Mainframe '60 per cent cheaper' than cloud, claims IBM

Migrating mixed environment from x86 servers or public cloud between one-third and two-third cheaper on zSeries, according to IBM

Running applications on the IBM z Systems mainframe is as much as 60 per cent cheaper than running the same suite of applications over a public cloud service - according to IBM's Steven Dickens, Linux go-to-market manager and platform economics lead at the systems vendor.

And the IBM z Systems, he adds, is also as much as 32 per cent cheaper for running a range of applications than standard x86 servers.

Indeed, while z Systems hardware starts at around $70,000, its ability to run multiple workloads, including on-platform analytics - means that organisations can consolidate workload onto the platform. Furthermore, by running either Suse or Red Hat Linux instead of z/OS, the mainframe's proprietary operating system, the learning curve for IT staff should be relatively mild too, he adds.

"It costs more than an x86 blade, but from a total cost of ownership perspective - power consumption, cooling, software licensing, administration and overall data centre cost it's 32 per cent cheaper, like-for-like, than a x86 server and more than 60 per cent cheaper than public cloud," Dickens told this afternoon's Computing Mainframe Insights web seminar.

He cited the case of international art gallery White Cube, whose three-person IT department migrated from x86 servers to an entry-level z Systems mainframe running Linux in 2013 after suffering from downtime due to the inability of the existing infrastructure to scale reliably. "It achieved this [migration] without a lot of skills or investment. They have now run that for the last couple of years without a moment of downtime," said Dickens.

Larger organisations ought to be able to consolidate x86 servers and blades on a ratio of between 20-to-one and 40-to-one, added Dickens. The Meteorological Office in the UK, for example, was able to consolidate in a ratio of 17-to-one - being able to retire 17 x86 blades for every one z Systems mainframe deployed instead.

In practical terms, it means that a standard z Systems server can run an SAP environment, and also perform analytics at the same time, claimed Dickens. "That means what while you are in the store, at the counter paying for something, the retail system conducting the transaction can provide information about the customer there and then," said Dickens.

However, skills nevertheless remains an issue with some organisations, especially where applications are running on IBM's own z/OS operating system, rather than on Linux, which ought to be familiar with any computing graduate - and a growing number of school leavers.

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