Mainframe Trends 2026

In the world of mainframes right now, the conversation has shifted from "How do we get off the mainframe?" to "How do we make the mainframe the heart of our AI and Hybrid Cloud strategy?"

As of early 2026, the hottest mainframe-related trends are focused on some form of AI adoption and integration on Z. Here are the mainframe trends that I see as of early February 2026.

Agentic AI & In-Transaction Inference

Mainframers are no longer just talking about basic machine learning. The focus is now on Agentic AI as organizations look to build autonomous AI agents that live on the mainframe to handle complex tasks like real-time fraud detection and "self-healing" operations.

The goal is to run AI models directly on the processor (IBM Telum-driven systems) so that every single transaction can be screened by AI and processed efficiently (less than 1 millisecond). Doing this can eliminate the "latency tax" of sending data to the cloud for analysis, which is a game-changer for banks and insurance companies.

Mainframe Modernization (The "Hybrid" Shift)

The "Rip and Replace" philosophy is effectively dead. Instead, the industry is obsessed with Hybrid Cloud Integration. DevOps is hot and developers are using tools like VS Code, Git, and Ansible to manage mainframes. Younger developers don't want to see a "green screen"; they want the mainframe to look and feel like any other cloud server.

In some cases, organizations are using AI-assisted refactoring, basically using generative AI to translate COBOL or Assembler programs into Java or Python. If not completely refactoring from one language to another more developers are relying on AI to document spaghetti code that hasn't been touched in 30 years.

Cyber Resilience & Quantum-Safe Security

With the rise of "harvest now, decrypt later" threats, mainframes are being positioned as the ultimate data fortress. Quantum-Safe Cryptography on the mainframe enables organizations to implement algorithms that can't be cracked by future quantum computers.

In Europe (but also impacting global firms), the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is a massive driver. Companies are using the mainframe’s inherent stability to prove they can withstand and recover from systemic cyberattacks.

The "Silver Tsunami" vs. The New Guard

The skills gap is a perennial topic, but in 2026, the focus has turned to Mainframe-as-a-Service (MFaaS) and automation to reduce the need for deep internals and systems knowledge.

Furthermore, more organizations are embracing automated operations using AI (AIOps) to manage system health. The promise of automation and AI is so that a smaller team can do the work that used to require dozens of senior systems programmers.

Summary

Of course, these are not the only mainframe trends hapening out there today, but they are the ones at the top of the list IMHO. What do you see? Are there any significant trends or issues that you are currently tackling? Share them here in a comment to get the conversation flowing.