The latest IBM mainframe model, the z16, is fully compatible with the original IBM 360, although many improvements have been made over the 60 years the product line has been in production. Today, IBM mainframes host applications that run many of the world’s largest and most successful businesses. An estimated 10,000 mainframe systems are being used today for industries spanning banking, healthcare, insurance, retail, telecommunications, travel, and more. And mainframe applications are used to process credit card payments, stock trades, and other business-critical transactions.
However, the cost of mainframe computing can be significant. As such, many modernization efforts are designed to reduce costs and modernize applications. These efforts can be aided using IBM Z mainframe specialty processors such as the IFL (Integrated Facility for Linux) and zIIP (System Z Integrated Information Processor). Workloads that run on these processors are less expensive than those that run on traditional IBM Z general-purpose processors.