IBM will roll out an improved version of WebSphere for
its zSeries to entice users to buy mainframes for web
services.
The spruced-up edition, WebSphere for z/OS 5.0, adds support for
core web services standards Soap, WSDL and UDDI; previous versions
included XML. The new iteration is based on J2EE 1.3 and supports
the majority of features in the upcoming 1.4 version.
"Now we are highlighting not just z/OS [capabilities], but also
some of the automation features and simpler, more flexible
pricing," said David Chew, director of IBM's WebSphere enterprise
transaction systems.
Other features include autonomic capabilities to increase server
availability, self-healing features to ensure service in the event
of application or hardware failures, and clustering, workload
management and security features built into the z/OS operating
system.
Analysts said that mainframe software sales will hold steady in
the next year or two as corporate users consolidate
e-business-related workloads on big iron to reduce hardware and
administration costs.
"We remain pretty positive about the role of the mainframe now
and going forward, although mainframes are not for everyone," said
Stephen O'Grady, an analyst at RedMonk.
"When you are talking about delivery of important service on
demand for thousands of users, a lot of administrators are looking
at mainframes as a good solution. It is not a spectacular growth
business like PCs where you sell someone thousands of them and then
upgrade them all in three years. But it is one that has a
future."
IBM has come up with a scheme for WebSphere for z/OS Version 5
that allows users to pay based on the computing power of their
machine instead of a flat fee based on the number of
processors.
"This is a pricing model enterprise users are more familiar
with, who tend to either buy our traditional monthly licence or the
newer one-time charge," Chew said. "We are trying to consolidate
the two pricing models on the zSeries down to one basic model."
As part of the scheme, IBM is offering for the first time an
entry-level option for z/OS that encourages customers to start
small and purchase capacity as they need it.