IBM is introducing the IBM z17, the next generation of the company's iconic mainframe, fully engineered with AI capabilities across hardware, software, and systems operations.
Powered by the new IBM Telum II processor, IBM z17 expands the system's capabilities beyond transactional AI capabilities to enable new workloads, according to IBM.
IBM Z is built to redefine AI at scale, positioning enterprises to score 100% of their transactions in real-time. The new IBM z17 is built to drive business value across industries with a wide range of more than 250 AI use cases, such as mitigating loan risk, managing chatbot services, supporting medical image analysis or impeding retail crime, among others.
IBM z17 is the culmination of five years of design and development which included the filing of more than 300 patent applications filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Designed with the direct input of more than 100 clients and in close collaboration with IBM Research and Software teams; the new system introduces multi-model AI capabilities, new security features to protect data, and tools that leverage AI for improving system usability and management:
- Bringing AI to data
- Expanding acceleration for AI
- Leveraging AI to enhance user experience
"The industry is quickly learning that AI will only be as valuable as the infrastructure it runs on," said Ross Mauri, general manager of IBM Z and LinuxONE, IBM. "With z17, we're bringing AI to the core of the enterprise with the software, processing power, and storage to make AI operational quickly. Additionally, organizations can put their vast, untapped stores of enterprise data to work with AI in a secured, cost-effective way."
IBM z17 is a system designed from the ground up to fully integrate into hybrid environments by tightly joining hardware innovations, software capabilities for AI, and rich support for open-standards and tooling.
IBM z17 furthers the platform's history of strong security and resiliency capabilities. New developments in AI have enabled the deployment of added intelligence across this ever-growing area of importance for clients as new threats appear every day.
IBM's tailored, comprehensive support experience helps IBM Z clients meet demands beyond traditional maintenance.
Delivered by IBM Technology Lifecycle Services, IBM Support for z17 helps clients optimize their environments for peak performance to address risk and disruptions for mission-critical operations. IBM's AI processes streamline incident remediation and help improve case resolution time, built on IBM watsonx, now support IBM Z systems.
IBM Storage DS8000 plays a key role as an integrated storage solution for IBM Z. The latest generation of IBM Storage DS8000 (10th Generation) is designed to harness the full power of IBM z17, providing organizations access to critical workloads, consistent and optimized data performance, and a modular architecture to adopt the latest IBM research-backed technologies to fuel business growth while monetizing data.
Together, IBM Z and IBM Storage offer a modern infrastructure delivering a secure and agile platform for mission-critical workloads, the company said.
IBM z17 will be generally available June 18, 2025. The IBM Spyre Accelerator is expected to be available starting in Q4 2025.
For more information about this news, visit www.ibm.com.