ARMONK,
New York (AP)—IBM on Tuesday introduced a new line of mainframe
computers the company calls its most powerful and technologically
advanced ever.

IBM
said its zEnterprise EC12 mainframe server is designed to help clients
securely and quickly sift through massive amounts of data, meeting the
demands of retail and other clients in the age of “Big Data.” Running at
5.5 GHz, IBM said the microprocessor that powers the mainframe is the
fastest chip in the world. Processing speed is 25% faster than the
previous model.

Mainframes
are used by corporate clients ranging from banks to chain stores. IBM
says the new model could be used by retailers to manage online
transactions and analyze clients’ buying habits and then use the
information to create a “more customized shopping experience,” such as a
custom coupon issued during a transaction.

“Whether
its retail or whether its transportation, making reservations, whatever
it is, the system has been built really to help clients do those new
types of new-age transactions,” said Doug Brown, an IBM vice president
of marketing.

IBM
says more than $1 billion was spent on research and development for the
system at 18 sites worldwide, with most of it in Poughkeepsie, about 40
miles (65 km) north of its headquarters in Armonk in
Westchester County.

The
new mainframe is being promoted as one of the most secure systems ever
with a tamper-resistant cryptographic co-processor to provide privacy
for sensitive transactions.

IBM
has been focusing on its software and services divisions, which are
more profitable than selling the mainframe computers that made the
company famous decades ago. But the sales of those mainframes help feed
demand for IBM services.

Source: The Associated Press