September 8, 2009
Most of us are familiar with the traditional applications that have been running on IBM mainframes for years because of the mainframe’s inherent qualities of reliability, availability, security, performance, etc. With the introduction of the System z/10, Linux on System z, specialty processors, and a vastly improved TCO/ROI story: It sure seems that IBM should be racking up a boatload of new mainframe customers in a variety of industries. I haven’t noticed that happening yet. Topping my list of targeted businesses would be companies that depend on a system with five-nines uptime, that is virtually hack-proof and DoS attack-proof.
For example, one good way to get new mainframe customers might be with a solution that combines a z/10 with z/VM and Linux on System z to deliver enterprise-level web hosting services worldwide to hundreds of companies since the cost of electricity, floor space, and human resources would be less while also providing high reliability, availability, security, and performance. The lower TCO would also serve to provide a competitive advantage over other types of platforms that are being used to provide these services.
Just curious, if you were tasked to create a plan of attack to generate new mainframe customers, what types of businesses and/or applications would top your list?
