IBM Z® has a close and unique relationship to its storage. Over the years, improvements to the IBM zSystems® processors and storage software, the disk storage systems, and their communication architecture consistently reinforced this synergy. This IBM® Redpaper™ publication summarizes and highlights the various aspects, advanced functions, and technologies that are often pioneered by IBM and make IBM Z and IBM DS8000® products an ideal combination. This paper is intended for users who have some familiarity with IBM Z and the IBM DS8000 series and want a condensed but comprehensive overview of the synergy items up to the IBM z16 server with IBM z/OS® V2.5 and the IBM DS8900 Release 9.3 firmware.