A panel of mainframe experts from CA Technologies and other companies discussed the role of mainframes in the cloud and how organizations can attract and train skilled mainframe workers. – Even with organizations shifting business-critical applications to
the cloud, mainframes remain as relevant as ever, but organizations are
struggling to find skilled IT workers familiar with the technology,
according to a survey by CA Technologies. CA presented the study
results during a panel…
Oracle is positioning the extension as a highly scalable additional tier of disk and tape storage for mainframes, although it also can be used in x86-based systems. – Oracle, which hasn’t revealed all that much about how it intends to keep
developing its Sun StorageTek franchise since the Sun
Microsystems acquisition 10 months ago, on Oct. 27 introduced a new Virtual
Library Extension that adds new-generation storage tiering into mainframe
environments.
O…
Unisys is introducing its sPar virtualization technology on its ClearPath mainframes that take advantage of specialty engines on the systems. – Unisys is bringing its own virtualization technology to its mainframe systems, giving businesses what one company official called an “enterprise-class” virtualization solution.
Unisys on Oct. 19 unveiled its sPar (secure partitioning) technology on its Intel-based ClearPath mainframes, offering ent…
A survey of 300 IT organizations shows that mainframes remain mission-critical and are likely to be part of any cloud strategy. – According to the results of a recent survey, 79 percent of IT organizations
consider the mainframe to be an essential component of their cloud computing
strategy, said CA Technologies on Oct. 7.
If that wasn’t surprising enough, 74 percent believe the mainframe will have
some role in a cloud com…
Unisys is unveiling a managed cloud computing initiative, ClearPath Cloud Solutions, which will give businesses access to its ClearPath mainframes. The first offering, available later in the quarter, will focus on development and test environments. – Unisys is creating a managed cloud computing lineup based on its ClearPath
line of mainframes.
Unisys officials introduced the first offering July 22, the
ClearPath Cloud Development and Test Solution, aimed at businesses looking to
develop and test applications for ClearPath systems.
The goal …
IBM announced that, for the first time, it is adding a deduplication appliance to its System z mainframe server. The new feature sports a rather verbose moniker: System Storage TS7680 ProtecTIER Deduplication Gateway for System z.
– One doesn’t often hear the IT terms quot;mainframe quot; and quot;deduplication quot;
used in the same context, or even the same sentence. But IBM is now
connecting those dots.
IBM said Feb. 24 that, for the first time, it is adding deduplication
to its System z mainframe server. The new…
Neon Enterprise Software upgrades its zPrime software product, which enables businesses to more easily cut their mainframe costs by moving more workloads from IBM’s central mainframe processor onto less expensive specialty engines. The software comes at a time when rivals are complaining about IBM’s dominance of the mainframe market and federal investigators reportedly are looking into IBM’s business practices.
– Neon Enterprise Software has updated its zPrime product, which enables
businesses to reduce the cost of their IBM
mainframe environments.
Neon’s zPrime software makes it easier for enterprises to move more of their
workloads from the more expensive IBM System
z central processors to less expens…
Union Pacific, which almost 40 years ago was the first railroad to schedule car-level shipments thanks to its IBM mainframe, is in the process of moving to a distributed IT infrastructure in which smaller blade servers from Dell and HP eventually will replace the mainframe. Railroad officials say that new business demands, the growing use of open-source technology and the aging mainframe programmer population are among the key reasons for making the move, which is costing Union Pacific more than $150 million and is scheduled to be complete by 2014.
– In the 1960s, Union Pacific became the first railroad in the world to schedule each shipment at the car level and automate the tracking of the cars when it brought in an IBM mainframe.
Forty years later, the railroad is in the midst of a multi-year project that will see a new distributed network, c…
IBM in recent years has seen an upswing in interest in its Series z mainframes, and Big Blue, along with other vendors such as Unisys, CA and BMC Software, is ramping up its investment in mainframe technologies. At the same time, other OEMs, such as Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard and Dell, are promoting a vision in which data centers are populated by a host of smaller, highly virtualized servers that are more tightly integrated with storage, networking and management resources. Industry observers, who once saw the mainframe as a dinosaur, now concede that big iron is going to stick around and IBM has worked hard to keep it relevant. However, with advancements in chip technologies from Intel and AMD; greater virtualization capabilities; and new performance and efficiency features from HP, Dell and others, highly networked x86 servers are able to take on increasingly large and complex workloads. Here are five arguments each for distributed and mainframe environments, thanks to IBM and HP. While not a definitive list, each covers a lot of ground.
– …
