IBM plans to sell a lower-cost version of its z9 mainframe computer aimed at midsize businesses and emerging markets such as China, the company announced Thursday.The System z9 Business Class mainframe will be priced from about US$100,000, IBM said. A shipping date wasn’t immediately available. IBM’s existing mainframes, aimed at big corporations and government users, are priced from around $250,000 up to several million dollars.The company has also opened a lab in Shanghai that will develop software for its System z mainframes, it said. The new system is designed to extend the reach of IBM’s mainframes into new markets. Businesses need more powerful computers to handle growing volumes of data and process transactions in service-oriented architectures, according to IBM. The new system will compete with Unix servers and with powerful clusters built by tying together standard, x86-based servers. IBM argued that its pint-sized mainframe will offer better utilization rates, as well as better security and reliability.The mainframe will run on a new chip called the System z9 Integrated Information Processor, which was designed to consolidate workloads on the mainframe, IBM said. -James Niccolai, IDG News ServiceFor related coverage, read IBM Targets Grid Computing With Latest SMB Software.Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by SAP When natural disasters strike Japan, Ōita University’s EDiSON is ready to act With the technology and assistance of SAP and Zynas Corporation, Ōita University built an emergency-response collaboration tool named EDiSON that helps the Japanese island of Kyushu detect and mitigate natural disasters. By Michael Kure, SAP Contributor Dec 07, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by BMC BMC on BMC: How the company enables IT observability with BMC Helix and AIOps The goals: transform an ocean of data and ultimately provide a stellar user experience and maximum value. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 3 mins IT Leadership brandpost Sponsored by BMC The data deluge: The need for IT Operations observability and strategies for achieving it BMC Helix brings thousands of data points together to create a holistic view of the health of a service. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 4 mins IT Leadership how-to How to create an effective business continuity plan A business continuity plan outlines procedures and instructions an organization must follow in the face of disaster, whether fire, flood, or cyberattack. Here’s how to create a plan that gives your business the best chance of surviving such an By Mary K. Pratt, Ed Tittel, Kim Lindros Dec 07, 2023 11 mins Small and Medium Business IT Skills Backup and Recovery Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe