Mainframes: The Backbone of Digital Transformation and the Role of PKWARE in Securing the Future

Mainframes continue to be a cornerstone of digital transformation, providing enterprises with unmatched reliability, scalability, security, and processing power. Organizations across financial services, healthcare, and government sectors still rely heavily on mainframes to manage mission-critical workloads. However, as enterprises modernize IT infrastructures and leverage hybrid cloud environments, the need for robust data security solutions becomes more pressing.

PKWARE’s innovative data security and compliance solutions align perfectly with this shift, ensuring enterprises can seamlessly integrate mainframes into, hybrid cloud-centric architectures without compromising security.

Despite the rise of cloud computing, mainframes remain indispensable for enterprises managing high-volume transactions and sensitive data. According to a recent industry report, mainframes process over 30 billion transactions, or close to $8.5 trillion daily, supporting critical banking, insurance, and public-sector operations.

Yet, as organizations embrace hybrid cloud models, they face challenges in protecting mainframe data as it moves between on-premises systems and cloud platforms. The evolution of IBM Z and the new z17, which integrates AI-driven automation and quantum-safe encryption, highlights the industry’s commitment to mainframe modernization.

PKWARE has recognized this transformation and designed seamlessly integrated and adaptive data security solutions that enable enterprises to protect sensitive data across mainframe, cloud, and hybrid environments.

Securing mainframe data is more critical than ever, especially as cyber threats grow in sophistication. PKWARE’s solutions empower enterprises to:

• Automated Data Discovery and Encryption: PKWARE’s solutions can ensure that sensitive mainframe data is discovered and encrypted before it moves to non-production or cloud environments.
• Enable Hybrid Cloud Security: As seen in our integration with IBM z16, PKWARE extends security capabilities across hybrid cloud deployments, ensuring seamless data protection at rest, in motion, and in use.
• Meet Compliance Requirements: Whether it’s PCI DSS, GDPR, or HIPAA, PKWARE helps organizations enforce compliance policies, reducing risk and ensuring audit readiness.

IBM’s z17 platform has set a new benchmark for high-performance computing, delivering AI-powered real-time threat detection and quantum-safe cryptography. PKWARE extends these innovations by integrating seamlessly with IBM’s security framework, ensuring that sensitive data is protected from mainframe to cloud.

By leveraging PKWARE’s discovery, encryption, and classification capabilities, enterprises using IBM z17 can confidently leverage hybrid cloud models without exposing sensitive information to unauthorized access. This level of security is vital for financial institutions processing millions of transactions per second, healthcare providers safeguarding patient records, and government agencies protecting national security data.

Mainframes are not relics of the past—they are the foundation of modern mission-critical digital transformations. As enterprises accelerate their hybrid cloud strategies, they must prioritize end-to-end data protection.

PKWARE ensures that security is not an afterthought but a fundamental enabler of modernization. By integrating with cutting-edge platforms like IBM Z, PKWARE continues to empower enterprises to navigate digital transformation securely and efficiently.

PKWARE is proud to be part of the IBM Z Ecosystem, and we look forward to supporting our mutual customers to leverage the power of IBM z17.