IDUG NA 2026: Full Schedule

10:20am EDT

A1 | Spotlight: Db2 for z/OS Trends and Directions

Monday October 26, 2026 10:20am - 10:35am EDT

Come to listen to the architects of Db2 for z/OS explain overall strategy, review recent new features delivered in Db2 and also take a look at the future - where Db2 is going and why. We will talk about planning for the next version and you will learn what you need to know and actions you should start to take now to prepare for the future of IBM's flagship database.

Speakers

Haakon Roberts

DE, CTO, IBM

Haakon Roberts is an IBM Distinguished Engineer based at the Silicon Valley Laboratory in San Jose, California. He is the chief architect for Db2 for z/OS and Tools and CTO of IBM z Data & AI. He holds several patents and is a leading expert in database management, data integrity... Read More →

Monday October 26, 2026 10:20am - 10:35am EDT
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Track A, Db2 Spotlight

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Latest and Features z/OS

10:20am EDT

C1 | Growing the Next Generation of Db2 Professionals: Frameworks for the Future

Monday October 26, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT

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Organizations running Db2 increasingly face a shortage of experienced administrators while environments grow more complex. This session explores a structured approach to developing new Db2 professionals using guided learning, hands-on labs, and coaching from experienced practitioners. We’ll share lessons learned from building scalable training models that accelerate time-to-productivity for new Db2 administrators.

Speakers

Mark Bylok

IBM Systems Tech Training Manager, IBM

Mark Bylok leads IBM Systems Training programs focused on developing technical skills for enterprise platforms including IBM Z, Power, and Storage. His work centers on building scalable learning paths, hands-on labs, and mentorship models that accelerate the development of new system... Read More →

Shelly Meierarend

IBM Z and LinuxONE Client & University Academic Global Skills Leader, IBM

Monday October 26, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT
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Track C, Special Interest Group

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area User Stories

10:20am EDT

IDUG Db2 for z/OS Essentials

Monday October 26, 2026 10:20am - 5:30pm EDT

Magnificent 2A

Speakers

Luis Antonio Alguera

Db2 for z/OS Essentials Instructor, LearnQuest

Luis Alguera, MSBA, is an IBM instructor, technology consultant, and data science professional with more than 15 years of experience delivering IBM training and consulting services. He has extensive experience with Db2 database administration across distributed and mainframe environments... Read More →

Sponsors

LearnQuest

Monday October 26, 2026 10:20am - 5:30pm EDT
Magnificent 2A

Essentials, Essentials

Audience Beginner
Subject z/OS

11:30am EDT

A2 | What’s New in Db2 for z/OS Performance

Monday October 26, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

Magnificent 3

Db2 for z/OS continues to advance through continuous delivery, introducing functional and performance enhancements that improves application availability, compatibility and operational efficiency. Effectively exploiting these capabilities requires understanding not only what has changed, but how the changes interact with workloads, subsystem configuration, and the underlying IBM Z platform.
This session provides a technical deep dive into recent Db2 for z/OS feature enhancements, and how these updates influence performance areas such as CPU consumption, concurrency behavior, and subsystem scalability. It will cover applicable monitoring and instrumentation updates and guide the tuning decisions.
Attendees will leave with concrete technical guidance, exploitation considerations, and best practices for applying recent Db2 for z/OS enhancements.

Speakers

Akiko Hoshikawa

Db2 for z/OS development, IBM

Akiko Hoshikawa is a Distinguished Engineer at IBM’s Silicon Valley Laboratory, specializing in performance, AI-driven optimization and advanced data technologies. She leads initiatives that integrate artificial intelligence with Db2 for z/OS. Akiko’s work focuses on simplifying... Read More →

Monday October 26, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
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Track A, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Latest and Features z/OS, Performance and Monitoring

11:30am EDT

C2 | A 50 Cent tour of DB2

Monday October 26, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

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With fewer schools teaching DB2 for z/OS, it often falls on the DBAs to provide instruction for the programming staff. This is a very basic introduction to DB2 concepts and vocabulary, aimed at the novice user of DB2, or anyone who must train novice users.

Speakers

Mark McNary

DBA, umb bank n.a.uu

I have been working with DB2 since 1989 in a variety of positions, from heads-down development, to systems design to database design and DBA work. . I love to talk about databases in general, and especially DB2. I also have extensive experience with Oracle, SQL Server, and Sybase... Read More →

Monday October 26, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
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Track C, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Back to Basics, User Stories

11:30am EDT

D2 | Db2 Practically Speaking: 40 Years in the Trenches

Monday October 26, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

Magnificent 5

In this engaging and experience-rich session, Craig Mullins shares hard-earned lessons from four decades working with Db2 in real-world environments. The session goes beyond theory to explore what actually works—and what doesn’t—when managing, tuning, and evolving mission-critical Db2 systems and applications. Drawing on stories from the field, Craig highlights key pitfalls, performance insights, and practical strategies that have stood the test of time, offering attendees actionable guidance they can apply immediately in today’s complex data landscape.
In essense, this session is a walkthrough of things I have learned throughout my career as a developer, a DBA, an industry analyst, and a consultant. It will discuss best practices and experiences with an eye toward offering practical advice for all Db2 practitioners.

Speakers

Craig Mullins

Principal Consultant, Mullins Consulting, Inc.

Craig S. Mullins is a data management strategist, researcher, and consultant with over four decades of experience with database systems. He is president and principal consultant of Mullins Consulting, Inc. focusing on mainframe, data, and database issues. He has worked with Db2 since... Read More →

Monday October 26, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Magnificent 5

Track D, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices, Performance and Monitoring, User Stories, Working with SQL

2:00pm EDT

A3 | Db2 for z/OS Utilities - What's New?

Monday October 26, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT

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There have been several useful enhancements made in Db2 for z/OS utilities in recent years. This session will explain what has been delivered and how best to take advantage of these new features. We will also provide some insight into future plans leading up to the next version of Db2.

Speakers

Haakon Roberts

DE, CTO, IBM

Parker Weber

Senior developer, Rocket Software

Parker Weber is a senior developer within the Db2 for z/OS utilities team with primary responsibility for the REORG utility - the utility that is of crucial importance and central to Db2's online schema strategy.

Monday October 26, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
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Track A, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Latest and Features z/OS

2:00pm EDT

C3 | Challenges for the Successful Db2 13 Lock Structure Async Duplex Implementation at Itaú Unibanco

Monday October 26, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT

Magnificent 4

Ensuring high availability and resilience is a core requirement for modern enterprise data platforms. In Db2 Data Sharing environments, lock structures are a fundamental component for maintaining system stability and consistent performance under continuous, mission-critical workloads.
At Itaú Unibanco S.A., Db2 for z/OS supports essential banking applications operating 24x7, across transactional and batch workloads in a large-scale production environment. As part of its ongoing resilience and architecture evolution strategy, Itaú adopted the Db2 Lock Structure Asynchronous Duplex capability.
This implementation strengthened the platform’s resilience posture by increasing fault tolerance, enhancing operational continuity during infrastructure maintenance, and reinforcing overall system stability.
In this presentation, specialists from Itaú and IBM share practical insights from the initiative, including architectural motivations, implementation considerations, testing approaches, and results achieved. The discussion highlights how close collaboration between client and vendor supported the successful adoption of advanced Db2 z/OS capabilities in a complex enterprise environment.

Speakers

Paulo Rogério Petrachini

Db2 z/OS Specialist, Banco Itaú Unibanco S.A.

Paulo Rogério Petrachini has worked with Db2 z/OS for over 30 years, acting both as a Systems Programmer and DBA in large private banks in Brazil, which have complex and heavy Db2 mission-critical workloads processing in data-sharing groups.

José Eduardo Pol

IBM Certified Expert Technical Specialist & IBM Premium Support, IBM Brasil

José Eduardo Pol, is a consulting IT specialist certificated, with over 30 years of experience working at IBM Brazil supporting clients in a variety of subject in Db2 for z/OS area. Currently works as Db2 for z/OS IBM Premium Support for a large Bank in Brazil acting as focal point... Read More →

Monday October 26, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
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Track C, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Database Resiliency, User Stories

2:00pm EDT

F3 | Debugging SQL PL - Without a Debugger

Monday October 26, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT

Magnificent 7

Db2 enables developers to write Procedures, Functions, and Triggers using SQL PL (SQL Procedure Language). While IBM does provide a debugger that can be used to debug SQL PL, users may not want to run a debugger in production. This session will explore alternatives to using the Unified Debugger. At the end of this session, you should be able to use the techniques discussed in this presentation to Debug an SQL PL application (Procedure, Function, or Trigger).

Speakers

Chris Crone

Distinguished Engineer, Broadcom

Chris is a Distinguished Engineer for Database Technology and a lead architectfor the Data Management portfolio within the Mainframe Division of BroadcomSoftware Group. He oversees strategy and architecture decisions for theBroadcom database products IDMS and Datacom, as well as for... Read More →

Monday October 26, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
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Track F, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area AppDev, Back to Basics, Working with SQL

3:20pm EDT

A4 | JC Greatest Hits, War Stories and Best Practice 2026

Monday October 26, 2026 3:20pm - 4:20pm EDT

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This session will share experience from client studies and engagements: sharing proven recommended best practice; learning good, bad and ugly; providing answers ti important, frqeeunt or difficuly questions. This session will cover the following topics: Complacency about component failure and ability to absorb workload failover in a dat asharing environment; missed opportinity for elapsed time performance improvementnfor skip sequnetial batch processing; misteps in evaluating the performance benenfit of CICS-Db2 thread reuse and RELEASE(DEALLOCATE); SQL coding to avoid update anomaly when using cursor stability isolation; misadventures when using High Performance DBATs;monitoring WLM policy achievement; options for mass data recovery following logical data recovery and data loss; performance issue with remote DDF batch workload; tuning ogf GBPs; thorough Disaster Restart testing.

Speakers

John Campbell

Distinguished Technical Consultant, Broadcom

John is an IBM Alumni, a retired IBM Distinguished Engineer, and now works as a Distinguished Technical Consultant for Broadcom Inc. He has worked with Db2 for z/OS for over 40 years and has extensive experience with Db2 in terms of systems, database and application design. He specialises... Read More →

Monday October 26, 2026 3:20pm - 4:20pm EDT
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Track A, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices, Database Resiliency, Latest and Features z/OS, Performance and Monitoring, User Stories

3:20pm EDT

C4 | Enabling Mainframe Data for Next-Gen Innovation

Monday October 26, 2026 3:20pm - 4:20pm EDT

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The future of enterprise innovation depends on unlocking the full potential of your mainframe data. Today, critical business data is siloed across Db2, IMS, VSAM, and other legacy sources slowing progress and consuming up to 80% of analysts’ time in preparation instead of insight. Traditional ETL and data warehouses can’t keep pace with the demands of real-time analytics, AI, and cloud-native applications.
This session explores how a unified data virtualization layer connects your mainframe data to the digital ecosystem—securely, instantly, and without costly replication. Imagine real-time access to all your enterprise data through RESTful APIs, JDBC, ODBC, and SQL—fueling advanced analytics, machine learning, and next-gen applications.
Join us to explore how your organization can move beyond silos and embrace a future of agility, speed, and innovation. The next era of data-driven transformation starts now—are you ready?

Speakers

Jim Wankowski

Principal Solutions Advisor, Rocket Software

Jim Wankowski is an accomplished technology leader and Principal Solutions Advisor at Rocket Software, specializing in IBM Data Virtualization Manager for z/OS (DVM) and OMEGAMON AI for Db2. As the global lead technical resource for DVM, Jim partners with major enterprises worldwide... Read More →

Monday October 26, 2026 3:20pm - 4:20pm EDT
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Track C, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Data Movement and Integration, Modernization in Development

3:20pm EDT

E4 | Accelerating AI Adoption on Db2 with Industry Starter Kits

Monday October 26, 2026 3:20pm - 4:20pm EDT

Magnificent 6

Interested in exploring IBM SQL Data Insights without the effort of installing it on your system or building models from scratch? This session introduces Industry Starter Kits designed to help Db2 for z/OS users quickly evaluate and experience the power of AI-driven insights using pre-built models, sample industry data, and ready-to-run AI queries.
The session features real-world use cases across industries such as finance and insurance, demonstrating how SQL Data Insights can analyze Db2 table data to uncover hidden relationships, detect anomalies, identify unusual transactions, and generate meaningful business insights that may be difficult to find using traditional SQL techniques alone. Attendees will learn how to deploy and load pre-built AI models, execute AI-driven SQL queries, and understand and interpret the results returned by those queries using familiar Db2 workflows and interfaces.
By walking through the industry use cases included in the starter kits, attendees will gain a clearer understanding of what SQL Data Insights is capable of and how AI-driven SQL analysis can be applied to their own Db2 environments. The session is intended to spark ideas for new use cases and help users envision how their existing Db2 data can be analyzed in entirely new ways.
Whether you are new to SQL Data Insights or looking for an easier way to get started, this session provides a practical, hands-on approach to jump-starting your AI journey on Db2 for z/OS.

Speakers

Jae Lee

Db2 for z/OS Development, IBM

Jae Lee is a Senior Software Engineer at the IBM Silicon Valley Lab, specializing in the development of Db2 AI for z/OS, SQL Data Insights, and the Db2 RDS component.

Catherine Wu

Program Director, IBM Db2 for z/OS Development and Product Management, IBM

Catherine (Yan) Wu is the Program Director for Db2 for z/OS at IBM’s Silicon Valley Lab, leading Db2 for z/OS development and product management. A skilled engineering leader, her expertise spans database management, data governance, machine learning, and enterprise design thinking... Read More →

Monday October 26, 2026 3:20pm - 4:20pm EDT
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Track E, Technical Session

Audience Beginner
Subject z/OS
Area AI GenAI and Machine Learning, AppDev, Latest and Features z/OS

4:30pm EDT

A5 | Ready Player One? Db2 vNext Migration (Made Easy)

Monday October 26, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT

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Are you, and all of your sub-systems, ready for Db2 vNext that is coming to an enterprise near you soon? Are you aware that you cannot even get to Db2 13 FL511 if you have any of the specially announced “deprecated” items that we all have hanging around? Do you have a plan to get you out of this mess?
This session explains how you can find all the migration blockers that exist in your system and how to fix nearly all of them as well. It will also delve into VTAM/SNA and workfile usage to round off everything that can bite you!

Speakers

Roy Boxwell

Senior Software Architect, Software Engineering GmbH

I am an IBM Champion with more than 38 years of experience in MVS, OS/390, and z/OS environments – 37 of those in Db2. He specializes in installation, migration, and performance monitoring and tuning. Roy leads the SEG development team responsible for the real-time database maintenance... Read More →

Monday October 26, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT
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Track A, Technical Session

Audience Intermediate
Subject z/OS
Area Latest and Features z/OS, Security and Compliance, Working with SQL

4:30pm EDT

D5 | DBA 2.0 - Making Change the DBA's Advantage

Monday October 26, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT

Magnificent 5

The role of the DBA has evolved over the years. As businesses across the globe embrace digital transformation, and customer expectations increase, the traditional rules of engagement must be reconsidered, and the DBA remains a key lynch-pin in the Agile journey to DevOps. This presentation will review the old rules of engagement, and express the importance of communication, trust, embracing change, and automation tools in modern software development in the age of AI.

Speakers

Marcus Davage

Lead Product Developer, BMC Software Ltd

I’m a senior engineering leader with more than 35 years working across IBM Z, Db2 for z/OS, and large‑scale enterprise systems — helping organisations cut cost, reduce risk, and modernise. My career has focused on solving the kinds of performance, scalability, and architectural... Read More →

Monday October 26, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT
Magnificent 5

Track D, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area AI GenAI and Machine Learning, AppDev, Automation, Modernization in Development, Modernization in Operations

4:30pm EDT

F5 | You should concentrate (your literals) - Dynamic SQL performance tips

Monday October 26, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT

Magnificent 7

In today's world, dynamic SQL usage is on the rise.The presentation will show ways to enhance dynamic SQL performance,Focusing on CSWL feature with actual big savings achieved.Skeleton:Dynamic vs static SQL Literals vs parameter markersDSC Cost vs benefit LimitationsCSWL How does it work Cost vs benefit Where can I use it Real life savings from mataf Limitations Should I use it globally?

Speakers

Shay Miller

DBA, FIBI

I'm a DBA of DB2 for zOS for 25 years, both system DBA and application DBA.I've worked as a DBA in the IDF and for the last 18 years in FIBI.
I've attended IDUG EMEA 2015 at Dublin.I've attended and presented a session in IDUG NA 2024 at Charlotte.
I hold the following IBM certif... Read More →

Monday October 26, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT
Magnificent 7

Track F, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area AppDev, Best Practices, Latest and Features z/OS, Performance and Monitoring, User Stories, Working with SQL

10:20am EDT

D6 | Db2 z/OS Index Strategy: Architecture, Usage, and Recovery

Tuesday October 27, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT

Magnificent 5

Not all indexes are created equal. We explore the architectural differences between Partitioned, Non-Partitioned (NPSI), and Data-Partitioned (DPSI) indexes and when to deploy each for performance. Crucially, we explore each type's optimal recovery strategy so you can stop guessing between Rebuild and Recover.

Speakers

Ahmed Hamed

Software Engineer, Broadcom

Ahmed Hamed is a Software Engineer at Broadcom, specializing in the development and mission-critical support of Db2 Backup and Recovery solutions for z/OS. With nine years of experience in the software industry, the last seven are dedicated to the mainframe ecosystem. Ahmed focuses... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT
Magnificent 5

Track D, Technical Session

Audience Beginner
Subject z/OS
Area Back to Basics, Best Practices, Utilities

10:20am EDT

E6 | Is It the End of DBAs for Db2 for z/OS?

Tuesday October 27, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT

Magnificent 6

For decades, Db2 for z/OS DBAs have served as the platform’s human control plane, balancing availability, performance, recoverability, security, and change at enterprise scale. Today, automation, smarter tooling, and AI-driven recommendations are reshaping that role by reducing repetitive work and accelerating insight. But does that mean the DBA is disappearing?This session examines the past, present, and future of Db2 for z/OS administration to distinguish what can be automated from what still requires human expertise. It explores how autonomics, integrated monitoring, and operational AI are moving DBAs from manual execution toward policy, architecture, governance, and decision-making.Attendees will gain a practical view of where AI adds value, where it can mislead, and why deep Db2 expertise remains essential for interpreting signals in context, managing trade-offs, and responding when the unexpected happens.

Speakers

Chad Reiber

Software Engineer, BMC Software

With a career spanning decades in IT and databases, Chad Reiber serves as a Sr. Principal Software Engineer at BMC Software. Starting as a developer at AT&T in 1983, he quickly transitioned into the database administration field, gaining extensive experience with IMS, IDMS, and Db2... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT
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Track E, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices

10:20am EDT

IDUG Db2 for z/OS Essentials

Tuesday October 27, 2026 10:20am - 5:30pm EDT

Magnificent 2A

Speakers

Luis Antonio Alguera

Db2 for z/OS Essentials Instructor, LearnQuest

Sponsors

LearnQuest

Tuesday October 27, 2026 10:20am - 5:30pm EDT
Magnificent 2A

Essentials, Essentials

Audience Beginner
Subject z/OS

11:30am EDT

A7 | Real-word value: Db2 for z/OS Customer Experiences

Tuesday October 27, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

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This session will concentrate on customer experiences in Db2 13 and positioning of the next release of Db2. Where are most customers at in their Db2 13 experience, Function Levels, exploitations. What are the items customers are exploiting, utilizing and lessons learned in the endevor. Session will be a mixture of Db2 DBA and System Programmer viewpoints.

Speakers

Anthony Ciabattoni

IBM Db2 for z/OS SWAT Team Leader, IBM

Anthony Ciabattoni is an IBM Certified Executive IT Specialist and the current leader of the Db2 for z/OS SWAT Team, based out of the IBM Silicon Valley Lab. With over 32 years of hands-on experience working with Db2 for z/OS, Anthony brings deep technical expertise and a strong customer-focused... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
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Track A, Technical Session

Audience Intermediate
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices, Database Resiliency, Latest and Features z/OS

11:30am EDT

D7 | Why UTS Conversion Can’t Wait Anymore

Tuesday October 27, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

Magnificent 5

The future of Db2 for z/OS is Universal Table Spaces (UTS) with IBM signaling that the next version of Db2 will no longer support legacy structures.
At the same time, Db2 itself is evolving toward UTS, with catalog and directory objects already being prepared for conversion through future Db2 13 function levels—reinforcing that UTS is the long-term foundation of the platform.
Despite this, many environments continue to delay conversion. The result is growing data volumes, increased complexity, and higher risk when the transition eventually becomes unavoidable.
This session focuses on why UTS conversion is essential. Beyond the “why,” we will dive into the “how”—sharing real-world examples of conversion failures and lessons learned from the field.

Speakers

Rahul Bajaj

Software Engineer, Broadcom

Rahul is a Db2 for z/OS professional at Broadcom Inc., working as part of the Db2 tools development team. His work focuses on supporting and evolving database management solutions that power critical enterprise systems.

Sreenivas Javvaji

Software Engineer, Broadcom

Sreenivas Javvaji is an experienced mainframe professional specializing in Db2 for z/OS at Broadcom. As an R&D Engineer, he focuses on the maintenance and optimization of Broadcom Database Management Solutions, helping global enterprise customers ensure the stability and performance... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Magnificent 5

Track D, Technical Session

Audience Intermediate
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices, User Stories

11:30am EDT

F7 | Bob meets Db2 for z/OS

Tuesday October 27, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

Magnificent 7

After completing an assessment of IBM’s Bob, using Db2 for z/OS use cases, I was amazed and disappointed. This introductory session summarizes key items found during the assessment. I’ll demonstrate a Db2 for z/OS client and a System Profiles GUI created, both without writing a single line of code.

Speakers

Paul Bartak

Distinguished Engineer, Rocket Software

Paul Bartak has been working with Db2 for z/OS since V1.2 as a customer and as a solution provider across industries. As a Distinguished Engineer, with Rocket Software, Paul is focused on the tools used to maximize z/OS platform value, with an emphasis in database administration... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
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Track F, Technical Session

Audience Beginner
Subject z/OS
Area AI GenAI and Machine Learning

2:00pm EDT

A8 | Db2 for z/OS Modernization Update & Strategy

Tuesday October 27, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT

Magnificent 3

Db2 for z/OS continues to advance with new capabilities that simplify development, automation, and operations across the enterprise.
Join this session to explore the latest modernization updates including Db2 auto-discovery of configuration parameters, future exploitation around Configuration as Code, new APIs to support continuous integration and continuous deployment of database schema changes, and IBM Db2 Agents.

Speakers

Sueli Almeida

IBM Certified Thought Leader, IBM Silicon Valley Lab

Sueli Almeida is an IBM Certified Thought Leader and member of Db2 for z/OS development located at the IBM Silicon Valley Lab in San Jose, California. She has extensive experience with DB2, including database administration and systems programming. She has worked on DB2 for z/OS advanced... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
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Track A, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Automation, Best Practices, Database Resiliency, Modernization in Development, Modernization in Operations

2:00pm EDT

E8 | Real-World Db2 Performance Insights: Native ISPF Panels and SQL on z/OS

Tuesday October 27, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT

Magnificent 6

This presentation will demonstrate how ISPF panels and SQL are used to enhance IBM Db2 tools such as Omegamon PDB and CQM history tables. The Db2 V13 Utility history tables and In-house written Db2 health checks will also be presented. These solutions have been implemented at Navy Federal Credit Union with Db2 V12 and V13 mission critical applications.

Speakers

Steven Loesch

Principle Data Engineer V, Navy Federal Credit Union

Db2 Database Administration and Programming since 1988. Every Version of Db2. Navy Federal Credit Union, 2019-Present Db2 DBA, Database Design and Performance Management, Db2 V12-V13.Anixter Inc., 2010-2019 Db2 DBA, Database Design and Performance Management, Migrated Db2 V9-V12.Db2... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
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Track E, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS

4:30pm EDT

A9 | DB2 z/OS ZPARMs: Overview, Best Practices, and Recommendations

Tuesday October 27, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT

Magnificent 3

With over 300 Db2 for z/OS subsystem parameters (zParms) constantly shifting, keeping your mainframe optimized can feel like chasing a moving target. Defaults change, deprecated parameters vanish, and critical new tuning options quietly debut - leaving many organizations running on legacy configurations that secretly drain performance and inflate costs. When was the last time you truly audited yours? Join this session to demystify the modern zParm landscape, uncover hidden configuration traps, and walk away with a battle-tested blueprint of industry best practices to supercharge your Db2 environment.

Speakers

Michal Bialecki

Db2 technical consultant, Broadcom

Michal Bialecki is a Db2 Technical Consultant at Broadcom, bringing over 20 years of experience to the role. Prior to joining Broadcom in 2025, he spent two decades working remotely for IBM Silicon Valley Lab, where he served as a member of Db2 z/OS Development SWAT team with John... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT
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Track A, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices

4:30pm EDT

D9 | Db2 DDF and DBATs and Connections re-explained from a user perspective

Tuesday October 27, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT

Magnificent 5

Distributed client applications (from a server) are the most important and common of new workload using Db2 Z.
There are many concepts and terms thrown around which we often too often gloss over without a complete understanding.
This presentation will re-explain basic terms from my user perspective plus share some experiences learned (the hard way?) over recent years.
This presentation covers THREADS and DBATS and CONNECTION. What they mean and how they work and what our Db2 can tell us about their usage and importance.

Speakers

Brian Laube

Db2 DBA, Manulife Financial

Brian Laube is an application DBA for Db2 Z working for Manulife Financial in Canada. Brian has experience with performance monitoring, SQL, application developement, security and everything else in the mainframe world.
Brian has been an IBM Champion since 2017. Brian is one of the directors of the Central Canada Db2 User Group which still holds an annual TWO day in-person user-group event! Brian Laube has presented at many IDUG conferences since 2015 in both NA and EMA. Brian is a volunteer with... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT
Magnificent 5

Track D, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area AppDev, Back to Basics, Performance and Monitoring, User Stories

4:30pm EDT

E9 | Basic Automation, Or, How To Make The Database Do Your Job For You

Tuesday October 27, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT

Magnificent 6

In today’s busy environment, there is a lot of pressure to automate as much as possible. To that end, and lacking AI tools to do my job, I have come up with a few shortcuts that allow me to automate some normally onerous tasks. In this presentation, I will describe and document some tasks I have automated in my shop. Hopefully some of this will prove useful.

Speakers

Mark McNary

DBA, umb bank n.a.uu

Tuesday October 27, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT
Magnificent 6

Track E, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Automation, Back to Basics, User Stories

4:30pm EDT

F9 | Data curation as strategic advantage

Tuesday October 27, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT

Magnificent 7

Organizations that have optimized institutional data through governance, stewardship, and quality management are AI‑ready by design. Leveraging that institutional data both internally and externally for competitive advantage opens possibilities at scale never before imagined. This session will discuss:
Tool adoption without data maturity creates risk: Weak data foundations lead to unreliable results, reduced transparency, and diminished business value.AI builds on existing data foundations: Incremental enhancements—such as data scraping, enrichment, and feature refinement—are most effective when layered on curated data stores.Efficient access to data still matters: AI tools need immediate access to data.Data curation presents as a DBA responsibility: DBAs control data curation through standard operating procedures and best practices. Decision engines still matter: AI outputs are only as effective as the decision logic, controls, and context in which they operate.AI is an evolution of data expertise, not a replacement: The role of data professionals becomes more critical, installing guardrails in automation and scalable intelligence.This session reframes AI success as the amplification of long‑standing data discipline. Attendees will gain practical insight into what they are doing today, for better or worse, that is curating data and what approaches they can apply to improve AI positioning. Best practices in database management are not a preparatory step for AI, but translate directly into sustainable AI advantage.

Speakers

Anne Hoelscher

Senior Director, BMC

Anne Hoelscher is a Senior Director of Product Development with many years of mainframe experience, starting in Db2 V1.2. Her early years were focused primarily on Db2 data management, architecture, and enterprise-scale data processing including consulting with new to Db2 customers... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT
Magnificent 7

Track F, Technical Session

Audience Intermediate
Subject z/OS
Area AI GenAI and Machine Learning, Back to Basics, Best Practices

10:20am EDT

A10 | Revisiting Parallelism: Targeted Use of zIIP Processors for Db2 Queries

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT

Magnificent 3

This presentation explores the nuances of query parallelism in Db2, focusing on how to effectively tune queries for optimal zIIP exploitation. Attendees will gain insights through real-world query examples, highlighting the critical distinction of query access paths between iterative and merge strategies that are key to achieving successful query parallelism. Practical use cases will illustrate these principles in action, showcasing tangible improvements. Additionally, we will discuss how ChatGPT can assist in the query tuning processs. Join us to rediscover the power of parallelism and leverage zIIP processors to their fullest potential.

Speakers

Thomas Baumann

Data Evangelist, Swiss Mobiliar

As Data Evangelist at Swiss Mobiliar in Bern, Switzerland, Thomas is dedicated to optimizing databases and managing database risks. When he's not in the office, he can be found sharing his expertise on database optimization and risk management at various speaking engagements. Thomas... Read More →

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT
Magnificent 3

Track A, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices, Performance and Monitoring, User Stories, Working with SQL

10:20am EDT

B10 | Hard Lessons Learned with High Performance DBATs for Db2 for z/OS

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT

Magnificent 1

High Performance DBATs (HP DBATS) is a very important performance feature of Db2 for DDF workloads. If applied and used intelligently this feature can generate significant savings in CPU resource consumption. This session will cover the following topics: what is a connection?; what is a DBAT (THREAD)?; thread (DBAT) pooling and DRDA inactive connections; what are High Performance DBATs; good candidate application workloads for High Performance DBATs; general guidance for configuring High Performance DBATs; performance metrics and monitoring; WLM and High Performance DBATs; Issues; Summary.

Speakers

John Campbell

Distinguished Technical Consultant, Broadcom

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT
Magnificent 1

Track B, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices, Performance and Monitoring, User Stories

10:20am EDT

C10 | Stabilize your Dynamic SQL and don’t let it remain Unpredictable

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT

Magnificent 4

In the world of Db2 for z/OS, SQL performance tuning is one of the most critical and often most complex of DBA tasks. While static SQL has long been the standing order for traditional mainframe applications, the growing use of dynamic SQL - driven by modern applications, APIs, and distributed workloads - has changed the tuning game.Dynamic SQL’s agility and flexibility introduces a new layer of complexity that can hinder performance if not well managed and cause inconsistent performance and even be unpredictable. Dynamic SQL is becoming more prevalent as agile development and hybrid workloads become the norm. But with the flexibility of dynamic SQL comes responsibility - DBAs must adapt and develop new ways of monitoring and tuning dynamic workloads in real-time and across the application lifecycle. Colin Oakhill will share a proven approach to bring order to chaos by giving DBAs the visibility, control, and insight they need to ensure that dynamic SQL performs efficiently and predictably. Just like long-time DBAs are used to with static SQL.

Speakers

Colin Oakhill

Senior Technical Advisor, Insoft Infotel Software GmbH

Colin has been working with mainframes since 1974. Along his career he has worked as a systems programmer, DBA and developer. He started with CICS & IMS systems and with Db2 since 1988. He founded InSoft in 1986 and was chief architect and developer for the Db2 products. As part of... Read More →

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT
Magnificent 4

Track C, Technical Session

Audience Intermediate
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices, Latest and Features z/OS, Performance and Monitoring

10:20am EDT

IDUG Db2 for z/OS Essentials

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:20am - 5:30pm EDT

Magnificent 2A

Speakers

Luis Antonio Alguera

Db2 for z/OS Essentials Instructor, LearnQuest

Sponsors

LearnQuest

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:20am - 5:30pm EDT
Magnificent 2A

Essentials, Essentials

Audience Beginner
Subject z/OS

11:30am EDT

A11 | RTS-/Utility History and preparations for Vnext

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

Magnificent 3

This presentation will cover how to benefit from using Real Time Statistic (RTS) and Utility History. I will explain a useful established example of Real Time Statistic History, share which usecases are covered by RTS History and why RTS Temporal out of the box is not sufficient for everyone.
Second part will share some necessary preparations for Vnext and will cover one path and best practices to get rid of deprecated non-UTS tablespaces, what to consider and why utility history is really helpful. It will give some early experiences on FL509 support to migrate remaining Catalog&Directory tablespaces. Relevant topics like “workfile separation” will be covered as well.

Speakers

Ute Kleyensteuber

Principal Product Owner, Commerzbank AG

Ute Kleyensteuber is a Principal Product Owner, Senior Infrastructure Engineer and Director at Commerzbank AG in Germany, responsible for Db2 for z/OS since more than 35 years. Knowing and working with Db2 since Version 1.2 I've extensive experiences of Db2 in terms of system- and... Read More →

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Magnificent 3

Track A, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices, Latest and Features z/OS, User Stories

11:30am EDT

B11 | Let Me Make This as Clear as Robert: Explaining Often-Misunderstood Db2 for z/OS Buffer Pool & Group Buffer Pool Concepts

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

Magnificent 4

Some aspects of Db2 for z/OS BP & GBP technology are plain as day; others, less so. Questions we get from Db2 users worldwide have highlighted for us things that a lot of folks - even very experienced Db2 people - get wrong. In this session we'll try to bring clarity to oft-misunderstood areas of Db2 for z/OS BP & GBP technology.

Speakers

Anna McKee

Technical Enablement Specialist, IBM

Anna McKee is a Technical Enablement Specialist in the IBM Z Ecosystem Infrastructure, where she manages and supports all Db2 for z/OS subsystems. She works with hundreds of independent software vendors to deliver the latest SMPE maintenance, perform Db2 installations and configurations... Read More →

Mark Rader

Db2 for z/OS Specialist, IBM

Mark Rader is a Db2 for z/OS specialist in the IBM Z Worldwide Systems Center (WSC, and formerly Washington Systems Center). Mark has applied his Db2 for z/OS experience with clients across a wide variety of projects, with emphasis on availability, performance and Db2 for z/OS data... Read More →

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Magnificent 4

Track B, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices, Latest and Features z/OS

11:30am EDT

D11 | BMC Db2 High Speed Utilities - What's new !!

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

Magnificent 5

A review a of recent enhancements to the BMC Db2 High Speed Utilities

Speakers

Michael Cotignola

Db2 Solutions Engineer, BMC Software

Already on file

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Magnificent 5

Track D, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Utilities

11:30am EDT

E11 | Navigating Digital Certificates: Unlocking a Seamless Experience

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

Magnificent 6

Generating digital certificates while installing a product like DB2 and related products on z/OS frequently involves intricate hurdles, where minor errors lead to postponed rollouts, service interruptions, and heavy manual workloads. This session breaks down the core principles of certificates while offering actionable techniques and proven methods to refine your workflow. Furthermore, we will debut an innovative utility engineered to simplify the baseline certificate configuration during mainframe software deployment, minimizing technical friction and fast-tracking your path to production.

Speakers

Jan Prihoda

Product Owner, Broadcom Mainframe Software

Jan is an experienced Product Owner at Broadcom responsible for making the Broadcom products configuration process smoother. He has long experience in software development in the telecommunication industry and now he is trying to combine his experience and mainframe complexity to... Read More →

Denis Tronin

Product Manager, Broadcom

Denis Tronin is a seasoned Product Manager in Broadcom’s Mainframe Software Division, bringing years of experience in product management and software development. His work focuses on mainframe technologies, specifically in Data Management and DevOps domains. He plays a key role... Read More →

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Magnificent 6

Track E, Technical Session

Audience Beginner
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices, Security and Compliance

11:30am EDT

F11 | A day in the life of an MFA-enabled Db2 for z/OS DBA

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

Magnificent 7

As enterprise security threats evolve, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) has become essential for safeguarding access to mission-critical systems like Db2 for z/OS. This session provides an inside look at a day in the life of a Db2 for z/OS administrator navigating an MFA-enabled environment. From securely logging in and managing authentication challenges to executing routine database tasks with enhanced security controls, we’ll examine how MFA impacts daily workflows, troubleshooting, and compliance requirements. Attendees will gain practical insights into best practices, potential challenges, and strategies for balancing security with productivity. Additionally, we’ll explore a range of access methods, from traditional TSO to modern tools like Db2 for z/OS Administration Foundation, SQL Tuning Services, and the Db2 for z/OS Developer Extension for VS Code.

Speakers

Jørn Thyssen

Senior Technical Staff Member, Rocket Software

Jørn Thyssen is a Senior Technical Staff Member at Rocket Software, working with mainframe and Db2 tools in customer modernization and performance projects. He has extensive experience with IBM Z and Db2 for z/OS, and collaborates closely with development teams on initiatives involving... Read More →

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Magnificent 7

Track F, Technical Session

Audience Intermediate
Subject z/OS
Area Security and Compliance

2:00pm EDT

C12 | Efficiently Finding and Fixing High Resource Consuming SQL

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT

Magnificent 4

This presentation will demonstrate how to find, analyze and tune the top 40 expensive queries. Special emphasis will be on finding the cursors that could benefit from multi-row fetch. In addition, discussions on designing perfect indexes, MQTs and AQTs, along with manual query rewrite, SQL exploitation and most important, proper use.

Speakers

Sheryl Larsen

President, Sheryl M Larsen LLC

Sheryl Larsen is an internationally recognized researcher, consultant and lecturer, specializing in DB2 and is known for her extensive expertise in SQL. Sheryl has over 30 years’ experience in DB2, has published many articles, several popular DB2 posters, and co-authored a book... Read More →

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
Magnificent 4

Track C, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area AppDev, Back to Basics, Best Practices, Latest and Features z/OS, Modernization in Development, User Stories, Working with SQL

2:00pm EDT

D12 | Db2 13 GA to 507 - My 5 favourite things

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT

Magnificent 5

Db2 13 for z/OS became available in 2022, and via the continuous delivery model, IBM has continued to deliver a wealth of new capabilities and enhancements. The latest features offer numerous benefits, including resource savings, enhanced security, and simplified administration. In this session we will walk through my personal “top 5”, favourite features delivered in Db2 13. Join me to hear about these new features, including utility enhancements, monitoring connections and more, and learn how you can exploit them to get the most out of this version of Db2 for z/OS.

Speakers

Tom Crocker

Principal Solution Advisor, Rocket Software

Tom Crocker is a Principal Solution advisor working with IBM Db2 Tools for z/OS, and has been working with Db2 since v1.2. He specialises in Db2 administration and mainframe modernisation, working with customers across the globe to provide solutions and to enable them to get the best... Read More →

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
Magnificent 5

Track D, Technical Session

Audience Intermediate
Subject z/OS
Area Latest and Features z/OS

2:00pm EDT

E12 | Autonomous Auditing of Native Db2 Security Features

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT

Magnificent 6

Are you challenged with tasks having to provide audit reports detailing who has access to which objects and who has which privileges – even worse, who had access 3 months ago ?Many Db2 sites are using a log tool to accomplish these tasks – but are you aware of the relatively new capabilities in Db2 dealing with security information stored in the catalog ?We will dive into what Db2 has to offer natively and how you can handle regulatory requirements in an easier way augmenting your current processes.

Speakers

Steen Rasmussen

Customer Services Consultant, Broadcom

Steen Rasmussen is a Customer Services Consultant currently instrumental in the ongoing development and support of the Broadcom Db2 solutions. In 1985 Steen started as an IMS/DB2 DBA at a major insurance company in Denmark working with all aspects of DB2 - like tuning, application... Read More →

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
Magnificent 6

Track E, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Automation, Latest and Features z/OS, Security and Compliance

4:30pm EDT

G13 | IDUG Db2 z/OS Expert Panel

Wednesday October 28, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT

Magnificent 3

Wednesday October 28, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT
Magnificent 3

Expert Panel, Expert Panel

Audience All
Subject z/OS

9:00am EDT

A14 | Why Fast Db2 for z/OS Copies Get Harder: The Impact of Newer Features on Copy Speed

Thursday October 29, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am EDT

Magnificent 3

Fast copies of Db2 for z/OS tables are increasingly difficult as newer features add structural complexity. Table versioning, partition growth and rotation, XML and LOB data, temporal and archive relationships, and deferred VSAM creation can prevent direct dataset-level copies and force slower fallback methods. This webinar explains the key challenges and what they mean for copy speed and reliability.

Speakers

Kai Stroh

Product Manager, UBS Hainer GmbH

Kai Stroh earned a Computer Science degree from the University of Darmstadt and is amainframe software developer specializing in DB2 utilities for z/OS. He designs and buildsinnovative DB2 applications and utilities often working onsite or remotely with UBS’ internationalclients... Read More →

Thursday October 29, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am EDT
Magnificent 3

Track A, Technical Session

Audience Intermediate
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices, Data Movement and Integration, Utilities

9:00am EDT

C14 | Supercharging Db2 with Generative AI: From Natural Language Queries to Autonomous Performance Optimization

Thursday October 29, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am EDT

Magnificent 4

Enterprises are under pressure to deliver faster insights, streamline operations, and reduce the complexity of managing large Db2 environments. Generative AI is emerging as a practical accelerator across development, administration, and performance engineering. This session will show how teams can harness AI to translate natural language questions into accurate Db2 queries, explore schemas and dependencies without digging through documentation, and diagnose performance issues with recommendations that mirror seasoned experts. We will walk through real use cases that demonstrate how GenAI can simplify workloads, cut troubleshooting time, and improve SQL efficiency, giving developers, DBAs, and performance analysts a powerful new set of tools to boost productivity and unlock the full value of Db2.

Speakers

Chris Crone

Distinguished Engineer, Broadcom

Brett Morris

Distinguished Engineer, Broadcom

Brett Morris is a Distinguished Engineer specializing in UI/UX and agentic workflows designed to elevate Broadcom Mainframe products. With 30 years of experience in architecting and developing software, his expertise spans Enterprise Content Management, search, analytics, and business... Read More →

Thursday October 29, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am EDT
Magnificent 4

Track C, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area AI GenAI and Machine Learning

9:00am EDT

E14 | Real-Time Mainframe Data Streaming with Kafka and Debezium

Thursday October 29, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am EDT

Magnificent 6

Event streaming is essential for modern applications and AI agents that need real-time access to mainframe data. This session explores change data capture patterns for Db2 z/OS using Debezium and Kafka, covering both initial snapshot and continuous replication. Learn how event streaming benefits agent architectures, implementation with Confluent Platform running on-premises on the mainframe, and achieving minimal operational impact with high-performance data synchronization. Real-world use case examples demonstrate practical applications.

Speakers

Cuneyt Goksu

Executive IT Specialist, IBM

M. Cüneyt Göksu is an Executive IT Specialist for IBM® Z solutions in the context of Data and AI in IBM Germany Development Lab as a member of Center of Excellence team. He holds MBA, bachelor’s degree and PhD in Computer Science. He has been working with Db2 for z/OS and IBM... Read More →

Mateo Tošić

Software Developer, IBM

TBD

Thursday October 29, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am EDT
Magnificent 6

Track E, Technical Session

Audience Intermediate
Subject z/OS
Area Data Movement and Integration, Modernization in Development

10:20am EDT

A15 | Db2 for z/OS Config-as-Code: Automated Subsystem Configuration Discovery and Provisioning

Thursday October 29, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT

Magnificent 3

In this session, we will introduce a z/OS middleware configuration tool (zconfig), which is an automation tool that in a very intuitive way, will help you to discover the configuration parameters of any of your Db2 subsystems. Additionally, you will be able to provision new Db2 subsystems with a configuration like the one just discovered.
Bringing configuration-as-code and automation to Db2 for z/OS environments modernize how to perform operational processes towards your Db2 subsystem management.
Join this session to learn practical approaches to modernizing your Db2 subsystem management.

Speakers

Sueli Almeida

IBM Certified Thought Leader, IBM Silicon Valley Lab

Shirley Xiao

Db2 Software engineer, IBM Silicon Valley Lab

Shirley Xiao is a Software Developer working on Db2 for z/OS at IBM. She started her career at IBM working on Db2 Data Manager and now focuses on modernizing Db2 through automation, tooling, and DevOps practices. Her work includes building Db2 automation tools, integrating Db2 with... Read More →

Thursday October 29, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT
Magnificent 3

Track A, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Automation, Best Practices, Modernization in Operations

10:20am EDT

C15 | Db2 TLS Encryption: Client Certificates in Focus

Thursday October 29, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT

Magnificent 4

As Transport Layer Security (TLS) becomes mandatory across enterprise environments, Db2 professionals increasingly play a pivotal role in protecting data in transit—both on the client and server sides. While this session briefly reviews core TLS fundamentals such as trust models and server authentication, its primary focus is on mutual (client) certificate authentication for Db2 for z/OS. Attendees will be guided through the complete configuration workflow, including certificate management, RACF keyring setup, AT TLS policies, DDF configuration, and identity mapping for client certificates.

Speakers

Christoph Theisen

Principal Solutions Advisor, Rocket Software

Christoph began his career in IBM’s Global Services unit in 1991, working on numerous client engagements — primarily focused on Db2 for z/OS — as an application developer, database administrator, architect, and consultant. Over time, his role evolved into that of a Client Technical... Read More →

Thursday October 29, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT
Magnificent 4

Track C, Technical Session

Audience Intermediate
Subject z/OS
Area Modernization in Operations, Security and Compliance

10:20am EDT

D15 | Db2 Z and the CIA

Thursday October 29, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT

Magnificent 5

Db2 Z and the CIA is a powerful informational combination. To be clear, the CIA is the Compliance Information Analysis product available for free to many users of Db2 Z (if you have Broadcom products). Broadcom introduced the CIA as a subproduct of ACF2. It is now an independent product available to most users of their products. The CIA provides a series of Db2 tables that can contain all the information from your external-security-manager (ESM), whether it is ACF2, RACF, or TopSecret. Once your ESM is loaded into the CIA, it is relatively more accessible to the curious end-user! SQL SELECT can be used to easily build interesting and useful and focused reports about your security configuration. This presentation will go over the basics of mainframe security and the basics of the CIA and how to build and populate. Finally, interesting CIA tables and views (and sample SELECTs) will be highlighted to show why it is useful.

Speakers

Brian Laube

Db2 DBA, Manulife Financial

Thursday October 29, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT
Magnificent 5

Track D, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Back to Basics, Best Practices, Security and Compliance, User Stories, Working with SQL

10:20am EDT

E15 | Db2 13 for z/OS Recently Delivered SQL and Application Management Enhancements

Thursday October 29, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT

Magnificent 6

This session provides an in-depth look at the latest enhancements to SQL syntax, semantics, and application management in Db2 13 for z/OS. Introduced through recent function levels, these enhancements are driven by customer requirements to deliver greater application flexibility and performance, while empowering DBAs with more efficient and effective capabilities for managing applications and database objects.
You’ll also hear feedback on several of these features and use cases from an experienced Db2 user.

Speakers

Tammie Dang

Senior Technical Staff Member, IBM

Tammie Dang is a Senior Technical Staff Member in Db2 for z/OS Development, specializing in SQL processing, AI enablement within the database, and application development and management. She is responsible for both new feature development and service delivery, leading the design and... Read More →

Lethika Panicker

System Programmer, Fidelity National Information Services

Lethika Panicker is a highly experienced Db2 for z/OS professional with an extensive background as an advanced user across multiple enterprise environments. Throughout her career, she has held a variety of system programmer and system administrator roles at leading institutions, building... Read More →

Thursday October 29, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT
Magnificent 6

Track E, Technical Session

Audience Intermediate
Subject z/OS
Area Latest and Features z/OS

10:20am EDT

F15 | Screening in a Virtualized Production Environment

Thursday October 29, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT

Magnificent 7

Most IT experts know the catchphrase “Never change a running system” very well, especially once you experience that a small change can have a significant impact. Anyway, “The only constant is change” is very true as well. Even if we don’t touch an application for enhancements, we’ll face security updates, software updates, hardware updates, configuration changes and data growth.
Before moving to a new machine, applying (Db2) APARs, changing schema, or SQL, it’s common to test in a sand-box, or development system – very good, but here come the challenges:
1st There are quite a few regulations that affect reliable testing of changes and they all have one in common – DON’T USE PRODUCTION DATA!!!
2nd Without real data, or with data masked and sanitized, we’ll very likely see different results than running one and the same query in production.
This session explains how you can reliably, and resource-friendly, simulate your entire production environment, WITHOUT production data and even on a different machine.
We’ll cover prescreening changes in the following areas:

environment changes, like upgrading to a new machine, or adding more resources
application changes, like SQL queries and schema
data changes, like amount and distribution

The capabilities introduce a whole new world of "what if" opportunities and especially protect you from testing that doesn’t focus on what counts: the resulting performance in your production environment.

Speakers

Ulf Heinrich

Director Solutions Delivery, SEGUS Inc

Ulf Heinrich specialized in Db2 recovery and operations, managing cost reduction and 24×7 operations. As a consultant at large customer sites, he has implemented database maintenance procedures and recovery strategies, and also experienced the pitfalls of recovery scenarios under... Read More →

Thursday October 29, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT
Magnificent 7

Track F, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices, Modernization in Development, Performance and Monitoring

11:30am EDT

A16 | Wowe Zowe...APIs not AIs

Thursday October 29, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

Magnificent 3

I have a passion for all things mainframe especially Db2 for z/OS.
I like to tell non-technical folks what I do is make the mainframe & its databases a little easier to work with—and maybe a little less intimidating for the next generation of users.”
“honestly—when people hear ‘mainframe,’ they don’t always think modern, developer-friendly, and easy to integrate with.
But that’s exactly what we’re going to challenge today.”
“What I’m hoping to show you is that modernization isn’t about replacing the mainframe—it’s about unlocking more value from it, making it easier to use, and integrating it seamlessly into how we already build and deliver applications today.”
“So whether you’re deeply familiar with the platform, or just curious about how it fits into a modern development lifecycle—there should be something useful here for you.”

Speakers

Chris Muncan

Lead Mainframe DBA, Sun Life

I started my career by accident by saying I want to learn COBOL as a fresh college graduate. Best mistake of my life. Now nearly 20 years on the mainframe with the first 10 years as a COBOL/CICS/Db2 developer and fell in love with Db2 and worked with Db2 since V9.

I am an Infrastructure DBA working on Db2 for z/OS at Sun Life Financial, a global insurance provider., Main responsibilities are taking the Db2 DBA space to the next level by exploiting the capabilities of current tools along with adopting new modern technology & tooling such as... Read More →

Thursday October 29, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Magnificent 3

Track A, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area AI GenAI and Machine Learning, Automation, Modernization in Development, Modernization in Operations, User Stories

11:30am EDT

B16 | Db2 for z/OS Applications now Empowered by OpenTelemetry

Thursday October 29, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

Magnificent 1

IBM System Z and Db2 for z/OS applications are essential to the successful operations and business workflows for major companies. Join our discussion on OpenTelemetry and its powerful impact on observability across your entire business environment. Whether you're a System Reliability Engineer or an Application Developer, this session is for you!Here's what you'll learn:

An overview of the OpenTelemetry observability framework and how it helps generate, process, and distribute telemetry data.
How Db2 for z/OS supports OpenTelemetry and how you can leverage it for your applications.
How OpenTelemetry support aligns with the broader platform, i.e. IBM System Z and Db2 for z/OS, to enhance your operations.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your understanding and implementation of OpenTelemetry within Db2 for z/OS and its futures.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your understanding and implementation of OpenTelemetry within Db2 for z/OS and its futures.

Speakers

Sueli Almeida

IBM Certified Thought Leader, IBM Silicon Valley Lab

Derek Tempongko

Back-End Developer, IBM Silicon Valley Lab

Derek Tempongko is a Senior Software Engineer on the Db2 for z/OS distributed development team at the IBM Silicon Valley Laboratory. With over 20 years of experience in Distributed Data Facility (DDF), presented at previous IDUG events, authored a Redpaper on TLS/SSL which has been... Read More →

Thursday October 29, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Magnificent 1

Track B, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Automation, Best Practices, Database Resiliency, Latest and Features z/OS, Modernization in Operations, Performance and Monitoring

11:30am EDT

C16 | Mainframe Ransomware Resilience: Not only about Recovery

Thursday October 29, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

Magnificent 4

This session explores a practical strategy for protecting mainframe data from ransomware by combining prevention, immutable backup design, and automated recovery. While strong identity controls and privileged-access protection remain the first line of defense, organizations also need resilient recovery options when logical corruption or credential-based attacks succeed. The presentation examines the strengths and limits of software-based and hardware-enabled immutable copies, including snapshots, safeguarded copies, and cyber vault architectures, and explains why backup frequency alone does not eliminate the risk of recovering corrupted data. It then addresses the critical recovery questions every enterprise must answer: when corruption began, which recovery point is trustworthy, and how to restore business-critical data without sacrificing post-backup transactions. The session concludes with an approach that pairs immutable storage for backups and transaction logs with automated forward recovery for Db2, IMS, and VSAM, helping organizations reduce data loss, strengthen cyber resilience, and align with growing regulatory expectations for isolated, restorable backups under frameworks such as DORA and industry guidance on resilient recovery.

Speakers

Chad Reiber

Software Engineer, BMC Software

Thursday October 29, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Magnificent 4

Track C, Technical Session

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Database Resiliency

2:00pm EDT

C201 | Db2 for z/OS modernized: Visual Studio Code deep dive

Thursday October 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Magnificent 4

4 hours Hands-on-lab workshop (BYOD - Bring Your Own Device)
Transition from legacy "green screen" interfaces to a modern, high-performance environment using Visual Studio Code. This workshop provides a deep dive into Zowe Explorer and the Code4z extension pack, streamlining both system and database management. You will learn to handle z/OS core tasks - including dataset and USS file operations, job submission, and CLI terminal commands - alongside essential Db2 DBA tasks like schema management and SQL execution. We will also cover best practices for managing VS Code setups and profiles to ensure your workflow is optimized for daily enterprise use. Master these modern tools to simplify and accelerate your Db2 operations.

Speakers

Jim Endler

Technical Consultant, Broadcom

Jim Endler is a Principal Technical Consultant at Broadcom who focuses on helping customers manage and optimize their Db2 for z/OS environments. He works closely with them to improve database performance and modernize operations through automation, ensuring mainframe systems remain... Read More →

Toine Michielse

Client Services Management | Mainframe Software Division | Broadcom, Broadcom

Toine Michielse believes the future of the mainframe depends on building bridges – between platforms, between generations, and between past and present ways of working.
A four-time IBM Champion and long-time advocate for modernization, Toine has reimagined what it means to be a Db2 for z/OS administrator in the era of DevOps and hybrid cloud. His message resounds: to move forward, we don’t need to discard the platform’s strengths; we need to... Read More →

Sponsors

Broadcom

Thursday October 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT
Magnificent 4

Track C, Hands-On Lab

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area AppDev, Best Practices, Modernization in Development, Modernization in Operations

2:00pm EDT

E201 | Performing AI-powered SQL Queries on Db2 for z/OS

Thursday October 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Magnificent 6

In this hands-on lab, you'll explore advanced AI capabilities for relational data, including support for unstructured text, offloaded model training, and incremental model retraining. By combining unsupervised deep learning with traditional SQL queries, you'll learn how to perform similarity, dissimilarity, clustering, analogy, and commonality analysis directly on your Db2 for z/OS data.
Through practical exercises, you'll discover hidden relationships across tables and views, uncover actionable insights from enterprise data, and use AI-powered SQL queries to address real-world business challenges. You'll see how these techniques can be applied across industry-specific use cases to identify similar records, segment customers, detect outliers, and make more informed, data-driven decisions.
Make sure to bring your own device.

Speakers

Artem Minin

Technical Specialist, IBM

Artem is currently a Technical Specialist in IBM's WorldwideSystems Center, a team of Subject Matter Experts that provide leadingedge technical sales assistance for the design, implementation, andsupport of solutions that leverage IBM Z. Specifically, Artem is responsible for helping... Read More →

John Goodyear

z Systems Technical Support Specialist, IBM

Jae Lee

Db2 for z/OS Development, IBM

Jae Lee is a Senior Software Engineer at the IBM Silicon Valley Lab, specializing in the development of Db2 AI for z/OS, SQL Data Insights, and the Db2 RDS component.

Sponsors

IBM

Thursday October 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT
Magnificent 6

Track E, Hands-On Lab

Audience All
Subject z/OS

3:45pm EDT

A202 | BYOD Hands-on Lab: Modernizing Database Administration with AI on IBM Z

Thursday October 29, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm EDT

Magnificent 3

As AI capabilities expand on IBM Z, database operations are evolving from manual, expertise-driven practices to more automated, simpler, and faster management. This hands-on lab session provides experience with Database Assistant capabilities which transform Db2 administration through agent-assisted intelligence.
Experience how the solution combines AI-driven system insights, context-aware dashboards, and AI agents to enable:

Faster understanding of system behavior
Accelerated troubleshooting
Clearer assessments of operational impact
More confident decision-making

The benefit is reduced manual effort, improved consistency, faster issue resolution, and enhanced operational efficiency across complex enterprise environments.
Make sure to bring your laptop!

Speakers

Artem Minin

Technical Specialist, IBM

Brian Tsao

Db2 for z/OS Developer, IBM

Architect of IBM Z Database Assistant and Technical Lead for IBM Db2 for z/OS Agent. Experienced in enterprise mainframe systems, modern cloud-native tooling, and emerging agentic workflows. Passionate about bridging Z systems with modernization, driving innovation that brings legacy... Read More →

Sponsors

IBM

Thursday October 29, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm EDT
Magnificent 3

Track A, Hands-On Lab

Audience Intermediate
Subject z/OS
Area AI GenAI and Machine Learning

3:45pm EDT

C202 | The Hidden Mistakes That Hurt Db2 for z/OS Query Performance

Thursday October 29, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm EDT

Magnificent 4

Even well‑written SQL can slow Db2 for z/OS when subtle mistakes slip through. In this hands‑on lab, attendees will work with preloaded queries that showcase common pitfalls—over‑indexing, missing or stale statistics, inefficient joins, unnecessary sorting, and predicate mismatches. You’ll identify the issues, apply targeted fixes, and validate improvements using metrics, access path analysis, and supporting tools.
Beyond immediate speedups, this lab reinforces a repeatable diagnostic approach that strengthens day‑to‑day tuning and sets the stage for AI‑assisted operations—where consistent, high‑quality data enables smarter automation and more reliable outcomes.

Speakers

Carlos Davis

Solutions Advisor, Rocket Software

Carlos Davis is a Solutions Advisor at Rocket Software with more than 20 years of hands-on experience powering mission critical Db2 environments across a wide range of industries. As a trusted advisor to his clients, he helps organizations maximize performance, minimize risk, and... Read More →

Sponsors

Rocket

Thursday October 29, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm EDT
Magnificent 4

Track C, Hands-On Lab

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Back to Basics, Best Practices, Database Resiliency, Working with SQL

3:45pm EDT

D202 | Db2 z/OS Housekeeping Best Practices

Thursday October 29, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm EDT

Magnificent 5

This 4 hours workshop - knowledge transfer session will be conducted by following presenters: Toine Michielse, Michal Bialecki, Emil Kotrc, Denis Tronin
In the world of Db2 for z/OS, "set it and forget it" is a recipe for performance degradation and wasted storage. As data volumes explode and batch windows shrink, traditional housekeeping—REORG, RUNSTATS, and IMAGE COPY—must evolve from manual chores into a streamlined, automated strategy.
This deep-dive workshop provides a comprehensive blueprint for modern Db2 maintenance. We will move past the basics to explore how to balance object availability with optimal performance. Attendees will learn how to leverage the latest utility enhancements to reduce CPU consumption, manage multi-terabyte objects, and ensure that the optimizer always has the "ground truth" through intelligent statistics collection.

Speakers

Audience All
Subject z/OS
Area Best Practices, Latest and Features z/OS, Utilities

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