Mainframe platforms continue to run some of the world’s most critical workloads, but the way applications are built, maintained and evolved on IBM Z is changing rapidly. Customers are facing rising skills risk, pressure to modernize faster and increasing interest in AI-assisted‑ approaches. IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z introduces powerful Agentic AI capabilities to accelerate the mainframe application modernization lifecycle, helping teams modernize more incrementally and with lower disruption.

However, tools alone do not deliver enterprise modernization outcomes. Measurable outcomes require structured services, architectural guidance and disciplined execution across the full software lifecycle. HCLTech complements IBM by combining modernization services with accelerators such as AI Force to help customers move from AI-assisted‑ tooling to sustain modernization at scale.

Why Mainframe Modernization Is at a Tipping Point

For many enterprises, the mainframe is not a legacy system; it is the system of record for revenue, risk and customer trust. Core industries continue to rely on COBOL-based‑ applications that have evolved over decades, often with deep dependencies across batch, transaction, data and integration layers.

What has changed is the environment around those applications:

• Skills risk is no longer theoretical - COBOL expertise is aging and replacement pipelines are thin, making it harder to staff both “run” and “change” work at the pace the business expects
• Modernization pressure is coming from the business - CIOs and application leaders are expected to improve agility, integrate with digital channels and reduce operational risk, without destabilizing core systems
• Manual modernization no longer scales - Traditional reverse engineering, documentation and refactoring can be slow, costly and difficult to repeat across large portfolios
• AI is reshaping expectations - Customers increasingly ask how AI can reduce effort, improve understanding and accelerate modernization, especially for complex legacy estates

As a result, mainframe modernization is shifting from long-term aspiration to a ‑near-term agenda item, with increased emphasis on incremental delivery, measurable progress and ‑risk-controlled‑ transformation.

AI-Assisted Modernization with IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z and HCLTech Accelerators

IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z is an AI-powered solution that accelerates mainframe application modernization. It supports the full modernization lifecycle, from deep application analysis that delivers context-aware insights and comprehensive documentation, to the execution of complex, time-intensive coding tasks through intelligent AI and automated workflows.

IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z provides an agentic experience with purpose-built AI and automated end-to-end modernization workflows, powered by AI models infused with mainframe specific domain knowledge.

Different modes, such as Z Architect mode and Z Code mode, work together to complete complex workflows, as shown in the example below:

From a customer standpoint, watsonx Code Assistant for Z delivers true business value in the following ways:

• Enhances developer productivity with AI modes and tools that can analyze mainframe applications, explain, generate and modify mainframe application code, modularize mainframe applications to reduce complexity and selectively transform COBOL to Java and PL/I to Java that is optimized to run on the mainframe
• Increases business agility by seamlessly integrating with DevOps pipelines and enabling selective and targeted application modernization
• Improves operational efficiency by reducing total project cost with developer productivity uplift and targeted application modernization approach versus complete rewriting or replatforming
• Lowers risk of modernization by enabling incremental modernization, reducing dependency on SMEs with AI-assisted application understanding and refactoring capabilities, while maintaining mainframe quality of service by retaining the refactored/transformed applications on-platform

To realize enterprise outcomes, many customers also want AI to work consistently across the broader lifecycle (requirements, delivery tickets, testing, documentation and operational workflows). This is where HCLTech accelerators, especially AI Force can complement watsonx Code Assistant for Z.

HCLTech AI Force is positioned as a GenAI-driven and agentic platform designed to automate and augment workflows across software engineering and operations, with capabilities such as RAG pipelines, tool integrations, governance/guardrails and agent workflows.
It also emphasizes integration with existing enterprise ecosystems, including prebuilt connectors (e.g., Azure DevOps, Jira, GitHub, ServiceNow) and a framework for onboarding additional integrations.

A simple coexistence model is often the most effective way to explain this to customers:

• watsonx Code Assistant for Z accelerates modernization tasks that are specific to IBM Z application lifecycle activities, from planning and analysis to development
• AI Force helps unify lifecycle artifacts and workflows across engineering and operations so AI can be applied consistently from requirements through delivery and run.

From Tool to Transformation: The Role of Services

AI-assisted‑ tools accelerate modernization, but they do not manage complexity on their own. In real programs, customers typically need help answering questions such as:

• Which applications should be modernized first and why?
• How should in‑place modernization be balanced with longer‑term hybrid or platform strategies?
• How do we ensure refactored code is production‑ready, compliant and supportable?
• How do we scale from a successful pilot to a portfolio‑level program?

These needs sit outside the scope of any single product. Services are essential to:

• Define a structured modernization roadmap aligned to business priorities and risk tolerance
• Integrate AI‑assisted outputs into delivery disciplines such as CI/CD, testing practices and governance
• Manage coexistence during transition (for example, mixed language environments and phased rollout)
• Operationalize outcomes, so modernization becomes repeatable and measurable

Why HCLTech Services, Accelerators and IBM Solutions Work Together

1. HCLTech modernization services: end‑to‑end coverage
   HCLTech’s mainframe modernization portfolio spans consulting and assessment, application and data services, integration with mainframes, in‑place modernization, infrastructure operations and run services—including constructs such as hosting and MFaaS.
2. Structured assessment‑to‑execution delivery
   HCLTech describes a structured approach—Discover → Analyze → Craft → Execute—covering requirements and objectives, inventory and performance inputs, dependency analysis, treatment recommendations, prioritization, wave planning, coexistence planning and execution
3. Accelerators that improve repeatability and lifecycle continuity
   HCLTech’s modernization approach is supported by accelerators spanning discovery, modernization/engineering, test automation, DevOps integration and data modernization—positioned to reduce manual effort and help scale delivery across portfolios
   AI Force is positioned as a unifying layer to connect and operationalize lifecycle artifacts and workflows, with governance features and integration capabilities to fit into existing enterprise toolchains
4. Experience operating at enterprise scale
   HCLTech materials reference modernization across large and complex landscapes, including environments involving common mainframe components (e.g., Db2, IMS, CICS, MQ, RACF, scheduling and tooling ecosystems) and sizable application footprints
   They also include illustrative examples in freight and financial services contexts describing discovery and analysis activities, workshop‑led approaches and the use of accelerators to support modernization execution.

Customer takeaway: HCLTech + IBM provides the modernization platform and AI tooling, services, delivery model and lifecycle accelerators that help organizations apply those tools in a repeatable way, moving from pilots to portfolio modernization with controlled risk and measurable outcomes.

Conclusion

Mainframe application modernization is no longer about choosing between “keep” or “replace.” It is about evolving core systems safely while addressing skills, cost and agility pressures. AI‑assisted tooling, such as watsonx Code Assistant for Z, can accelerate how teams understand and refactor complex estates, but durable outcomes require disciplined execution across strategy, engineering, testing, governance and run readiness.

By combining IBM’s modernization tooling with HCLTech’s modernization services and accelerator, including AI Force to support lifecycle continuity, customers gain a pragmatic path forward that respects the enduring value of the mainframe while enabling continuous modernization and measurable business outcomes.