GitLab Ultimate for IBM Z: Modern DevSecOps for Mainframes

GitLab and IBM have partnered to solve a fundamental disconnect in enterprise development: enabling mainframe developers to work with the same modern tools, workflows, and collaboration features as their distributed counterparts.

GitLab Ultimate for IBM Z, a GitLab-certified, integrated DevSecOps solution tailored for the mainframe environment, does just that, allowing organisations to modernise their mainframe development workflows by facilitating a seamless migration from outdated legacy library managers. With CI/CD pipelines running natively on IBM z/OS, customers experience accelerated innovation and reduced operational costs.

Challenges of Today’s Mainframe Development

Enterprise organisations that use IBM Z systems for mission-critical workloads face challenges that conventional DevSecOps tools aren’t equipped to address. Cloud-native teams benefit from modern CI/CD pipelines, collaborative development, and automated testing. In contrast, mainframe teams are often left behind—stuck with outdated tools that lead to costly inefficiencies and operational silos.

Teams often resort to workarounds, such as SSH connections and manual file transfers, which create security vulnerabilities and audit difficulties. When compliance requirements are stringent, these improvised solutions become unacceptable risks. Meanwhile, organisations maintain expensive parallel toolchains, with legacy mainframe development tools carrying premium licensing costs while delivering limited functionality compared to modern alternatives.

This fragmentation creates two problems: slower delivery cycles and difficulty attracting developers who expect modern development experiences.

“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,” said Katie Norton, Research Manager, DevSecOps and Software Supply Chain Security at IDC.

Unified Development Environments

True modernisation means more than just updating mainframe development. It means creating a unified platform where mainframe, cloud-native, web, and mobile development teams collaborate seamlessly.

GitLab Ultimate for IBM Z enables developers to use consistent workflows whether they’re deploying to z/OS, cloud, or on-premises infrastructure—knowledge transfers between teams instead of staying siloed. Organisations can modernise incrementally without business disruption, as legacy systems continue operating while teams adopt modern practices at their own pace.

As organisations pursue hybrid cloud strategies, GitLab provides the foundation for applications that span mainframe and cloud-native environments.

What Is GitLab Ultimate for IBM Z?

GitLab Ultimate for IBM Z delivers native z/OS Runner support, enabling seamless CI/CD pipeline execution directly on your mainframe infrastructure. This GitLab-certified solution helps eliminate the need for complex workarounds while maintaining the security and reliability your enterprise applications demand.

The combination of GitLab’s comprehensive DevSecOps platform with IBM’s deep mainframe expertise creates something unique in the market: a certified solution that provides a true bridge between enterprise legacy systems and cloud-native innovation.

GitLab Ultimate for IBM Z Capabilities

GitLab Ultimate for IBM Z provides enterprise teams with the tools they need to modernise mainframe development while preserving critical business systems.

• Native z/OS Runner support helps eliminate security risks and scalability bottlenecks associated with remote connections, while accelerating delivery through CI/CD pipelines that execute directly where your mainframe code resides.
• Unified Source Code Management modernises your toolchain by replacing expensive legacy library managers with GitLab’s searchable, version-controlled repository system, helping reduce licensing costs and maintenance overhead.
• Seamless integration with IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition (IDzEE) delivers faster software releases through dependency-based builds, automated code scanning, and comprehensive debugging tools within familiar developer environments, enhancing both quality and security.
• End-to-end visibility across mainframe and distributed environments provides comprehensive project management from planning to production, enabling automated DevOps workflows that help retain talent through modern, next-generation development tools.