August 2017

Welcome to the Modern Mainframe

On July 17, I was in New York City at the launch of the new IBM zSystems.  Before I hopped on the Delta Shuttle from Boston early that morning, I was already reading and hearing all about the new z14 in places like Wired and CNBC. That morning felt different than previous mainframe launch events in the past. Even though this new machine is the most powerful mainframe ever built, I didn’t read/hear a lot about this new machine’s “speeds and feeds”.  Instead, the messaging was consistently focused on the critical business value that the new IBM zSystems delivers, most importantly data protection and encryption.

With IBM zSystems, you can now protect all of your data. Not just some of it, but all of your data. This new machine is capable of powering over 12 billion encrypted transactions per day. At the launch event I talked with business and technical leaders from many industries, each of them wanting to learn more about pervasive encryption.

Other key take-aways from the day?  The new IBM zSystems is more open than ever, natively supporting all of your favorite open source languages and tools. Analytics? Instead of moving your mainframe data somewhere else to garner insights, move your analytics – and your applications – closer to your data.  Data is the new perimeter and IBM zSystems is designed to protect it, analyze it, and make it open.

The launch of the new z14 represents an exciting development in both computing and business. I couldn’t be more excited that this new Z chapter has arrived. Rocket loves Z. You have our commitment to continue to drive innovation on the modern mainframe for you and your customers.

 

Andy Signature

Andrew J. Youniss
President and CEO, Rocket Software, Inc.

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