IBM pitches new z15 mainframe as platform for mission-critical hybrid cloud

Encrypt data everywhere and revoke access to data instantly, promises IBM with launch of z15 mainframe

IBM has launched the latest iteration of its IBM Z mainframe, the IBM z15, pitching it as the ideal platform for running mission-critical applications in a hybrid cloud environment.

In particular, IBM has emphasised its ability to protect customer data with pervasive encryption - the ability for the mainframe to "encrypt data everywhere" across hybrid multi-cloud environments. It also offers policy-based controls that can "instantly revoke access to data" across an organisation's hybrid cloud, based on IBM's Data Privacy Passports technology.

This technology, IBM claims, enables organisations to control how their data is stored and shared, including revocation of access to that data at any time, "not only within the z15 [mainframe] environment but across an enterprise's hybrid multi-cloud environment".

Our enterprise clients are continuing to embrace the mainframe as part of a hybrid approach to infrastructure

IBM also claims that z15 supports cloud-native application development, especially for mission-critical applications, with new development tools such as Red Hat OpenShift. It added that cloud developers can now deploy z/OS applications using OpenShift with no special z15 skills required.

That shift towards cloud and Agile development has been supported by partner companies within the IBM mainframe ecosystem, such as Compuware.

IBM has also pledged to deliver IBM Cloud Pak offerings to Linux running on z-system mainframes.

For organisations whose core mainframe workloads continues to be transaction processing, IBM claims that the z15 can perform up to one trillion web transactions every day. Supporting that is Instant Recovery, a new feature enabling the the system to recover more quickly from both planned and unplanned downtime.

At the same time as launching the z15, IBM also unveiled a new high-end, enterprise storage system, the IBM DS8900F, intended to support organisations running mission-critical, hybrid multi-cloud environments. IBM claims that the new storage systems will offer 99.99999 per cent uptime, with disaster recovery options bring recovery times to "near zero".

IBM is the last global mainframe hardware player.

The demise of the mainframe has been predicted since the late 1980s, with multiple players falling out of the market, while it retrenches down to a handful of players - IBM, Fujitsu and NEC. Nevertheless, it remains a core component of many major organisations' in-house IT systems.

"We actually see our enterprise clients continuing to embrace the mainframe as part of a hybrid approach to infrastructure," said Oliver Presland, a vice president at managed IT services company Ensono. He continued: "Everything that mainframe is renowned for, from security to reliability, versatility to performance - makes them as relevant today as they have ever been."

However, he added, IDC also forecasts the market to decline in value from $3.57 billion in 2017 to $2.8 billion in 2022.