“These agents can do complex workflows. They can handle more than one task at a time, we can stack the tasks,” Tarquinio said. “In the critical environments that mainframes run in, context, awareness and memory are key. This means that when we are talking to the agents and working through the assistance, they can really understand the train of questions that we’ve been asking, and they can continue to provide answers quickly. For customers who are using these agents to build up new skills and to drive productivity, this is absolutely key,” Tarquinio said.
IBM Spyre Accelerator
In other mainframe news, Big Blue announced the general availability of its new Spyre Accelerator – purpose-built hardware designed to bring generative AI capabilities on-premises for IBM z17 and IBM LinuxONE 5. The 32-core Spyre runs on a PCIe card, and additional cards can be added depending on requirements. The Spyre accelerator is an enterprise-grade accelerator designed for AI inferencing tasks with high efficiency and scalability, particularly for complex models and generative AI,
The IBM z17’s Telum II processor, integrated AI accelerator, and Spyre accelerator are designed to work in unison to support real-time, high-speed AI inferencing and model execution directly on the platform, minimize latency, and eliminate the need to move sensitive data. The idea is to embed AI into mission-critical workloads and support new high-performance applications such as advanced fraud detection, supply chain optimization, and automated decision-making with high performance and security, according to IBM.
IBM Guardium Cryptography Manager
IBM also enhanced its Guardium Cryptography Manager software to help customers secure sensitive enterprise data.
“Data security is reaching a critical inflection point. Sensitive information is sprawling across hybrid environments, expanding the attack surface and complicating encryption and governance,” wrote Vishal Kamat, vice president of data security for IBM, in a blog post. “At the same time, it is anticipated that quantum computing will introduce significant risks: encryption algorithms – relied upon by the majority of organizations – will be broken, exposing today’s encrypted data.”
A report from the IBM Institute for Business Value reveals a troubling gap: Only 30% of organizations have completed a cryptographic inventory, leaving most uninformed about both current vulnerabilities and emerging quantum risks, Kamat added. That’s where Cryptography Manager can help.
