The Mainframe’s longevity is remarkable – though not surprising. While many technologies rise and fade, the Mainframe continues to thrive, unmatched in its performance, resilience, and business value. But its success isn’t just about technology; it’s about the united community that is the heart and soul of the platform.
Great achievements deserve recognition, not just to celebrate the accomplishment, but to mark the path forward and honor the people who made it all possible. That’s why I proudly added my name to a document celebrating the creation – and continuing innovation of the Mainframe!
Inspired by the Declaration of Independence, this modern adaptation – the Declaration of Mainframe – serves as both a tribute to a revolutionary platform and a rallying call for its vibrant community.
Just as its historical namesake, not only does the Declaration of Mainframe celebrate the arrival of a great invention, it’s also a call to the whole community to come together in well-earned pride for the platform that unites us. And, make no mistake, the Mainframe community – an inspired and inspiring collection of hardware and software engineers, system programmers, application developers, platform operators, and many more – have a lot to be proud of. As the Declaration itself states, “[t]heir craft and relentless pursuit of excellence transform inventive ideas into robust software solutions, lifting the Mainframe up as a thriving testament to human creativity and intellect.”
The document makes clear why the Mainframe stands tall: its “unrivaled virtues” have made it “the backbone of our rapidly changing digital society.” The platform embodies “security, reliability, and jaw-dropping processing power” in ways that make it “uniquely suited to preserve, protect, and defend your most business-critical data.” And, with the embrace of open tools and frameworks, the Mainframe is free “to integrate seamlessly with the cloud.”
When Broadcom debuted the Declaration of Mainframe at the SHARE 2025 Winter conference, over 125 attendees stepped up to lend their name to the document and to the ideals that it enshrines. In a testament to the community-based spirit of the document, these signers came from across the talent-rich Mainframe ecosystem, not only from among Broadcom’s proud Mainframe Software Division. They include enterprise customers, industry partners, independent media representatives, IT professionals, and even experts from fellow Mainframe ISVs – that’s right, competitors.
This isn’t about any one company. This is about a platform. One that has brought so much to society and that continues to deliver unparalleled value every day. It’s about the solutions that breathe life into the platform. And it’s about the people that make this tremendous IT platform shine, talented people who can be found throughout the ecosystem and across all stages of their careers.
There’s a final parallel between the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of Mainframe. Both celebrate advances that are not simply historic, they’re part of a living history, both at their core having far more to do with the future than the past.
As the industry prepares for the next-generation z17 and the next wave of advancements – spanning AI, cybersecurity, cloud integration, automation, and more – the Mainframe and its proud community will continue to make history.
I can’t wait to see what comes next.