IBM has announced the next-generation operating system (OS) for IBM Z, designed to accelerate client adoption of hybrid cloud and AI and drive application modernization projects. According to the company, IBM z/OS V2.5 helps deliver new capabilities across AI enablement, application modernization, resiliency, enhanced security and an improved developer experience.

The next-gen operating system features a broad spectrum of enhancements across authentication, authorization, logging, system integrity, system and data availability, encryption for data in flight and at rest, and overall data privacy including expanding pervasive encryption to new types of data sets as well as anomaly mitigation capabilities that leverage Predictive Failure Analysis (PFA), Runtime Diagnostics, Workload Manager (WLM), and JES2 to help further detect anomalous behavior in near real-time, letting clients proactively address potential problems.

IBM z/OS V2.5 introduces new capabilities that support application modernization and provide a cloud native experience on z/OS. New Java/COBOL Interoperability extends existing application programming models with support for parallel 31-bit and 64-bit addressing, simplifying enterprise application modernization.

It also includes enhanced performance and ease of use for z/OS Container Extensions (zCX) to integrate Linux applications and utilities into z/OS; and additional capabilities to integrate cloud storage through transparent cloud tiering (TCT) and the Object Access Method (OAM) cloud tier support to help reduce capital and operating expenses with data transfer to hybrid cloud storage environments for simplified data archiving and data protection on IBM Z.

IBM z/OS V2.5 is likely to be generally available on September 30, 2021.