–Rocket Software, a global technology leader that develops enterprise software for some of the world’s largest companies, today announced enhancements to its Open Source Solutions for z/OS, Rocket® Open AppDev for Z and Rocket® Support for Zowe™—an open-source framework for z/OS from Open Mainframe Project™—to further modernize mainframe DevOps, application development, and UNIX Systems Services (USS) administration while ensuring security and compliance.2

Organizations face a growing mainframe skills gap due to the attrition of IBM® zSystems experts and a low percentage of next-gen technology professionals who are inclined to learn esoteric mainframe languages and tools. To help, Rocket Software is arming today’s developers with familiar open-source solutions for z/OS that close the gap between modern application development and the mainframe. These modern capabilities make it easy for developers and admins alike to manage the mainframe similarly to how they work with other platforms.
Despite the benefits open source offers organizations, it is not immune to vulnerabilities, and organizations must adopt a security-first mindset and partner with industry-leading vendors to ensure that they can identify and fix vulnerabilities in time to mitigate security and compliance risks. Just a few months ago, Git announced two critical-level security vulnerabilities that left source code repositories susceptible to malicious code—underscoring the importance of having rapid-response vendor support.

“Open source is accelerating mainframe modernization and evolving mainframe DevOps, but it can also pose risks without vendor support as proved by Git’s recent security vulnerabilities,” said Phil Buckellew, President, Infrastructure Modernization at Rocket Software. “Rocket Software delivered patches to customers affected within three days, keeping our clients’ open-source environments secure and in compliance so they can continue focusing on their business rather than investing time and resources in patching tools.”
Rocket® Open AppDev for Z is an open-source DevOps solution providing services and support for over 20 open-source languages and tools—including Git®, Python®, cURL and Bash—that enable the mainframe to be another valuable platform in a DevOps infrastructure.3 This enables organizations to bring the accessibility of open source to the mainframe while ensuring the security and compliance of their applications and data. Rocket Software’s most recent major updates to Open AppDev for Z, among several others, include:

  • PHP V8.1.1 version currency and new features
  • Vim V9.0 version currency and new features introduced for the first time to z/OS
  • OpenSSL V3.1.0 version currency and important security improvements with FIPS 140 compliance
  • Make V4.4.1 version currency
Rocket Support for Zowe gives users access to modern capabilities from the Open Mainframe Project’s Zowe open-source framework. Support for Zowe makes it easier to develop z/OS applications, while providing 24/7 support, security, and compliance assurance. Rocket Software’s latest advancements to this solution include the creation of three exclusive enterprise applications for the Zowe virtual desktop that are available through the Rocket Utility Pack for Zowe:
  • Rocket USS Process Manager (initially released in 2022) gives admins a familiar way to monitor processes running on UNIX®Systems Services, Zowe’s host operating system, similar to how they can monitor processes on other platforms.4
  • Zowe File Manager makes it easy for admins to manage z/OS files similar to how they manage files on other platforms, whether they’re MVS datasets or USS files.
  • Rocket® Terminal Emulator Web Edition now available in Rocket Support for Zowe simplifies access to host-based applications and data anytime, anywhere, and on any device.
Rocket Software is a proud founding contributor of Zowe, an open-source software framework for z/OS that has provided interoperability and scalability among products through the Open Mainframe Project since 2018. Rocket Software is also a Platinum member of the Open Mainframe Project.
“Zowe continues to innovate as a direct result of the contributions and passion of the global open source community,” said John Mertic, Executive Director of Open Mainframe Project. “When you add this commitment with leadership from members like Rocket Software, we believe the extensible nature of Zowe will offer an infinite number of pluggable products, processes, and services that are stable and secure.”
Click here to learn more about Rocket® Open AppDev for Z. Click here to learn more about Rocket® Support for Zowe™