IBM aims to boost mainframe sales with simplified management
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(InfoWorld) - IBMÂ is embarking on a five-year campaign to promote mainframe computers by making the systems easier to configure and operate, and to promote them as an alternative to server network computing. IBM is investing $100 million to enable information technology administrators to manage mainframes in enterprises and help programmers to more easily automate the process of developing and deploying software to run on mainframes, the company said Wednesday. "This is the first step in a five-year journey to make the mainframe easier to use," said Bob Hoey, worldwide vice president of sales for IBM's System z mainframes. Some large enterprises with networks of 30-50 servers are potential candidates for migration to an entry-level mainframe system, Hoey said, although enterprises with fewer than 30 servers may not be. Still, a lot of IT managers may be intimidated by the complexity of operating a mainframe even though it has advantages over server network architecture, he said. Among the features IBM will add to its mainframe capabilities: Automated configuration checking for system administrators to predict and avoid technical problems; improved software asset management; and a simplified user interface for network configuration and management designed with "existing IT staff and the new generation of IT workers in mind," IBM said. Making the mainframe more approachable to a new generation of programmers makes sense to Vernon Turner, an IDC analyst. "Kids today coming out of college who grew up enjoying a different look and feel when they are programming and when they are trying to get their systems up. At least this look and feel is something they are familiar with," Turner said of the user interface IBM is adding to its mainframe capabilities. A mainframe could be a more efficient use of computing power than a server network, said IBM's Hoey. Some Intel-powered servers may have utilization levels of as little as 5 percent to 15 percent and Unix-based servers just 15 percent to 25 percent, Hoey said, because some servers may be dedicated to running only one software application. But a mainframe that combines all of an enterprise's applications onto one computer can operate at 80 percent to 100 percent utilization. "From a return-on-assets perspective, a mainframe does a better job of managing workload," he said. Market research confirms mainframes remain a corporate staple. According to Gartner Inc., large mainframe users have been increasing their mainframe environments -- measured in MIPS (millions of instructions per second) -- steadily over the past four years. Most of these users will continue to increase their installed MIPS at a compound annual growth rate of 15 percent to 20 percent through 2009, Gartner estimates. IDC reports the mainframe continues to hold its ground against competing platforms. Support for new Linux and Java workloads, for instance, will help drive MIPS shipments up 14.2 percent in 2006 and 9.2 percent next year, the research firm reports. In the big picture, however, IDC expects mainframe spending to drop to 6.2 percent ($3.9 billion) of overall server spending in 2010, from 8.9 percent ($4.9 billion) in 2005.
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With the aim to improve company performance and better meet customers&#39; needs, IBM on Thursday said it was realigning its Systems and Technology group around types of clients.Instead of product types, the newly aligned division will focus and develop products based on the needs of customers in different segments, said Tim Breuer, an IBM spokesman.The restructured division will target four segments: large enterprises; small-and-medium businesses; verticals; and microelectronics, which includes customers buying IBM&#39;s chips.The objective is to help customers and improve sales of IBM&#39;s products, Breuer said. The realignment enables the division to better determine and integrate hardware, software and services for customers, like meeting data center and virtualization needs in large enterprises, Breuer said. That should help IBM increase its business across the different segments, he said.The newly aligned division will work with other divisions to better configure products for customers in different segments, Breuer said.The restructuring comes at a time when the Systems and Technology division is struggling. In the third quarter of 2007, revenues for the division decreased 10 percent year-over-year to US$4.9 billion, including the divestiture of the Printing System Division in June 2007.IBM is delivering on its promise to focus on customer-oriented solutions that it announced last year, said Joe Clabby, president of Clabby Analytics.The SMB market is especially booming, and the restructuring should help IBM cope with heavy product demand, Clabby said. IBM has struggled a bit chasing the SMB market, but the restructuring coupled with some other recent improvements such as better marketing should help, he said.With the restructuring, IBM is finally putting bat to ball, though it remains to be seen how it will play out in the long run, Clabby said.
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IBM Corp. is introducing a range of new products and services, many based on technologies coming from recently acquired companies, aimed at helping businesses better manage and take advantage of their various software and hardware systems.
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It may be too early to talk plug-and-play but IBM Corp. believes it can help businesses of all sizes easily cluster their servers to handle intensive computing workloads.
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Company is upgrading current support and service program to draw more mainframe customers.
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IBM on Wednesday unveiled the next major upgrade of its WebSphere application server, which focuses on better performance and ease of use, instead of dramatically new functionality.
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Hardware expected to begin selling next year is designed to make it faster and more efficient to run Java programs.
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With an eye toward managing physical assets, Big Blue rolls out enhancements gained from buying spree.
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InfoWorld - Mainframe systems are playing a key role in many SOA (service-oriented architecture) projects, according to a study released this week by IBM user group SHARE.
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IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a set of consolidation and security software solutions designed to make the System z mainframe easier to use as the strategic platform of choice for running modern applications.
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Tech giants want to give high-performance computers more "mass market" appeal by making them easier to deploy, support and manage.
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(InfoWorld) - IBMÂ unveiled a Web site and IT security software application Thursday as part of its effort to compete with Hewlett-PackardÂ and SunÂ for customers in the fast-growing SMB sector. New customers can share tips on how to migrate from servers to mainframes on the Web site, which acts as an online community for users, system integrators, software vendors, and academic institutions. Existing customers can use the enhanced z/VM virtualization software to support more virtualized memory or use the new Tivoli zSecure V1.8.1 suite to monitor threats and enforce compliance. IBM created the new version of zSecure with technology from itsÂ first-quarter acquisition of Consul Risk Management. That purchase is part of IBM's strategy to spend $100 million toÂ simplify its mainframe platformÂ by 2011, hoping to persuade businesses to buy its System z9 mainframe computers instead of high-end servers. IBM sells an enterprise-class version of its z9 for large corporations and a business-class version for SMBs. Compared to servers running on chips from Sun or Intel, customers can save money by using power-efficient mainframes, said Jim Stallings, general manager of System z for IBM's systems and technology group. "The biggest reason customers are drawn to the mainframe -- a trend we've seen for more than 10 years now -- is power," Stallings said. "Servers running on the faster chips and greater numbers of chips draw an enormous amount of power, and our smaller customers can't get that power. I'm talking about basic electricity." The streamlined architecture of the mainframe makes it attractive to customers who need to process large amounts of information, such as financial services firms and hedge funds, he said. That group is quickly growing to include midrange banks, including the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus and Nexar, an Internet banking company in Belgium. "SMB customers are realizing that they cannot afford to change their infrastructure every two years because it's too expensive. The cost comes not so much in the hardware as in training people to administer it," Stallings said. "Our customers came to us and said, 'We want to migrate more work to the mainframe because of the economics. We're way over the religious debates about which processor is faster -- we don't care -- we need better economics.'" IBM is making a big bet on its mainframe business with the $100 million investment, but the gambit may pay off. In theÂ first quarter of 2007, the company credited strong growth in its software and system z sectors for an 8 percent increase in net income to $1.8 billion and a 6.6 percent increase in revenue to $22 billion, compared to the same period in 2006.
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IBM on Tuesday bolstered its storage portfolio with several new systems, including a product the vendor says packs the power of a larger system but is about the size of a couple of pizza boxes.
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IBM  on Friday will take aim at the heart of data storage equipment leader EMC Corp.'s  market with a product that will allow EMC buyers to switch to IBM.
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IBM on Friday introduced an upgrade of its performance-monitoring software for web-based transactions, expanding its view of transaction flows by adding support for more infrastructure components.
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InfoWorld - Hoping to both bolster resources available to its network of business partners as well as expand its number of partners, IBM on Tuesday introduced services and support programs that boost financial support for co-marketing campaigns and grant deeper access to IBM&#8217;s sales network to close deals faster.
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IBM is tweaking its semiconductor technology to help extend the performance of its servers and enterprise PCs, the company said Monday.