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IBM has begun shipping the eServer z900, which it calls the “reinvented mainframe” and the successor to its popular S/390 line.
To highlight its aggressive efforts to boost sales of its Unix servers to e-commerce companies, the Armonk, N.Y., company is promoting the 64-bit z900 as the first mainframe built from scratch with e-business as its primary function.
In recent years, Unix servers have enjoyed tremendous growth, due in large part to their adoption by e-commerce companies. But while IBM is the leader in worldwide server sales, Sun Microsystems Inc. is No. 1 in the Unix server market due to its success in marketing to e-business customers. IBM had the third-largest market share behind Hewlett-Packard Co.
Initially, IBM will promote the z900 with a Linux operating system since its proprietary z/OS is not expected to ship until the end of March.