GitLab and IBM have introduced a joint offering aimed at modernising mainframe development by bridging the gap between legacy systems and cloud-native workflows. The new solution, GitLab Ultimate for IBM Z, provides native support for CI/CD pipelines running on IBM z/OS, offering developers a consistent and integrated DevSecOps experience across platforms.
Addressing the limitations of legacy development
Many enterprise organisations rely on IBM Z systems for mission-critical applications, yet their development teams often work with outdated tools and manual processes. While cloud-native teams benefit from streamlined CI/CD pipelines, version control, and automated testing, mainframe developers are frequently left with fragmented toolchains that slow down development cycles and introduce security risks.
Common workarounds, such as SSH connections and manual file transfers, raise concerns over security and auditability. In addition, organisations often incur high costs from maintaining legacy development tools with limited capabilities. These inefficiencies make it difficult to attract and retain developers who expect modern workflows.
Katie Norton, Research Manager for DevSecOps and Software Supply Chain Security at IDC, commented, “GitLab Ultimate for IBM Z represents an important step in addressing a long-standing industry challenge. IDC research shows that mainframe developers often work with legacy tooling that contributes to delivery inefficiencies and makes it harder to attract new talent. With this offering, modern DevSecOps capabilities and unified workflows are brought directly to the mainframe. This empowers developers to work more collaboratively and efficiently, while helping organisations accelerate innovation and integrate mainframe development into broader digital transformation strategies.”
Enabling seamless collaboration and incremental change
GitLab Ultimate for IBM Z supports a unified development environment that spans mainframe, cloud-native, mobile, and web platforms. By using consistent workflows across different systems, developers can collaborate more easily and share knowledge between teams. This allows organisations to modernise their mainframe environments at a manageable pace, without disrupting ongoing operations.
As enterprises continue to pursue hybrid cloud strategies, the new offering supports applications that run across both mainframe and cloud-native infrastructure. This integration helps organisations streamline operations, lower costs, and adopt DevSecOps practices more effectively across all parts of the business.
Key features and capabilities
GitLab Ultimate for IBM Z includes native z/OS Runner support, allowing CI/CD pipelines to run directly on mainframe infrastructure. This reduces the need for insecure remote connections and improves scalability and performance. The solution also replaces legacy library managers with GitLab’s version-controlled repository, helping reduce licensing costs and maintenance complexity.
Integration with IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition (IDzEE) brings additional benefits, including faster release cycles through dependency-based builds, automated code scanning, and integrated debugging tools. These features improve code quality and enhance security while giving developers access to familiar interfaces.
The platform also provides full visibility across mainframe and distributed systems, enabling automated workflows from planning through to deployment. This helps attract and retain talent by offering modern tools and efficient processes that align with current development standards.
GitLab and IBM’s collaboration brings together deep expertise in DevSecOps and mainframe computing to deliver a certified solution that supports digital transformation without compromising the reliability of enterprise systems.
