Mainframe

Mainframe Know-How: Sustain a Resilient Workforce

April 18, 2024

Imagine coaching a baseball team in the playoffs. The season has been long and tiring, but the gratifying sense of payoff for all of the long hours of practice and hard work is just around the corner. The score is tied. You hear the crack of the bat and a line drive heads straight for your all-star shortstop. As he pivots for the catch, you notice an awkward movement and hear another crack – this time, of their ankle. At this moment, it settles in that your all-star shortstop is out for the rest of the game. And, soon after, the key question arises: Who’ll be able to step into this position to carry us through the game, and result in a win?

Now, imagine the same scenario – but swap out the baseball team for your mainframe team. You have top-notch team members. Each “player” is critical to the success of the business. For example, consider your lead systems programmer. While this person isn’t likely to twist an ankle while fielding a ground ball, you may get the news of their well-earned retirement ahead. Furthermore, building a roster of talent is increasingly important as organizations plan for workforce resiliency. As you consider this, you realize that you don’t have someone “on the bench” to replace this talent. And, you begin to wonder: How long is it going to take to get someone to fill this imperative position?

Before a sense of panic sets in, here’s the surprising answer: It won’t take long at all. In fact, to get you back in the game fast, Broadcom has launched the Mainframe Expert Program.

 

Mainframe Expert Program: Talent on Demand

You’ve heard this narrative before – or perhaps you’ve experienced it directly: Locating the right mainframe talent for your needs can often feel like a daunting proposition. Then, after making a hire, it's not unusual for an individual to take months to come up to speed on your IT environment.

We’ve heard this time and time again from organizations, which is why we introduced a unique Expert Program – eliminating both of these hurdles for you because we take on the responsibility of hiring best-in-class mainframe professionals and certifying them as mainframe and Broadcom product experts. Then, we partner with you to place one (or more) of these professionals in your company on an annual basis for as long as you need. And best of all, you stay the coach, they play, er work, at your direction!

The Expert Program gives you relief from the pressure of your internal talent gap because our Expert Residents start delivering value from Day 1. Armed with system and solution expertise, Experts provide the analysis, insights, and capabilities you need to be successful. They have product-specialized skills to administer, maintain, monitor, and troubleshoot mainframe technology environments, and are qualified to  serve as administrators for a wide variety of mainframe solutions.

Mainframe Experts are here to help you:

  • Run and optimize routine or new operations through efficient product and program implementation, technical projects and systems integration, and the planning and execution of upgrades, deployments, and disaster recovery testing.
  • Stabilize infrastructure by identifying and resolving technical issues and providing an informal knowledge transfer to in-house mainframe staff.
  • Neutralize issues via root cause analysis, coordination with Broadcom Support and Engineering specialists, and proactive and reactive advice on issues, upgrades, patches, and alerts.

 

A Game-Winning Combo for a Resilient Mainframe Workforce

Now that you have the recipe for fulfilling immediate mainframe skills needs, we can also help you create a sustainable mainframe workforce if you choose to take advantage of our Mainframe Vitality Program along with our Mainframe Expert Program.

Through our Mainframe Vitality Program, we train and mentor new or early career mainframe talent in alignment with your priorities and goals so that they become highly skilled contributors to your mainframe team in the long term. This training and mentoring is provided at low to no cost to you.

Electing to bring in both an Expert and a Vitality Resident creates a unique synergy. The Expert will fill your short-term mainframe needs while simultaneously mentoring the Vitality Resident to fill current and future needs permanently. During the time spent at your site, the Vitality Resident will be nurtured by the mainframe expert while learning about your mainframe environment and systems from your staff.

If you’ve found yourself wishing for a mainframer who could fill a gap on your team or fill a near-term skills shortage, your wish has been answered. Broadcom’s Mainframe Expert Program brings you mainframe know-how to keep you at the top of your game, generating workforce resiliency in your mainframe shop.

 

Learn More:
Broadcom Mainframe Education Offerings
Broadcom Mainframe Workforce Resiliency Programs