Computers Offer 20% to 50% More Power : IBM Unveils 10 New Mainframes
International Business Machines introduced on Tuesday 10 new mainframe computer models, including what it called the most powerful general purpose computer in the industry.
In a rare reference to competitors, IBM officials said the new mainframes would help the company counter moves made by vendors such as Amdahl Corp., which recently unveiled new models considered by many within the industry to be superior to IBM’s big-computer offerings.
IBM officials said the new 3090 models, named the S-series, provide an increase of 20% to 50% in computer power over current E-series models at prices that are 9% to 12% higher.
The company also said its MVS/ESA operating system, the software that controls the basic operations of the computer, was available now, a month ahead of schedule. MVS/ESA, which was announced in February, greatly expands the power of its mainframes.
Irving Wladawsky-Berger, vice president of IBM’s data systems division, said the new mainframes would help customers reduce the number of people needed to manage data as well as cut the cost of manufacturing.
The new models offer faster high-volume transaction processing, as with credit card checks or airline reservations, and have scientific and technical applications as in aerospace design.
IBM’s announcement rounded out a comprehensive series of new products from IBM during the first half of 1988. During the first six months of this year, the company has introduced new products in almost all of its operating segments, including personal computers, minicomputers and computer operating systems.
Expect Better Earnings
The S-series, which had been expected for many months, marks the second major overhaul of the 3090 line since it was introduced in 1985. The new models will be shipped beginning in September.
Analysts have said that IBM’s third-quarter earnings may suffer as customers delay purchases until the new mainframes are available. But company officials said they do not expect the transition from the E-series to the S-series to hamper earnings growth in the second half of 1988.
“Overall, I think we’ll continue to have improving earnings,” IBM Senior Vice President George Conrades told a news conference.
Paine Webber analyst Stephen Smith said the impact of the transition would be blunted by IBM’s decision to offer financial incentives to its mainframe customers.
For example, IBM will allow customers to install current E-series models now and move up to the new S-series machines later for no more than it would have cost if they waited to buy the S-series. It will also give discounts on the S-series models for customers who installed E-series machines on an interim basis during the third quarter.
Included among the new models is the 600S, which IBM said is the fastest general purpose computer in the industry. It can handle 130 million to 140 million instructions a second. That compares to the speed of just 1 million instructions a second of IBM’s Model 158, its workhorse of the early 1970s.
Prices for the new mainframes range from $985,000 for the low-end 120S to $12.4 million for the powerful 600S.
