Platform simplification for IBM z14

In this paper, we describe our continued focus on simplifying the IBM Z environment and the key changes made across the mainframe stack, including platform management, hypervisors, and operating systems. For the IBM z14 program, the first goal was to enable system administrators, with no mainframe experience, to provision resources and deploy Linux workloads on the mainframe in minutes using their current skills. Further goals include providing a mobile experience for users to securely monitor and manage their systems from “anywhere,” addressing critical user pain points in the configuration of server time protocol using a topological visualization, securing the hardware management console (HMC) with two-factor authentication, and modernizing the main user workspace. Finally, the concept of attaching storage resources to an IBM Z environment has been changed to provide a consistent end-to-end experience for both the novice system administrator and the storage administrator. Additionally, the two IBM Design hallmark projects, IBM Dynamic Partition Manager and IBM zHMC.Next, are also critical to achieve these goals. Finally, applying IBM Design Thinking and Agile practices, and establishing radical collaboration with our customers, is essential to deliver these meaningful outcomes.