IBM Offers Mainframe Makeover

IBM is looking to make more of the mainframe, by adding more performance, reliability, and security and selling the z9 system as a collaborative computing hub that is accessible to more users, including those on Intel and RISC platforms. IBM said its three-year, US$1.2 billion development effort had resulted in "one of the most open, reliable and secure computing systems every built for business." Calling the z9 a new generation of mainframe, Big Blue indicated the new systems would serve as a central point of control for managing security and resources across the network.