Server Sales Perk Up a Little Bit in the Third Quarter
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

A bump in mainframe sales and the expansion of sales of blade servers were a big factor in a slight resurgence in server sales in the third quarter, according to market research from both IDC and Gartner. Both research firms tend to put out their numbers on the same day, and they take the pulse of the market in slightly different ways, but both agreed last Wednesday, when they put out their stats, that the third quarter was pretty good after relatively flat growth or declines in the prior several quarters. READ MORE >

Top Mainframe Stories and Vendor Announcements

(ZDNet) What happens when IT becomes disconnected from an organization's business? You're likely to find unsavory customization costs, information silos, high support costs, and difficult integration projects. In this case, you also find a mainframe on its way out. READ MORE >

(ITWeek) A combination of mainframe back end, .NET development, and outsourcing is what works for this Belgian bank. It's all part of the design which keeps strategic planning in-house and in line with business objectives. READ MORE >

(IBM) Put this in the hands of someone you know. It's the first in a planned series of textbooks that introduce mainframe concepts and prepare students for careers in large systems computing. Professionals from non-mainframe environments would also benefit from this material. READ MORE >

(FinanceVisor) Identity management and security software vendor PassGo Technologies has a new Web site dedicated to its products on the System z. Recent content topics include z9 compatibility, time change resynchronization, and NC-Access storage consumption. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

December 3-8 -- Reno, Nevada - Performance and capacity management for enterprise computing systems is the focus for CMG2006 hosted by the Association of Systems Management Professionals. Session topics include software performance engineering, stress/load testing, benchmarking, BPM, BAM, and new technologies such as service-oriented architecture, and Web services. Specialized content is also provided for operating systems that include z/OS, Linux, Unix, and Windows. LEARN MORE >

February 11-16, 2007 -- Tampa, Florida - SHARE User Events offer technical training tailored for enterprise-class IT professionals. The focus is on real-world solutions that meet business challenges. This event is an opportunity to influence future product development and preview current and future solutions from IBM and other leading technology providers. LEARN MORE >