IBM Expands in Emerging Markets Around the World

IBM (www.ibm.com) today announced a comprehensive set of investments, initiatives and technology introductions in support of the IBM mainframe computing platform. At customer events in Paris, Tokyo and New York, IBM outlined a strategy aimed at leveraging the mainframe's strengths to help customers become on demand businesses.

"Today, businesses are designing infrastructures intended for the next 20 years, and we are teaming with them to build these global on demand computing fabrics that link tens of thousands of users across open infrastructures, and extending datacenter-level security to the edges of their vast network. This is the time for mainframe computing," said Erich Clementi, general manager, IBM eServer zSeries.

IBM said the actions would help address customer requirements for resilient, secure, integrated and intelligent mainframe computing capabilities across their IT infrastructure.

As businesses adapt their environments to meet today's challenges, they are realizing the need to weave together their disparate resources within their on demand operating environment into a global fabric, from which information, applications, and technology components can be managed more efficiently in a unified manner.

As a result, IBM is leveraging its assets across the company and aligning investments to help clients more quickly implement and manage cross-platform on demand operating environments.

Specific investments and initiatives include: opening a "Banking Operating Environment for On Demand Business," in Montpellier, France, creating 20,000 new mainframe-trained workers by 2010 and expanding relationships with leading Independent Software Vendors.

Additionally IBM has completed its acquisition of Venetica, a privately held company based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The acquisition further strengthens IBM's leadership in the information integration space, a key strategic priority for IBM's Business Integration efforts and the company's on demand computing initiative.