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 News Nvidia accelerates enterprise adoption of generative AI Nvidia’s AI Foundations as-a-service offering aims to help enterprises build and run AI models that generate text, graphics, and even proteins. By Peter Sayer Mar 21, 2023 5 mins Cloud Management Infrastructure Management Artificial Intelligence BrandPost The Era of Multi-Cloud Services Has Arrived How to unlock the benefits of multi-cloud environments By Adelino Simao Mar 21, 2023 4 mins VMware BrandPost Why CISOs Are Looking to Lateral Security to Mitigate Ransomware How to fight ransomeware attacks with lateral security By Adelino Simao Mar 21, 2023 4 mins VMware BrandPost 4 Factors That Influence Modern App Success in a Multi-Cloud Environment Enable your developers to do what they do best: code By Adelino Simao Mar 21, 2023 5 mins VMware 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