IT analyst Forrester claims that the IBM System z mainframe, loaded with Linux or Unix applications, its an extremely cost effective way of doing business.

In a report “Why Choose Linux on the Mainframe,” Forrester analyst Brad Day looked at the cost, human resources, and capacity utilization issues. He decided that when you start looking at capabilities such as virtualization and security and systems management a mainframe can provide customers with many clear benefits over x86 server based systems.

The cost of such a project is similar to an equivalent midrange native Unix and/or Linux/RISC-based server but the performance was much better, he said. IBM’s System z9 mainframe offers a high utilization rate with systems typically operating at 80 to 100 percent capacity.

Combined with the platform’s ability to virtualize workloads through z/VM, these capabilities can help make it more cost efficient than competing platforms, the report said.