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Edstellar

COBOL and Mainframe Application Modernization Corporate Training

COBOL & Mainframe Application Modernization Corporate Training

A 24-hour instructor-led program that teaches operations, development, and architecture teams to assess, refactor, and modernize COBOL mainframe applications through guided hands-on labs.

Instructor-led group trainingVirtual / on-site / off-site10 languagesDelivered inEnglish, Spanish, Mandarin, German, Arabic, Portuguese, Hindi, French, Japanese, Italian100+ countriesWe have delivered inUnited States, United Kingdom, India, Canada, Germany, France, Netherlands, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Brazil, South Africa and 90+ more countries

How we build a modernization-ready team

The Edstellar COBOL & MAINFRAME MODERNIZATION Capability Model

Powered by Edstellar

  1. Diagnose

    Assess your team's COBOL and z/OS fluency plus your portfolio's size, age, and risk before training begins.

  2. Standardize

    Establish shared modernization language across operations, development, and architecture teams.

  3. Practice

    Run guided hands-on labs that refactor code, expose APIs, and assess real application portfolios.

  4. Measure

    Track modernization readiness through skills assessments, lab outcomes, and portfolio scoring.

  5. Scale

    Extend proven modernization patterns across the portfolio with governance that keeps them alive.

24
approxhours
6modules
DeliveryInstructor-led(Onsite / Virtual / Hybrid)
4+ Expert trainers
4.8/547 reviews
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Adobe
Amazon
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Emerson
Godrej
Intel
Johnson & Johnson
MediaTek
Microsoft
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Program Overview: What is COBOL and Mainframe Application Modernization?

COBOL & Mainframe Application Modernization is an instructor-led program for engineers, architects, and IT leaders responsible for mainframe estates. Over 24 hours and six modules, participants move from mainframe architecture and z/OS foundations through COBOL programming and JCL batch processing, CICS, IMS, and DB2 online systems, application assessment, and modernization strategy. The program covers API enablement, DevOps on z/OS, and hybrid integration, ending with an end-to-end modernization plan as the capstone.

Labs work with real mainframe concepts and tooling: reading and refactoring COBOL, tracing JCL batch flows, exposing transactions through APIs, and applying DevOps discipline to z/OS pipelines. Instructors with mainframe backgrounds guide the assessment work, teaching teams to evaluate applications for rehost, refactor, or replace decisions. Migration waves are planned incrementally, so risk stays manageable. The capstone asks each team to produce a complete modernization plan with a business case leadership can approve and fund.

Mainframes run the core of banking, insurance, and government, yet the teams that understand them are retiring faster than replacements arrive. Rip-and-replace efforts fail expensively when nobody understands what the COBOL actually does. This program builds the missing middle: engineers who respect the mainframe's reliability and can still carry it into hybrid, API-enabled architectures step by step.

The capstone is an end-to-end modernization plan: application assessment, strategy per workload, API enablement design, DevOps pipeline approach, migration waves, and a business case with costs and risks, presented to the instructor as if to the CIO. It is the document most organizations need but cannot produce internally. Participants return able to lead mainframe modernization with evidence and a fundable plan, instead of debating it for another budget cycle.

Over six modules, teams progress from mainframe foundations to a full capstone modernization plan. The program emphasizes safe refactoring, incremental migration waves, DevOps discipline on z/OS, and business cases that leadership can approve and fund.

What's Included in this Workshop for Your Enterprise Teams

In the program
  1. 1

    Guided hands-on labs

    Modernize COBOL code, wrap transactions in APIs, and assess portfolios in instructor-led labs.

  2. 2

    Capstone project

    Build a full modernization plan for a simulated legacy portfolio and defend it.

  3. 3

    Sandbox environments

    Practice on realistic mainframe sandboxes without touching production systems.

Delivery and logistics
  • 24 hours of instructor-led sessions, onsite or live virtual
  • Hybrid delivery aligned to your operations calendar
  • Pre-program skills assessment for each cohort
  • Post-program modernization roadmap template
  • Course materials and lab guides for every participant
  • Scheduling aligned to your team's shifts

Build your team's skills. Anywhere in the world.

  • Real-world use cases

    from day one

  • Instructor-led training

    for your teams

  • Delivered globally

    in 100+ countries

An instructor leading a corporate training session with a team around a boardroom table

Enterprise Training Solutions Customized for Your Company

One partner for instructor-led corporate training, delivered the way your teams work.

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  • Customized Training Delivery
  • Scale Your Training: Small to Large Teams
  • In-person Onsite, Live Virtual or Hybrid Training Modes
  • Plan from 2000+ Industry-ready Training Programs
  • Hands-On Labs on Live Infrastructure, Led by Industry Experts

COBOL and Mainframe Application Modernization Course Topics and Program Outline

A 24-hour applied program: mainframe and z/OS foundations, COBOL and JCL, CICS/IMS/DB2 workloads, modernization strategy, API enablement, and a capstone modernization plan.

Built by Edstellar with mainframe modernization practitioners

Built by practitioners who operate z/OS estates and modernize COBOL portfolios in production environments, shaped around your stack and use cases.

6 modules24 hours6 practice sessions1 capstone
Assess

We map your team's mainframe experience and inventory your COBOL portfolio so labs target your real applications.

Learn

Your team learns z/OS, COBOL, JCL, and transaction systems through guided instruction and sandbox exploration.

Practice

Teams refactor code, wrap CICS logic in APIs, and run modernization assessments in hands-on guided labs.

Apply

Your team ships a full modernization plan with waves, risk controls, and a business case ready to defend.

Assess 4%
Learn 13%
Practice 65%
Apply 18%

24 hours of instructor-led mainframe modernization ending in a portfolio modernization plan your team can execute.

Delivered as

24 hours6 modules6 guided labs1 capstone plan

Delivered hybrid, onsite, or live virtual across 3 full days or six half-day sessions, matched to your team's schedule.

Customize this program tailored to your team?

Tell us your training needs: what your team already works with, the level they’re at, and the topics you want them to focus on. We’ll adjust the modules, duration and hands-on labs, and send you a customized outline for your group.

Get a Tailored Outline

Key Skills and Outcomes Your Team Will Gain

Every outcome is practiced in guided labs and reinforced in the capstone, so your team leaves ready to modernize real COBOL estates.

  • Navigate z/OS confidently

    Work with TSO/ISPF, data sets, and batch utilities to support daily mainframe operations.

  • Read and write COBOL

    Interpret legacy COBOL programs, copybooks, and file handling to support maintenance work.

  • Run JCL batch streams

    Build, submit, and troubleshoot JCL batch jobs with correct return code handling.

  • Support CICS, IMS, and DB2

    Trace transactions and data flows across online regions and databases to resolve issues.

  • Assess modernization options

    Score applications against the 5 Rs and sequence migration waves by risk and value.

  • Expose legacy as APIs

    Wrap CICS transactions and COBOL logic in REST services for hybrid integration.

  • Plan portfolio migration

    Produce an end-to-end modernization plan with waves, controls, and a defensible business case.

Teams that Benefit from this COBOL and Mainframe Application Modernization Group Training

Built for mainframe operations, development, and architecture teams that keep COBOL estates running and plan their future. Content adapts to role and experience so each cohort practices the workflows it owns.

Explore by department

Keep your z/OS estate stable while modernizing

Give operators and system programmers the z/OS, JCL, and batch skills to keep production reliable while migration waves proceed.

Workflow friction

  • Aging staff with irreplaceable knowledge
  • Brittle batch schedules
  • Limited visibility into hybrid flows

How the program helps

  • Faster batch incident resolution
  • Cleaner change and release discipline
  • Stronger monitoring of hybrid workloads

Practice use cases

  • batch scheduling
  • incident triage
  • capacity checks

Cohorts are grouped by role and mainframe experience so labs match the systems each team owns.

Prerequisites: This program suits operations staff, COBOL developers, analysts, and architects who work with mainframe estates. No prior modernization experience is required, though familiarity with z/OS or COBOL helps. Instructors adapt labs to your platforms, portfolio, and migration goals.

Mainframe Operator to Modernization Lead

Start with z/OS and COBOL fundamentals, advance through transactions, assessment, and API enablement, and finish able to lead a portfolio modernization plan.

EntryExitNot covered
Skill / TopicPrerequisite?
z/OS & mainframe architecture basics
No
COBOL programming fundamentals
No
JCL batch & scheduling
No
CICS/IMS/DB2 transaction & data systems
No
Modernization assessment & tooling
No
API enablement & incremental migration
No

One program that grows with mainframe careers, from z/OS basics to confident modernization practice.

Mixed cohort, or several teams at once?

We can tailor the training to different teams, roles, and experience levels within the same program.

Share Your Requirements

Certificate of Training Completion.

On successful completion, employees receive an Edstellar course completion certificate, recognizing their commitment to ongoing learning and professional development. It validates the skills they have built and motivates them to keep growing and contribute to organizational success.

Earned, not attended. Awarded on completion of all hands-on labs and the capstone project.

Edstellar Certificate of Completion

Training Delivery Modes: Virtual, Onsite and Hybrid

Instructor-led delivery shaped to your operations calendar: live virtual for distributed teams, onsite for systems access, or hybrid for both.

Hybrid Training

A flexible mix of onsite systems sessions and live virtual labs, so mainframe teams learn without leaving their estates.

  • Onsite systems access plus remote labs
  • Shift-friendly scheduling across time zones
  • Live instructor guidance in every session
  • Same curriculum and labs in all formats

Need a training format that works for your team?

Full days, half days across weeks, or split by module. Tell us the delivery window and we schedule the cohort around it.

Plan Your Training

Frequently Asked Questions

Question not answered here?

Put it in the request. A training specialist answers it directly, within one business day.

Talk to a Training Advisor

Where this Training Fits in Your Team's learning path.

COBOL and mainframe modernisation builds on z/OS and JCL knowledge. Your team learns the platform, runs and reads batch JCL, then maintains and modernises COBOL code, and finally plans the move of selected workloads to the cloud.

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Why Choose Edstellar as Your COBOL and Mainframe Application Modernization Training Provider

Edstellar delivers instructor-led mainframe modernization training built around your estate, your portfolio, and outcomes you can measure.

Global delivery map
5000+

EXPERT TRAINERS

5+

YEARS DELIVERING

1,000+

ORGANIZATIONS TRAINED

ISO 9001&27001

CERTIFIED

✏️

Tailored

Modules, labs, and the capstone are tailored to your mainframe stack, COBOL portfolio, and migration goals.

⚙️

Proven Methodology

Training follows a proven assess, learn, practice, apply arc that turns portfolio findings into executable migration waves.

🧪

Practice-Based Learning

Six guided labs and a capstone have teams refactoring COBOL, exposing APIs, and scoring real portfolios.

👤

Expert Trainers

Sessions are led by mainframe practitioners who operate z/OS estates and modernize COBOL portfolios in production.

🌐

Global Scale

Consistent mainframe modernization programs delivered across regions, time zones, and multi-site enterprises.

📊

Measurable Outcomes

Skills assessments, lab outcomes, and portfolio scores show exactly what each team can modernize next.

Connect Mainframe Foundations With Evidence-Based Application Modernization Choices

Edstellar guides teams from COBOL and z/OS fundamentals to portfolio assessment and hybrid integration. Participants practice batch and transaction workflows before evaluating modernization options and exposing a sample transaction through an API. The final plan links architectural choices to application evidence, operational dependencies, and a defensible modernization sequence.

  1. Step 01

    Consult

    We assess mainframe responsibilities and COBOL or z/OS familiarity to identify gaps in batch processing, transaction data, application assessment, and integration design.

  2. Step 02

    Plan

    We establish z/OS and COBOL batch foundations before CICS and DB2 work, portfolio assessment, and API integration, then assemble the modernization plan.

  3. Step 03

    Align

    We align mainframe instruction with operations, development, analysis, and architecture roles, confirming sandbox access and foundational support for unfamiliar platform components.

  4. Step 04

    Customize

    We adapt sample batch streams, transactions, and legacy portfolios to relevant modernization goals while preserving controlled data access and explicit application dependencies.

  5. Step 05

    Execute

    Participants compile COBOL, run JCL, extend transactions, and test REST integration, receiving feedback on execution behavior, data handling, and modernization reasoning.

  6. Step 06

    Evaluate

    We assess the portfolio plan for evidence-supported modernization choices, coherent dependencies, demonstrated integration concepts, and clearly explained migration priorities and trade-offs.

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Needs analysis, gap identification, and a training roadmap.

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Org design, succession planning and cultural change.

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Coaching solutions

Executive and manager coaching that keeps skills in use.

Start an RFP shaped to your needs.

Answer three quick questions about team size, scope, and how often you need the program run, then send the request from the last step. Everything you choose travels with it, so you only fill this in once.

How many team members need training?

COBOL & Mainframe Application Modernization Training Training Packages & Pricing

Where L&D holds an annual budget, license packages price the whole year at once instead of raising a purchase order per workshop. Hours and licenses are pooled across teams, programs and locations, so unused capacity is not stranded in one department.

Starter

120

trainee licenses

64 hours of group training

Tailored for SMBs

Most chosen

Growth

320

trainee licenses

160 hours of group training

Ideal for growing SMBs

Enterprise

800

trainee licenses

400 hours of group training

Designed for large corporations

Custom

Unlimited

trainee licenses

Duration set by the rollout

Multi-region and multi-year

Training Packages & Pricing

Choose the training format that works for your team. Pricing is customized based on your requirements, cohort size, and delivery needs.

See the full package table

Request COBOL and Mainframe Application Modernization Training for Your Team

Tell us about your mainframe estate, portfolio size, and timelines and we will design a modernization program around your goals.

We respond within one business day.

Modernization training for mainframe teamsRequest a custom training plan
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