BMC is enhancing mainframe management by introducing generative artificial intelligence (AI) assistants. One of their latest tools, available in beta, helps explain code functionality.

John McKenny, the senior vice president and general manager for Intelligent Z Optimization and Transformation at BMC, announced the launch of BMC Automated Mainframe Intelligence (AMI) DevX Code Insights. This tool, accessible via a chat interface, assists in debugging code written in various languages, understanding system processes, and making more informed decisions.

BMC is training large language models (LLMs) for this purpose. The AMI DevX Code Insights is just one of several AI agents BMC plans to offer through a unified console. These LLMs might be developed by BMC or based on third-party platforms, and organizations can even use their custom-built LLMs.

BMC is also inviting organizations to join a Design Program, granting access to new generative AI features as they develop. These AI agents will act like subject matter experts (SMEs) for specific tasks, offering more than just prompt-based question-answering. They will provide insights and guidance to streamline workflows.

Generative AI is a key part of BMC’s long-term strategy to simplify mainframe management over the next three decades. For example, developers will soon be able to use a service catalog to meet their requirements independently, reducing their reliance on IT operations teams.

The ultimate aim is to make mainframes as easy to manage as any distributed computing platform, requiring fewer specialized skills. While BMC is not alone in this endeavor, the rise of generative AI will significantly speed up the process.

This advancement is particularly important as more AI models are deployed on mainframe platforms, which already house vast amounts of data. It's generally more efficient to bring AI to existing data rather than moving data to new platforms.

IT teams may also need to reconsider which workloads run on which platforms. Although not all organizations use mainframes, those that do can lower overall IT costs by consolidating more workloads on their mainframes, thanks to specialized mainframe licenses.

In summary, as AI simplifies workload management regardless of location, IT teams will likely become more uniform over time.