Swiss Re First Official Client for New IBM Mainframe

The new zEnterprise 196 offers 60% more capacity than its predecessor, IBM says.

Zurich-based Swiss Re will implement the first two generally available zEnterprise 196 mainframe systems from Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM.

The zEnterprise was announced on July 22. It contains 96 microprocessors running at 5.2Ghz, capable of executing more than 50 billion instructions per second, according to IBM. It also features new software to optimize performance of data-heavy workloads, including up to a 60% improvement in data-intensive and Java workloads, the company claims. It is also Linux-compatible.

Offering 60% more capacity than its predecessor, the System z10, zEnterprise 196 uses about the same amount of electricity.

"The overall performance increase of the z196 is extremely impressive," Markus Schmid, Swiss Re CIO, says in a statement. "However, the key benefit of the zEnterprise System will be the ability to integrate and manage workloads running on multiple servers as a single system."

Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio