SYSTEMS

ARMONK, N.Y.--In one of its most aggressive high-end server launch programs during any single quarter, IBM today announced that it began shipments of new flagship IBM eServer mainframe and high-end UNIX systems. Both systems are designed to address customer demand for more economic, open standards-based solutions that drive cost saving consolidations, much higher resource utilization and complex secure transactions. Both will offer IBM's "on/off capacity on demand" for customers who need systems that respond to the variable requirements of their business. The eServer z990 mainframe and the eServer p690 server with breakthrough POWER4+ microprocessors are now shipping to customers in volume and on schedule. The eServer p690 runs Linux or AIX and supports 32 dynamic partitions. The eServer z990 supports thousands of virtual Linux servers in a single box, with processing power up to 11,000 transactions per second. IBM has been a leader in high-end systems, with astounding levels of server market share gains over the past two years. The general availability and shipment of IBM's two latest high-end servers demonstrate continued momentum in a server market where competitors are losing share. According to IDC, in 2001 and 2002 IBM gained over 6 points of worldwide server revenue share while Sun and HP both lost over 3 points. In Q1 03 IDC reported that IBM gained an additional 2.5 points of share while HP lost 2.6 points. "These systems allow customers to apply real innovation and superior technology to their business operations for improved security, efficiency and responsiveness," said Mark Shearer, vice president, IBM Systems Group. "With these announcements we continue to accelerate the delivery of breakthrough technology across the portfolio of systems from mainframes and Unix servers to storage systems and blades." The IBM eServer zSeries 990, the new flagship of the eServer family, builds on the breakthrough technology and rewrites the rules for enterprise-class computing with fortress-like security, rock-solid reliability, and extreme performance in Linux virtualization and automation. The new z990 is the result of a four-year, more than $1 billion investment in the zSeries platform involving as many as 1,200 IBM developers. Farmers Insurance Group, the nation's third largest writer of passenger automobile and homeowner's insurance, plans to use the eServer z990 and IBM's WebSphere middleware as the backbone of a new state-of-the art, Web-based claims processing system. The eServer p690 with POWER4+ chip technology has been shipped to several customers, including The Arctic Region Supercomputing Center and The National Weather Service. The eServer p690 has been completely refreshed, adding the fastest POWER4+ processor ever at 1.7 GHz, twice the high-performance memory capacity, and a new I/O subsystem with nearly triple the I/O bandwidth. The eServer p690 also doubles LPAR support to the processor level. The IBM eServer p690 offers enterprises a highly efficient platform for both server consolidation and large, single-system applications.