IBM is releasing the latest version of its mainframe hardware, including new updates to accelerate adoption of AI.
The hardware and consulting company announced on Monday the latest version of its mainframe computer hardware, the IBM Z17. This fully encrypted mainframe features an IBM Telum II processor and is designed for over 250 AI use cases, including AI agents and generated AI.
The mainframe may seem like an old hat, but it is currently used by 71% of Fortune 500 companies. According to one source. In 2024, the mainframe market was worth an estimated $5.3 billion, according to the future of consulting firm market research.
The Z17 can handle 450 billion inference operations in one day, and is 50% more than its predecessor, the IBM Z16, released in 2022 and executed on the company’s original The Telum processor. The system is designed to be fully integrated with other hardware, software and open source tools.
Tina Tarquinio, IBM Z’s Vice President of Product Management and Design, told TechCrunch that the mainframe upgrade has been in the works for five years.
IBM has built the Z17 and has spent more than 2,000 survey time getting feedback from over 100 customers, Tarquinio said. She thinks it would be interesting to see feedback in five years that matched where the market departed.
“I know that we have AI accelerators in place and we are seeing all the changes in the industry around AI, especially in the second half of 2022,” Tarquinio told TechCrunch. “It was really exciting. The biggest point was [that] You don’t know what’s coming, right? So, the possibilities are truly unlimited when it comes to what AI can help us. ”
The Z17 is set up to adapt and respond to where the AI market is heading, Tarquinio said. The mainframe will support 48 IBM SPYRE AI Accelerator chips upon release, with plans to have that number up to 96 within 12 months.
“We’re intentionally building in headroom,” Tarkinio said. “We are intentionally building AI agility. Therefore, when new models are introduced, [we’re] Make sure it’s built into the headroom for larger and larger models. We built it. Because you know that it’s a really different approach, right? New models go back and forth. ”
Tarquinio said one of the highlights of this latest hardware was like being asked to pick a favorite kid, even though he was kidding, but said the Z17 is more energy efficient than its competitors, which are believed to be its predecessor.
“The chips increase AI acceleration 7.5 times, but five times less energy is needed, like other types of accelerators and multi-models in the industry,” Tarquinio said.
The Z17 mainframe will generally be available on June 8th.
