IBM's Last, Best Shot at the Big Iron Client
by Hesh Wiener

IBM has one more shot at the market for mainframe client systems. The introduction of Microsoft's Windows Vista is forcing every big iron shop to think about replacing its XP and Windows 2000 desktop systems. These machines don't necessarily have to move to Vista. A number of organizations, notably Ubuntu, Xandros, Linspire, and Novell, have pretty much tamed Linux for the desktop. Apple has shown that a superior end user system can be built on a Unix foundation. And Big Blue no longer has a legacy PC business to worry about. And the z9 mainframes are selling like hotcakes. READ MORE >

Top Mainframe Stories and Vendor Announcements

(EE Times) The so-called "new generation" of clone mainframe computers, powered by 64-bit Intel Itanium processors and produced by Platform Solutions, is staring down the barrel of IBM's legal guns. Big Blue is alleging patent infringements on its mainframe operating system, z/OS, and says the clone systems are a risk to the company's reputation. READ MORE >

(CNET) IBM's Tivoli software will gain some added functionality as a result of Big Blue's plans to acquire the auditing software vendor Consul Risk Management. Compliance monitoring and reporting capabilities will benefit as Consul software helps keep an eye on insider threats where security breaches are most likely to occur. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Power and cooling issues received top billing at Gartner's 25th annual Data Center Conference last week, where some dire warnings were issued. For instance, energy costs are predicted to become the second largest operating cost in nearly three-quarters of the data centers worldwide by 2009. Something else Gartner wants you to ponder: 50 percent of all data centers will not have enough juice to meet the power and cooling requirements of their high-density computing hardware. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IBM upgraded its entry-level systems management tools for monitoring and controlling server platforms that include Linux on System z. The management console monitors the consumption of processor, memory, and disk resources; tracks hardware inventory and software configurations; receives and correlates events from other systems; and allows corrective actions from remote locations. READ MORE >

(IBM) Recent z/OS software announcements from IBM include WebSphere products Portal Enable, Service Registry and Repository, Developer Debugger, and Developer v7.0, plus Tivoli products that include Advanced Catalog Management, Advanced Backup and Recovery, and three OMEGAMON products. READ MORE >

(McDATA) Four service offerings that help mainframe administrators plan, deploy, and optimize mainframe environments has been introduced by McDATA, a company that specializes in FICON switching products, ESCON and FICON extension products, integrated management software, and bandwidth services. The services include analysis of infrastructure ROI, storage I/O, and ESCON to FICON migration. It is also presenting a mainframe infrastructure seminar as a service. 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 >