zos_jeff

We have alot of competitors. It's not like the "Old days" with Amdahl, Fujitsu, etc with mainframe compatible solutions. The reality it we compete with x86 solutions, Cloud offerings etc. It fiercer now more than ever. Overall we still do have a very strong differentiated capability - As an example a leading bank talks about having been through 11 years of their ATM applications being up - all while having gone through hardware upgrades, z/OS upgrades etc. No other platform offers the availability characteristics of the mainframe

While conceptually computers work the same, two core things distinguish the mainframe. The hardware design is really a System design. Yes there are CPUs and RAM, but we have layers of CACHE memory, separate IO processors for disk and networking, and redundancy in design to ensure we survive failures of any component.
Then there is the software, designed for the highest levels of performance and integrity. Our clustering (Parallel Sysplex) and software is intended to prevent an application from going down and if it does trying to ensure data is never lost. We aren't perfect, but close :)

Depends what you mean. "Ccognitive computing" is an increasingly important part of how businesses work. Looking at point of sale trends, fraud detection, etc. It's also where we are headed for how you manage the system.

Not really sure... I would suggest going to Ricoh Infoprint Solutions - they are a leading partner in printers. We no longer make printers...

First - Congratulations and welcome to IBM!! At first, just learn the technical stuff and help us keep the culture moving!!