Stream: Virtual Room 9
Time: 10:00 - 10:45
COBOL still runs the world’s most critical workloads, but understanding, extending, and modernising it can sometimes feel like doing archaeology of the last 3 decades of engineering decisions. In this session, we’ll show how GitHub Copilot can become a practical “co‑developer” for IBM z/OS teams, helping you understand, write, and transform COBOL with more confidence and speed, without losing the rigour that mainframe engineering demands. We’ll start with the everyday wins inside your IDE: using Copilot to explain unfamiliar paragraphs, generate clearer comments and documentation, suggest safer refactors, and additions. Then we’ll step up to modern, agentic approaches, where Copilot-driven workflows help you break down larger transformations into repeatable, reviewable steps. Finally we’ll connect these techniques to outcomes we’re already seeing in large estates, including accelerated COBOL to Java refactoring and automated test generation, supported by reusable playbooks and prompt libraries that make teams consistent at scale. Whether you’re a seasoned COBOL engineer, a modern dev new to z/OS, or a technical leader planning the next wave of application transformation, you’ll leave with patterns you can apply immediately, plus a clear view of what’s coming next for AI‑assisted mainframe modernisation.
Anthony Papageorgiou is an Azure Global Black Belt and Senior Solution Engineer at Microsoft, specialising in Mainframe Migration and Modernisation. With a first-class Computer Science degree from the University of Warwick and over 18 years of enterprise IT experience, he helps organisations modernise core systems and integrate them into cloud strategies. Formerly an IBM Master Inventor with 15 patents, Anthony spent 18 years at IBM leading roles in development, architecture, and strategy for IBM Z software products. He is an expert in APIs, Cloud, and Event Processing technologies and has extensive experience applying Agile, DevOps, and Design Thinking to large-scale projects. A seasoned speaker at over 100 events and author of multiple technical publications, Anthony is recognised for his ability to communicate complex concepts, drive innovation, and deliver transformative solutions for global enterprises.
Global black belt software architect
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