Microsoft to IBM: Tolerate PSI Mainframes or Quit Europe
by Hesh Wiener

If you think Microsoft has an aversion to Article 82 of the European Treaty, the anti-monopoly law that forced it to open some Windows server APIs and also to live with others' media players on desktops, think again. Microsoft is backing Platform Solutions (PSI) in an Article 82 action that could loosen IBM's grip on the mainframe. If PSI is given the keys to every glass house in Europe, Microsoft will be one of its principal guests. In fact, PSI could get more from IBM than it wanted when it first announced mainframe-compatible systems. READ MORE >

Top Mainframe Stories from Around the Web

(NetworkWorld) Virtualizing X64-based servers is a quite a bit different cry from mainframe virtualization. Just because you know virtualization after years of doing it in the mainframe environment doesn't mean that what passes for virtualization in the distributed computer environment will come easy. For starters, troubleshooting and management challenges are two areas of concern. READ MORE >

(IBM) The System z could be nominated for a best supporting computer award (if there was such a thing) for its role in Vietnam's Banking Center of Excellence. IBM is establishing the center in the first quarter of 2008. The banking center will be located in the IBM Vietnam headquarters in Hanoi and staffed with banking and technical experts. Its purpose is to help clients and partners with business and technology design, vendor and package selection, modeling, proof of concept, benchmark testing, and system migration. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Security software maker Bsafe Solutions and the information technology services company Satyam Computer Services have formed a partnership that will provide cross-platform security auditing capabilities on System z, System i, Linux, and Windows servers. Satyam is delivering the Bsafe-based product as a service and manage it on a day-to-day basis for its clients. READ MORE >

(Software AG) Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world, dominates the IT market in Latin America. But did you know mainframe sales have grown at an annual rate of 27 percent since 2003? They have according to Software AG, maker of service oriented software and business process management software, which last month passed a legal hurdle that allowed it to terminate a distribution agreement and move into direct sales in what is the world's fifth largest mainframe market by dollar value. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

See our full calendar of events at
http://www.itjungle.com/big/big-calendar.html

February 5 -- Virtual Meeting - The Virtual IMS Connection user group meeting will feature guest speaker Bill Keene of NEON Enterprise Software discussing IMS disaster recovery preparation. The session begins at 10:30 a.m. CST. LEARN MORE >

February 24-29 -- Orlando, Florida - The SHARE mainframe user group will be hosting its spring event in sunny Florida, and will be focusing on two areas that are affecting mainframe shops in a big way these days: Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) application software design and server virtualization and consolidation. As usual, SHARE will also include the Technology Exchange Expo, where vendors can hawk their mainframe wares and attendees can try to find the tools to solve their IT woes. LEARN MORE >

April 6-11 -- Las Vegas, Nevada - Impact 2008, IBM's "Smart SOA Conference" is a showcase for WebSphere as the foundation, the tools, and all the materials needed to create a service oriented architecture. Technical experts from IBM, analysts, and companies that have implemented SOA solutions are taking the starring roles in this production. In addition to educational sessions and keynote addresses, there will be a solution center expo area. LEARN MORE >