What is IBM Z?
IBM Z is a family of enterprise-class mainframe computer systems known for their reliability, security, and performance. They are used by large organizations, including many of the world’s top banks, insurance companies, and government agencies, to run mission-critical workloads. The “z” stands for “zero downtime,” reflecting the system’s design for continuous operation.
- High availability: IBM Z systems are engineered with redundancy and failover capabilities to ensure continuous operations and “zero downtime”.
- Security: The platform offers robust, multi-layered security, including pervasive encryption, tamper-resistant hardware security modules (HSMs), and quantum-safe cryptography to protect data from current and future threats.
- AI acceleration: Recent models, such as the IBM z17 and IBM z16, feature built-in AI processors (IBM Telum processors) for on-chip acceleration of AI tasks like real-time fraud detection and deep learning.
- Backward compatibility: The IBM Z family is the direct descendant of the IBM System/360, announced in 1964. The architecture is backward-compatible, so many older applications can run on the newest systems without modification.
- Hybrid cloud integration: IBM Z can be integrated into a hybrid cloud environment, allowing enterprises to manage their infrastructure more flexibly. IBM offers products and software, such as Red Hat OpenShift, to simplify operations and reduce costs.
Why Choose Blue Polaris for IBM Z Decisions?
Modernize in Place
Co-locate your decision engine with your code and data for better performance, security, and cost savings.
Run on Uncapped Processors
Leverage the uncapped ZIIP processor to reduce GCP license costs and increase scalability.
Quick Results
Stand up IBM Decisions on Z in as little as two weeks with our proven QuickStart methodology.
Key Capabilities
IBM Z is designed for continuous operation with near-zero downtime, often achieving an availability of 99.99999%.
Modernize in Place
- Improve Performance: Eliminate latency and constraints by keeping data and decisions together.
- Increase Security: Avoid risks from moving data for decision processing.
- Decrease Costs: Save on data transit and protection costs.
Run on Uncapped Processors
- Modern Code Language: Run Java-based decisions on ZIIP, not COBOL on GCP.
- Scalable Capacity: ZIIPs are uncapped – scale cost-effectively.
- Cost Savings: Reduce OpEx by shifting workloads off GCP to ZIIP.
Quickstart Asset Pack Overview
What’s included in the QuickStart Pack?
- Consultation on architecture & design
- Questionnaire to generate needed artifacts
- Process steps to execute a custom PoC
Let's get started
Drop us a mail or give us a call for a personalized demonstration of Modernized Decisioning on IBM Z