Lunch and Learn: A Perspective on the IBM System z Mainframe, how it came to be and where it's going

Corporations, governments and other large enterprises always have and always will have a nearly insatiable demand for more mainframe computing capacity.  Over the last four decades advances in hardware chip technology met the lion's share of this demand. However, we are entering an era when hardware advancement is most likely not going to continue at the same pace. So now is a perfect time to review other techniques for growing capacity like multiprocessing and Sysplex clustering; and to prognosticate on how we can continue to grow mainframe capacity, without benefit of the large contributions from chip technology that we are so accustom to. Your future will include expanding the use of MP and Sysplex, but you'll also have to be ready for some entirely new technologies that are likely to be introduced into your mainframe environment.