IBM Introduces New System z Linux Solutions for Large-Scale Consolidation and Savings

ARMONK, NY…9 Dec 2009: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today
announced new Linux offerings for the System z mainframe to help
clients run smarter and more efficient data centers that maximize
the use of IT resources and reduce energy costs.

For clients currently running a distributed computing
environment, IBM’s new Enterprise Linux Server is a standalone
system fully dedicated to running the Linux environment. With
potential savings of up to 80 percent, the new IBM Enterprise Linux
Server provides attractive, off-the-shelf pricing with one of the
industry’s most powerful configurations for large-scale data center
consolidation on IBM System z. IBM is also offering a unique
“save-as-you-grow” pricing model, in which incremental capacity is
priced significantly lower as the configuration size increases.

For current mainframe clients interested in adding Linux
workloads, IBM’s new Linux “Solution Edition” delivers an
integrated stack of hardware, software and services to virtualize
and consolidate workloads on System z.

Available in Enterprise and Business Class configurations, the
new IBM Enterprise Linux Server provides a full array of components
to help organizations consolidate hundreds of Linux virtual servers
on a single server using IBM’s virtualization technology, known as
z/Virtual Machine (z/VM). z/VM helps clients extend the value of
mainframe technology across the enterprise by integrating
applications and data while providing high levels of availability
and security.

Packaged as a Linux Solution Edition, IBM’s new attractively
priced Linux specialty engine allows clients to host more than
three times the number of virtual server instances using z/VM
versus x86 virtualization alternatives for some workloads.
Customers can add one Linux “specialty engine” to run the
equivalent computing capacity of 30 or more virtual x86 images
while gaining the flagship System z security, control and
availability features.

To date, IBM has announced its initial set of eight System z
Solution Editions for data warehousing, application development,
disaster recovery, security, electronic payments, SAP applications,
Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), and cloud computing.

Today’s announcement also demonstrates continued investment by
the industry and IBM in Linux on System z. More than 3,000 of the
6,300 unique applications available on the System z platform are
Linux-based. Customer demand also remains strong as evidenced by a
100 percent increase in Linux capacity shipped by IBM from third
quarter 2007 to third quarter 2009. For example, with Red Hat and
IBM solutions, BNZ (Bank of New Zealand) significantly reduced its
hardware footprint, power consumption, heat and carbon emissions
and costs, including an expected 20 percent cost reduction over the
life of the platform.

At the same time, corporate investments in virtualization —
creation of multiple virtual servers or storage on a single
physical system — have helped cut IT costs. Yet popular
virtualization providers do not provide the necessary levels of
scalability, security and management in large-scale configurations,
where the savings can be substantial. Consolidating on IBM System z
can improve application availability and security while
significantly lowering IT costs and risks.

“We chose an IBM Enterprise Linux Server running Novell SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server for its high reliability, advanced
security, extreme scalability and high compute power,” said Ernst
Bauer, Chief Operating Officer at EFiS Financial Solutions AG in
Germany. “Another crucial factor was the energy and power savings.
With our implementation partner PROFI Engineering Systems AG, we
were able to integrate Green IT as an important part of our
strategy. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server on an IBM Enterprise Linux
Server provides us with optimal resource utilization, while
addressing our critical energy and power costs.”

“With 1,300 Linux customers, IBM is responding to strong
customer appetite for running Linux on System z with a fully
dedicated, standalone Linux server. Only the Enterprise Linux
Server can provide the environment necessary to handle countless
workloads securely and with high availability on such a massive
scale,” said Tom Rosamilia, general manager of System z at IBM.
“IBM is also showing the long term economic value of the mainframe.
Our ‘save as you grow’ pricing model shows that as the business
requirements get bigger, the cost of computing actually gets less
expensive.”

For more information about System z, please visit
www.ibm.com/systems/z