IBM has just released a new mainframe based on their new 5GHz 22nm Power8 based Processing Units with some models supporting up to 10TB of RAM, the minimum you can run is a mere 64GB.  It can not only run IBM's zOS but is also capable of directly supporting Linux and can be managed with a Blade running Windows if you so desire. These fancy looking little mainframes are set up with drawers of either 39 or 42 PUs, so you can upgrade as your usage requires although 2 are actually spares and 6 are System Assist Processors, the remaining PUs can be assigned to varying roles as in previous IBM Z models.  These machines are designed to handle large amounts of data traffic, providing real time encryption on up to 2.5 billion transactions per day.  The Register feels that the most likely usage scenario will be to provide secure mobile data traffic, something which is certainly needed.  You can also glean more information from this blog entry if you are curious about the architecture and capabilities of this mainframe.

"Of course, the proof of the pudding will be in the market, but IBM will be hoping that the billion dollars it's poured into developing the new z13 mainframe will get the big end of town as excited as Big Blue itself is."

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