E-Business
IBM Supports Mobile Economy with Z13 Mainframe Computer Launch
IBM, notable for its innovative capabilities, is combining a couple of odd computing with the new trends, following a new machine that combines the mainframe, the old workhorse, and the smartphone, launched on Wednesday.
Apparently, IBM designed the latest version of the mainframe with the smartphone in mind.
The new mainframe, the z13, has been engineered to cope with the huge volume of data and transactions generated by people using smartphones and tablets.
“This is a mainframe for the mobile digital economy,” said Tom Rosamilia, senior vice president in charge of IBM’s systems business, which includes mainframes. “It’s a computer for the bow wave of mobile transactions coming our way.”
IBM brings out a new mainframe about every three years, and the success of this one is critical to the company’s business.
Mainframes alone account for only about 3 percent of IBM’s sales.
But when mainframe-related software, services and storage are included, the business as a whole contributes 25 percent of IBM’s revenue and 35 percent of its operating profit, estimates A.M. Sacconaghi of Bernstein Research, as reported by Cyberoption.Net blog.
Over the years, IBM has done a good job of revamping the mainframe to handle new workloads.
Modern mainframes, for example, run a lot of open-source software, like the Linux operating system.
Today, though, IBM is in the midst of a transition challenge, it is investing to build large, growing businesses in new areas like cloud computing, big data analytics and mobile applications for corporations.
But those fields have not yet grown fast enough to make up for the erosion in some of its hardware, software and services offerings.
The mainframe is not a growth market for IBM.
But maintaining the mainframe franchise is a strategic imperative for IBM, giving it financial ballast and time as it pursues new opportunities.
“Ensuring the relevance of the mainframe, and with it deep ties into so many major corporate accounts, is crucial to IBM,” Sacconaghi said.
The new mainframe, Rosamilia said, has a host of technical improvements over its predecessor, including three times the memory, faster processing and greater data-handling capability.
IBM spent $1 billion to develop the z13, and that research generated 500 new patents, including some for encryption intended to improve the security of mobile computing.
Much of the new technology, Rosamilia added, is designed for real-time analysis in business. For example, he said, the mainframe system can allow automated fraud prevention while a purchase is being made on a smartphone.
Another example, he said, would be providing shoppers with personalized offers while they are in a store, by tracking their locations and tapping data on their preferences, mainly from their previous buying patterns at that retailer.
These real-time applications, according to Donna Dillenberger, a distinguished engineer at IBM’s Watson lab, can be done in a mainframe environment.
They are not yet possible on clusters of smaller, industry-standard computers, she said. But there are several open-source software projects, like Apache Spark, that focus on real-time data processing across large numbers of computers.
Mobile computing is certainly accelerating the data-handling and transaction-processing challenges for businesses of all kinds.
The volume of purchases made on smartphones and tablets in the United States, estimated at $114 billion last year, is projected to more than double to $293 billion by 2018, according to Forrester Research.
That kind of growth trajectory in America and elsewhere is largely attributable to the popularity and steadily improving capabilities of mobile devices.
But the simplicity of a tap-and-swipe mobile computer also contributes to the complexity of the computing tasks a user never sees when, for example, making an online purchase.
A single consumer action can set off four to 100 computing transactions — with information sent securely — like confirming an identity or authenticating a credit card.
Howard Rubin, an independent analyst, calls this the “starburst effect.” The advance of mobile computing, he noted, leads to “a surge of back-end transactions.”
In developing the z13, IBM worked with 60 companies and government agencies, mainly longtime mainframe customers.
But IBM won a convert in Ronald J. Peri, chief executive of Radixx International. Radixx, based in Orlando, Fla., runs the computerized reservation systems for 40 airlines, mostly smaller and midsize carriers outside the United States.
In the late 1980s, while working for an insurance company, Mr. Peri was an early advocate of moving off mainframes and onto networks of personal computers. An article from that time in The Wall Street Journal cited Mr. Peri as being in “the vanguard of a revolution” against the high-priced tyranny of mainframe computing.
Today Mr. Peri is shifting the back-end computing engine in the Radixx data center from a cluster of industry-standard servers to a new c.
After testing out the mainframe, he has been impressed by its performance, security and even cost. He estimates the total cost of ownership including hardware, software and labor will be 50 percent less with a mainframe than on his “sprawling server farm,” given the growing complexity of managing hardware and software from several suppliers.
“We kind of rediscovered the mainframe,” Mr. Peri said.
The federal government and the United Kingdom signed an agreement Tuesday to combat the growing threat of cyber-crime. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed following a courtesy visit by David George Hanson, minister of the home office, UK, to the Nigeria Police Force headquarters, Louis Edet House in Abuja.
Transnational crime is a big problem for both the UK and Nigeria, so the governments intend to strengthen existing collaboration efforts to crack down on cyber-criminals and protect their industries from unlawful activities.
Offences such as online fraud, identity theft, digital extortion, and ransomware , operate across many jurisdictions, and frequently necessitate sophisticated cooperation efforts, according to the two governments during a press conference.
Furthermore, Lateef Fagbemi, Nigeria’s attorney-general and minister of justice, established the Joint Case Team on Cybercrime, which aims to address the need for a coordinated and robust approach to combating cybercrime, as stated in the Cybercrimes Act of 2015, which criminalises cyber-related offences.
Hanson underlined the importance of ongoing cooperation efforts to combat international crime in a number of areas, affecting vulnerable individuals.
He said: “We need to look again at how we can build cooperation between the Federal Government, the federal police, and our police forces and National Crime Agency to take action against these international criminals, who are exploiting vulnerable people in a whole range of areas. The National Crime Agency, the Home Office Fraud Department, and the High Commission need to make sure we make a big impact on this transnational crime.”
“The collaboration between the Nigerian Police Force and National Crime Agency continues to serve as a model in international law enforcement cooperation. We have successfully conducted joint operations into many cases of cybercrimes and online fraud. With your [UK government] cooperation, we have continued to bust other criminal networks around the world,” added inspector-general of Nigerian Police Force, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun.
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has reaffirmed its commitment to enforcing business registration laws in Nigeria, warning that individuals and organizations operating unregistered businesses will face prosecution.
In a statement, the CAC emphasized that conducting business without proper registration violates the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, undermining transparency and accountability in the corporate sector.
The commission stressed that registration is not only a legal requirement but also a gateway to formal business opportunities, including access to bank loans, government grants, and partnerships.
The enforcement drive will be nationwide, targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), online vendors, and informal traders who have failed to comply despite previous awareness campaigns and registration amnesty windows.
The CAC disclosed that enforcement teams, in collaboration with security agencies, will be deployed to identify and prosecute defaulters.
The commission urged business owners to take advantage of its simplified registration platform to regularize their status, noting that compliance will boost investor confidence and improve Nigeria’s ease of doing business. It warned that ignorance of the law will not be accepted as an excuse.
Business owners are advised to act promptly to avoid legal consequences, as the CAC moves to ensure a more structured and regulated business environment in Nigeria.
Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has pledged to enforce its legal obligations to combat online intellectual property infringement and urged commercial music users to obtain proper licences from rights holders or their representatives.
The Commission stated that this ensures creators are fairly compensated, supporting the music industry’s sustainable growth.
In a statement commemorating the 2025 World Intellectual Property Day, themed “IP and Music: Feel the Best of IP,” the NCC announced plans to enforce the Copyright Act 2022, which allows for the takedown of infringing materials and blocking of websites hosting illegal content.
Signed by Mrs Ijeoma Egbunike, director of Public Affairs, the statement outlined an aggressive anti-piracy campaign in collaboration with the private sector, targeting the online environment.
Egbunike affirmed the NCC’s commitment to establishing enforceable standards for transparency, digital audits, and real-time royalty reporting to protect creators’ rights. She stated, “The NCC will continue to champion policies that support the growth of the music industry, improve the livelihoods of Nigerian musicians, and foster a culture of creativity and respect for intellectual property.”
Despite the global success of Afrobeats and other Nigerian genres, the NCC noted that many musicians face low royalty returns due to rampant digital piracy.
To address this, the Commission revised its Collective Management Regulations to enhance transparency and accountability among Collective Management Organisations (CMOs).
The NCC emphasised that proper licensing is a legal obligation and vital for Nigeria’s creative economy, stating, “Music must feel the beat of intellectual property for the full potential of creativity to be realised.”
The Commission highlighted that creators’ livelihoods depend on fair royalty compensation.
Recent enforcement measures include the NCC’s designation by the Attorney-General of the Federation as an authority under the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022.
This, combined with the Copyright Act 2022, empowers the NCC to order takedowns and block illegal music distribution websites.
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