ACM members from Illinois State University at LRS’ Springfield campus
Most days, my role as Manager of Training in LRS’ Enterprise Output Management division involves helping new employees better understand our products and the markets we serve. But some days, the one who ends up learning the most is me.
This was the case during a recent visit by two talented groups of university students to LRS’ mainframe facilities at our headquarters in Springfield, Illinois. Last month, ten members of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) at Illinois State University (ISU) and more than 40 computing students from University of Illinois-Springfield (UIS) visited the LRS campus to learn about mainframe careers and experience up close the computing platform that started it all: IBM Z.
“We really enjoyed the tour of LRS' facilities and infrastructure operations,” said Han Nguyen, Cybersecurity major and President of the ISU chapter of ACM. “It was enlightening to learn about the role of mainframes and IBM Z in today's technology landscape, because of their unrivaled reliability and ability to process business-critical transactions without fail. Especially in light of recent infrastructure disruptions and outages on some newer platforms, the mainframe’s legendary stability and scalability are quite impressive.”
UIS students experience LRS’ mainframe facilities up close and personal
Students from both universities learned about LRS’ origins as a mainframe consulting company and our evolution as a provider of enterprise output management software for large organizations throughout the world. They asked great questions about cybersecurity, career opportunities in the mainframe world, and what skills are required for a role in a software development organization.
“I’ve known about LRS since my days as an IT consultant in Springfield many years ago,” said Bob Clary, Director at UIS. “But some of the undergraduate and graduate students in our computing programs probably had no idea that there was a globally famous mainframe software company just a few miles north of our main campus. Being able to see a real datacenter up close before they enter the work world is a great experience for our students.”
Learning about LRS’ evolution as an enterprise software organization
So, three hours and 50+ plus students, professors, and administrators later, what did I learn from our guests? Talented students like these will be instrumental to LRS’ ability to support our IBM Z customers in the years to come. Moreover, businesses and vendors worried about how they are going to replace the legions of mainframe developers, systems programmers, and other employees as they head for retirement can breathe a sigh of relief.
The next generation of mainframe talent is waiting in the wings to start a career in enterprise computing. They’re curious, fast learners, and eager to take today’s “legacy” IBM Z systems into the second half of this century and beyond. Organizations willing to invest in students like these will reap the benefits for years to come. Will your company be one of them?