For more than a decade, IBM has been standardizing the hardware and software that runs across all its platforms, not only achieving efficiencies within its own production operations, but also extending mainframe-class capabilities to more parts of the market. The company's new zEnterprise mainframe server architecture is a giant leap forward in this regard, blurring the lines between commodity hardware boxes, open systems, and high-end processors - to the point where the concept of "mainframe" is now forever altered. Now, mainframe means extra compute power that can be applied anywhere, anytime it is needed.

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