IBM today introduced one of the most sophisticated computing systems ever, the IBM System z9 mainframe with security and virtualization capabilities that the company said can enable it to act as the hub in a new era of collaborative computing.

Representing a three-year, $1.2-billion-development effort encompassing 5,000 IBM engineers, software developers, technology professionals and security experts from around the world, the System z9 was designed to be one of the most open, reliable and secure computing systems ever built for business.

It is designed to:

- process one billion transactions per day, more than double the performance of its predecessor, the "T-Rex" zSeries z990 mainframe, at its launch.

- enable businesses to safely transport encrypted data to partners, suppliers, and remote or archive sites -- helping to protect data in the event of media loss or inadvertent compromise. This function is planned to be available by the end of 2005.

- run five world-class operating systems including Linux and the mainframe's new flagship z/OS version 1.7, which can enable transport of data in a security-rich environment between multiple computing platforms and virtualization of hundreds of applications, including Java-based applications.

- process up to 6,000 secure online handshakes per second -- approximately three times as many as before -- which may help businesses better serve e-commerce customers and process more sales quicker.

- resist known security threats.