IBM Middle East has unveiled 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. The new System z9 promises to provide nearly twice the capacity and available memory of its predecessor, the IBM eServer zSeries z990.

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. The System z9 will 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 faster.