IBM Corp. plans to unveil a more powerful mainframe computer next week that will allow businesses to process more information for a lot less money than existing older models, industry sources said Thursday.
The new IBM computer is a heartier version of a System 390 model introduced by IBM in September - processing the same amount of information up to 10 percent faster. The System 390 models are the third generation in a redesigned series International Business Machines Corp. launched in 1994.IBM declined through a spokesman to comment. But industry analysts familiar with the plans said the company, based in Armonk, N.Y., will make only a limited quantity of the new higher-end machines because the microprocessor chips used to run them are not in wide supply.
Still, the introduction by IBM of a new, more powerful machine - expected on Tuesday, just two months after the last mainframe launch - signals growing demand from large corporate customers for computers that can handle increasing amounts of data at faster speeds.