integration
- Secure by design and optimized for minimal MIPS impact (zIIP-enabled)
Whether your data is in VSAM (KSDS, ESDS, RRDS), QSAM, SMF, PS datasets, Db2, IMS, or even flat files and COBOL copybooks — PropelZ can read it and write it.
Certified JDBC Database Connectivity
PropelZ ships with Progress DataDirect-certified JDBC drivers that deliver enterprise-grade performance and reliability across the most widely deployed database platforms:
- From Oracle, IBM Db2, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and MySQL
- To Snowflake, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, Azure Synapse, Databricks, MongoDB, Cassandra, Salesforce
- And many more
Each certified driver is tested for full compatibility with PropelZ and configured for zero-touch deployment.
To learn more about VirtualZ’s partnership with Progress DataDirect JDBC drivers:
- Watch the joint webinar.
- Read the case study.
- Review the full list of DataDirect-certified database drivers.
PropelZ in Action: Mission-Critical Use Cases
Here’s how different teams across your organization can put PropelZ to work immediately:
- AI and Machine Learning
- Feed training datasets to AI models instantly
- Deliver streaming data for real-time inference
- Write AI-generated scores and predictions back to mainframe systems of record
- Data Warehouses & Data Lakes
- Continuously populate cloud data platforms from mainframe sources
- Synchronize updates from cloud platforms back to mainframe datasets
- Eliminate the need for traditional ETL pipelines
- Analytics and Reporting
- Power dashboards in Tableau, Power BI, and Qlik
- Merge mainframe data with enterprise-wide insights
- Enable real-time business intelligence across the hybrid cloud
- Security, Observability & Compliance
- Stream SMF logs and system records into SIEM platforms
- Monitor mainframe systems in near real time
- Support audit, governance, and risk mitigation efforts
- Tape Offload & Storage Modernization
- Move legacy datasets to S3 or other cloud storage
- Restore or rehydrate archived data back to the mainframe when needed
- Simplify archiving, backups, and access to historical data
Proof at Enterprise Scale
A global outsourcer recently shared a striking proof point from a large retail customer: 460,000 VSAM records loaded into a PostgreSQL database on Google Cloud in 25 seconds — with PropelZ. Read the case study for a full breakdown.
One Product. Every Direction. Unlimited Possibilities.
PropelZ is licensed at a flat rate of $235,000 per year — no surprise fees, no feature gates, no data volume restrictions, and no separate charges for bidirectional movement.
It’s the simplest, fastest, and most cost-effective way to connect the mainframe to everything else — and to keep everything else connected back to the mainframe.
What Sets PropelZ Apart?
- Any input, any output: true bidirectional movement across 100+ platforms
- Installs in minutes: data flowing on day one
- No-code deployment: no ETL, no scripting, no specialized teams
- DataDirect certified drivers: enterprise-grade JDBC connectivity with zero configuration
- Built-in transformation: automatically prepares data for either direction
- Flat-rate pricing: unlimited use, predictable cost
See the Difference
Jerry Edgington, Systems Engineer at Pellera, shared:
“PropelZ was installed and operational in our test environment in just a few hours. It was easy to work with, and our team was immediately able to access the data we needed.”
Ready to Propel Your Data Strategy?
Batch jobs, one-directional pipelines, and replication frameworks belong to another era. PropelZ gives teams instant, bidirectional access to their most valuable data — securely, at scale, and without disruption.
- Watch the PropelZ Architecture and Enterprise Integration Patterns webinar.
- Read the PropelZ VSAM to PostgreSQL customer case study.
- Schedule a PropelZ briefing.
- Watch a demo of PropelZ.
- Try PropelZ.
Learn More
- Visit our Customer Briefing Center.
- Review all VirtualZ Use Cases, Thought Leadership papers, and Solution Briefs.
- Explore our YouTube channel, podcasts, and blog.
- Still have questions? Contact us.
