Lesser-Known Operating Systems: Important to Enterprises and Your Next Career Choice

By David Geer

IBM, QNX, Cumulus, and Pica8 are only a few examples of the many vendors that offer relatively lesser-known operating systems that can be of great value to your next career move. Why not take a few minutes to expose yourself to these OSes and the skills and trainings you should consider in order to use them profitably?

Operating Systems, Enterprise Value, & Skill Sets

The enterprise values the IBM Mainframe’s z/OS operating system for its reliability for mission critical operations. The vast majority of the Fortune 1000 still use the Mainframe and the z/OS. That will come as a surprise to some people in this industry who believe rumors that the mainframe is dead.

Some of the important z/OS skills to have include networking, development, and security skills. Specifically, interested technicians should gain z/OS skills with the COBOL programming language, the WebSphere Application Server, ISPF interfaces, Enterprise Server Transaction Management, Enterprise Server Data Management, JCL programming, VSAM programming, Linux on the z system, and VMs. To learn more, peruse the IBM system z educational information at here.

The IBM i operating system for midrange computers is known for its security on the IBM Power Systems platform for applications in storage and business systems. Yet, many technicians recognize this name even less than they do the z/OS moniker.

Some of the IBM i system skills that interested technicians should consider adding include those across duties such as user provisioning, software configuration, database administration, backup and recovery, support, systems auditing, and systems reporting. One of your first IBM i systems training resources should be this link, which helps to map i systems training.

The QNX real-time RTOS from QNX Software Systems (Blackberry is its parent company) is the most popular operating system for automobile-based computing systems, including navigation and safety systems. Most available training in the QNX arena is in software development. See this link for more details.

Network operating systems like Cumulus Linux from Cumulus Networks and PicOS from Pica8 enable enterprises to use open switches to virtualize, program, and simplify networking. Though these switches are less visible in the market today than those from names such as Cisco, they are gaining ground and worthy of your attention.

Skills in the Cumulus Linux network OS include the ability to install and deploy, setup and configure, and run and administer Cumulus Linux and adjacent tools. For more data on this training, visit this link.

Skills in the PicOS network operating system include Software Defined Networking abilities as well as command line interface (CLI) and DevOps-style development talents. For experience with PicOS, see the PicOS Virtual Lab where you can work with a cloud-based PicOS switch installation. For PicOS training, see the “Introduction to SDN & OpenFlow” class here.