 |  | z/VSE is built on a heritage of ongoing refinement and innovation that spans four decades. It is designed to protect and leverage customer investments in VSE information assets. |
| | z/VSE Strategy
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 VSE is used by customers in a range of sizes, in most major industries, in every major geography. The z/VSE strategy is based on an ongoing commitment to help protect core VSE customer investments, enable integration, and extend growth opportunities.
The basic z/VSE strategy is as simple as PIE:
| | Help protect core VSE customer investments
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Many VSE customers have an enormous cumulative investment in their core VSE applications.
Core applications are defined as those that are designed to meet their business objectives now, and for the foreseeable future. Written ‘in-house’, or purchased from a vendor, they are often robust, highly evolved, and carefully tailored to meet the unique needs of a specific company. With normal maintenance and enhancements, many core applications will continue to provide value well into the future. Clearly, not every application is a core application. Nevertheless, for many customers, significant portions of their VSE application portfolio meet the definition.
The customer investment in core VSE applications includes designing, creating, and testing code. It includes collecting associated data and installing any required equipment. The investment also includes specialized IT skills and related experience. Customer investments also extend to basic business processes and end-user training.
Replacing a core application may expose customers to costs and risks. Therefore, all else being equal, many customers prefer to retain their core applications. Unless an application must be replaced for legitimate business reasons, it is often better for them to spend scarce resources addressing new problems, not reinventing solutions to problems that have already been solved.
z/VSE helps protect existing customer investments in three ways.
- The design and quality of enhancements should minimize the potential for disruption. We try to design VSE improvements in ways that minimize changes to existing applications. The team works closely with ISVs to help ensure changes required for vendor products are minimized as well.
- Whenever requirements are identified, we attempt to solve them in a way that is as close to the z/OS implementation as is reasonable. z/OS affinity helps make quality capabilities available to VSE users. It helps ensure ISVs have the widest possible IBM System z opportunity. z/OS affinity helps ease the transition for VSE customers who chose to migrate to z/OS.
- Hardware support helps enable VSE customers to grow and exploit innovative IBM technology. IBM System z features include FICON Express2, Fiber Channel Protocol (FCP-SCSI), OSA Express2, Crypto Express2, CPACF, and HiperSockets. IBM System Storage products include DS8000, DS6000, FastCopy, and 3494 Virtual Tape Server.
| | Enable Integration
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The requirement to integrate VSE systems into the larger IT network is a key part of the z/VSE strategy.
Most customers have a variety of platforms installed. VSE is frequently just one component of a mixed IT system. Although VSE systems provide robust, critical core applications, some applications legitimately run on other platforms.
Mixed IT may occur for a variety of reasons, including:
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Customers sometimes prefer purchased applications to those written in-house. Packaged applications are sometimes designed with a particular platform in mind. If an application is chosen, the platform may be automatically determined.
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Because of mergers and acquisitions, enterprises may use a variety of IT systems that originated independently. Integrating these diverse IT systems may be key to unifying the combined enterprise.
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Application solutions may require the exchange of information between the customer’s own IT systems and the systems of business partners, including key customers and suppliers.
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Frankly, no single platform is best for every application. Another platform may simply be the better choice for some applications.
These are powerful industry trends and are not unique to VSE. In general, the future is likely to include more hybrid, multi-platform solutions. By enabling hybrid solutions to be able to leverage VSE business data and business logic, VSE customers may be able to achieve substantial advantages. These benefits may include low cost, low risk, and fast time-to-market for new On Demand solutions. That makes interoperability a key customer requirement.
Each customer environment is unique so flexibility is essential. z/VSE interoperability is designed to support almost any combination that a customer considers appropriate. Some customers may want to create integrated, hybrid solutions using VSE on IBM System z and Windows or Linux on IBM System x servers. Some may want to link VSE on IBM System z and AIX on IBM System p servers. Other customers may want to deploy hybrid solutions combining the best of VSE and Linux on IBM System z. The use of open and industry standards such as TCP/IP and J2EE helps enable interoperability between VSE and the customer’s platform of choice.
z/VSE interoperability is supported by two complementary capabilities. One includes priced IBM Middleware such as CICS Transaction Gateway, DB2 Connect, and WebSphere MQ. The second includes connectors and web services provided at no additional charge by z/VSE itself. Details of z/VSE interoperability is covered elsewhere in this supplement.
| | Extend Growth Opportunities
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Many core VSE workloads continue to grow because of additional users, increased volumes, new features and functions, and consolidations. Some surprisingly large customers depend on VSE. z/VSE enables the growth of cost-effective core applications by supporting selected IBM System z features and IBM System Storage products and features.
However, core applications alone may not be enough. Other platforms sometimes offer new application options not available with VSE alone. For example, Linux offers WebSphere, Java, DB2 Universal Database, a rich set of development tools, and a growing selection of packaged applications. It is available on every current IBM server.
Linux on IBM System z offers all the capabilities mentioned, together with an opportunity to simplify the network infrastructure and consolidate workloads from multiple servers. IBM System z IFLs can provide a robust, scalable, cost-effective server environment. z/VM adds exceptional flexibility and manageability. HiperSockets can provide fast communications between VSE and Linux images on IBM System z. In addition, the 64-bit capability of Linux on IBM System z naturally complements the 31-bit capability of z/VSE.
The z/VSE strategy seeks to enable the effective use of VSE together with other platforms, such as Linux on IBM System z, to help customers create modern, On Demand solutions. Customers who leverage the best of VSE and the best of other platforms will be in an excellent position for the future.
| | Execution
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Customer feedback and anecdotal evidence indicates the z/VSE strategy addresses the needs of today’s VSE customers. However, strategy alone cannot be effective without exceptional execution. Development objectives include a high level of product quality and customer service. Another objective is a balanced offering incorporating refinements and enhancements that
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support selected new IBM products and features,
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consider industry trends and standards,
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address total cost of ownership issues, and
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include improvements that have been requested by VSE customers individually or through recognized user groups such as WAVV and GSE.
| | Conclusion
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The z/VSE strategy is a refinement of the hybrid strategy first introduced in 2000 with VSE/ESA Version 2 Release 5. Nothing mentioned here should be a surprise to those who have followed VSE over the last few years.
Just remember, the basic z/VSE strategy is simple as
PIE
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P
rotect,
I
ntegrate, and
E
xtend.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the current z/VSE strategy. However, IBM reserves the right to change strategies and plans without notice.
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