Z Systems is the former name for what IBM now calls their IBM Z family of mainframe computers. The IBM Z mainframes have always been known for their reliability – z stands for zero downtime. One contributing factor in this reputation was the early decision to add spare components to their systems that would allow them to recover from areas of failure without interrupting operations. Today IBM Z mainframe servers are at the heart of some of the world’s most demanding online experiences. Credit card giants like Visa rely on IBM Z systems running the fastest processor in the world to process more than 32,000 transactions per second. Their reliability and record uptime satisfy the extreme demands of financial institutions and airlines alike – 44 of the top 50 banks run IBM Z systems and virtually all of the world’s largest airlines run on IBM Z mainframes.
In addition to speed and reliability, IBM Z computers are famously secure – encrypting 100% of application, database and cloud service data without changing application code or SLAs. This results in data security for far less cost and effort than its competitors can offer. IBM Z is found in the data centers of many organizations that must ensure that their data is secure and protected from data breaches, including government agencies, healthcare service providers, and insurance companies.
Current versions of the IBM Z product line have incorporated new capabilities that support needs of increasing importance in the digital world, like mobile data, secure cloud infrastructure, and analytics and machine learning. The combination of extreme processing speed, a larger cache, and large local memory is vital in a world where mobile transactions are projected to reach 500 million per second by 2025. IBM Z can enable the analysis of these transactions to spot anomalies, trends, and patterns. IBM has been a long-time promoter of Linux and has partnered with SUSE for more than 20 years. SUSE has supported IBM Z for over 15 years, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for z Systems and LinuxONE is the most popular choice among businesses running Linux on IBM Z Systems.