AI Ops on the Mainframe with Stuart McIrvine

Description

In this Planet Mainframe interview, Stuart McIrvine, Director of Product Management for AI Ops and Automation at Broadcom’s Mainframe Software Division, discusses how AI, automation, and observability are transforming mainframe operations. He highlights Broadcom’s Watchtower platform, which enhances visibility and interoperability across hybrid environments by integrating data from systems like CICS, DB2, MQ, and IMS through topology mapping and OpenTelemetry connections to tools such as AppDynamics, Dynatrace, and Datadog. McIrvine explains that AI Ops helps organizations, particularly in financial and retail sectors, predict and prevent outages before they occur. By applying machine learning to detect anomalies and forecast incidents, Watchtower enables teams to anticipate problems early, reducing downtime and risk. Emphasized is the role of automation in eliminating human error, speeding recovery, and cutting costs. Looking ahead, McIrvine envisions AI Ops evolving to include generative AI and intelligent CICS-aware agents capable of automatically identifying and resolving issues—creating a more resilient, transparent, and interconnected mainframe ecosystem. Topics Covered: - Mainframe observability and Watchtower evolution - Application-level monitoring and topology mapping - Predictive analytics using machine learning - Automation for rapid incident recovery - OpenTelemetry and hybrid interoperability - Real-world case studies in application profiling - The future of generative AI and intelligent agents in AI Ops Key Quote: “Incidents are inevitable on the mainframe. Fixing them fast is critical—and AI Ops gives you the visibility and automation to do just that.” — Stuart McIrvine, Broadcom Discover more insights at planetmainframe.com #BroadcomMainframe #AIOps #StuartMcIrvine #MainframeObservability #Automation #MachineLearning #HybridEnvironments #OpenTelemetry #CICS #DB2 #IMS #MQ #Share2025 #PlanetMainframe #MainframeModernization