01Cloud Platform
AWS Mainframe Modernization
AWS service for moving mainframe workloads to the cloud with minimal business disruption, using either a refactoring or a replatforming pattern with managed runtime environments.
Visit siteCloud Provider Mainframe Platforms
4 toolsHyperscaler services that assess, refactor, replatform and rehost mainframe workloads on public cloud.
02Cloud Platform
AWS Transform for Mainframe
Agentic AI service that reimagines mainframe applications as cloud-native systems, keeping business logic traceable back to the source code.
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Microsoft Azure Mainframe & Midrange Modernization
Azure solutions for migrating and modernizing mainframe and midrange workloads, with guidance on secure cloud migration.
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Google Cloud Mainframe Modernization
Automated code-refactoring tools and migration paths for moving mainframe applications to Google Cloud, aimed at lowering cost and risk.
Visit siteMainframe Platform & Tooling Vendors
8 toolsThe vendors that build the mainframe stack itself, along with AI-assisted and API-based paths for evolving it in place.
05Vendor
IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z
Generative AI and automation for the mainframe application lifecycle, helping teams understand, refactor and transform COBOL and other mainframe code.
Visit site06Vendor
IBM Z
IBM’s mainframe servers and software, the platform that most modernization programs either stay on, integrate with or move away from.
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IBM z/OS Connect
Software for designing and running OpenAPI-conformant APIs that expose z/OS applications and data to modern clients — the encapsulation path.
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Rocket Software Enterprise Suite
COBOL analysis, development and runtime tooling for replatforming mainframe applications. Rocket took over OpenText’s Application Modernization and Connectivity business, the former Micro Focus line.
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BMC AMI DevX
AI-augmented platform that unifies mainframe coding, testing and delivery, with generative AI that explains, refactors and converts mainframe code.
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Broadcom Mainframe DevOps
Mainframe DevOps and application-development tools that let teams use popular off-platform DevOps tools without disrupting existing workflows.
Visit site11Vendor
Precisely Connect
Integrates data from legacy and mainframe systems into cloud and next-generation data platforms.
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Software AG Adabas & Natural
Mainframe database and 4GL platform with modernization paths for Adabas and Natural applications, including integration, rehosting and migration.
Visit siteMigration & Refactoring Specialists
7 toolsIndependent vendors focused on converting, rehosting or re-creating mainframe applications on open platforms.
13Specialist
Heirloom Computing
Refactors IBM mainframe applications to Java for cloud-native deployment on any major cloud or on premises.
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Astadia
Mainframe-to-cloud migration and modernization services built around an automated migration factory for code conversion, data migration and testing.
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LzLabs
Software Defined Mainframe that runs existing mainframe applications on Linux and in the cloud without recompilation or data reformatting.
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Mechanical Orchard
AI-native modernization company whose Imogen platform re-creates legacy behavior from real data flows instead of translating the code.
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EvolveWare Intellisys
AI-enhanced platform for application assessment, business-rules extraction, documentation and migration of COBOL and other legacy code.
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Raincode
Compilers and migration tooling that recompile COBOL and PL/I to .NET and the JVM, keeping business logic while moving off the mainframe.
Visit site19Specialist
DXC Mainframe Modernization
Services for assessing, migrating and modernizing mainframe applications and operations.
Visit siteOpen-Source Mainframe Tooling
4 toolsFree tools for connecting to, testing and building on mainframe systems from modern developer environments.
20Open Source
Zowe
Open-source framework for using z/OS data and applications from modern applications and tools, under the Open Mainframe Project.
Visit site21Open Source
COBOL Check
Unit-testing framework for COBOL applications, useful for pinning down behavior before and after a migration.
Visit site22Open Source
Galasa
Open-source integration test framework for building and running automated tests against complex enterprise applications, including mainframe ones.
Visit site23Open Source
GnuCOBOL
Free, open-source COBOL compiler for running and compiling COBOL programs on modern platforms.
Visit siteCommunities, Training & News
4 toolsWhere mainframe practitioners learn, compare notes and keep up with the market.
24Community
Open Mainframe Project
Linux Foundation community that hosts open-source mainframe projects, working groups and training.
Visit site25Community
COBOL Programming Course
Free “getting started” COBOL course with training materials and labs from the Open Mainframe Project.
Visit site26Community
SHARE
Independent user association offering training, technical content and networking for IBM Z mainframe professionals.
Visit site27Community
Planet Mainframe
Community blog covering mainframe technology, modernization news and discussion.
Visit siteFrequently Asked Questions
What is mainframe modernization?
Mainframe modernization is the process of updating or moving mainframe applications, data and operations to modern platforms. Approaches include rehosting, replatforming, refactoring or rewriting COBOL and other legacy code, and integrating mainframe data and services with cloud systems.
What is the difference between rehost, replatform and refactor?
Rehosting moves applications to a new runtime with little change, replatforming adapts them to a new platform such as Linux or a managed cloud runtime, and refactoring converts the code, often COBOL to Java or C#, to become cloud-native.
Which cloud services help with mainframe migration?
AWS Mainframe Modernization and AWS Transform, Microsoft Azure's mainframe and midrange migration offerings, and Google Cloud's mainframe modernization solutions support assessment, refactoring and replatforming.
Can AI help modernize COBOL?
Yes. AI tools such as IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z and AWS Transform analyze COBOL, extract business rules, generate documentation and translate code. See the AI-Augmented Code Modernization Tools page for more.
Are there open-source tools for mainframe development?
Yes. Zowe, COBOL Check, Galasa and GnuCOBOL are open-source projects for mainframe interfaces, testing and COBOL compilation, and the Open Mainframe Project hosts many of them.