Driving Innovation, Security, and Compliance with Enhancements to Rocket® Open AppDev for Z and Rocket® Support for Zowe™
April 25, 2023
The looming mainframe skills gap is set to have a major impact on nearly every organization, with dwindling numbers of IBM® zSystems experts and a growing disinterest in learning esoteric mainframe languages among next-gen technology professionals. To tackle that problem, more businesses are turning to familiar open-source solutions for z/OS to help bridge the gap between modern application development and the mainframe. With open-source solutions in place, developers and admins are able to easily manage the mainframe in the same way they would work with other platforms.
But even with the benefits that open source offers organizations, it is not immune to vulnerabilities. In fact, as recently as 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.
Any organization that leverages these solutions needs to 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. With the surging need for security and support, Rocket Software is rolling out critical enhancements to its Rocket® Open AppDev for Z and Rocket Support for Zowe.
Rocket Open AppDev for Z is an open-source DevOps solution providing services and support for over 20 open-source languages and tools, enabling organizations to bring the accessibility of open source to the mainframe while also ensuring the security and compliance of their applications and data. The latest enhancements to the solution 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 and makes it easier to develop z/OS applications and provides 24/7 support, security, and compliance assurance. The latest set of enhancements 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.
- 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.
A modernization journey can only move forward if an organization has the right people, and tools, in place to make it happen. And with open-source solutions continuing to emerge as the answer to the growing skills gap, having solutions in place to ensure security and catch vulnerabilities before they become problems will be essential. With the latest updates, Rocket Software’s solutions are ready to support and secure the needs of every organization.
Click here to learn more about Rocket® Open AppDev for Z. Click here to learn more about Rocket® Support for Zowe™.
