z15

z15 is the 15th generation of IBM's Z mainframe family, introduced in 2019 as the successor to z14. It is designed for large-scale, mission-critical workloads that require strong security, resilience, and flexible scalability across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. The system emphasizes pervasive encryption, with hardware-accelerated cryptography that can encrypt data across the entire system with minimal impact on performance. It also supports data privacy features such as data privacy passports, which enable controlled data sharing with external applications and partners while preserving privacy and compliance.

z15 uses IBM's z/Architecture and runs IBM Z operating systems, including z/OS, Linux on Z, z/VSE, and z/VM. It supports extensive virtualization through PR/SM and supports many concurrent logical partitions (LPARs) to isolate workloads and improve utilization. The platform includes integrated or easily attachable cryptographic accelerators (Crypto Express) for high-throughput security operations and supports secure key management.

Security, compliance, and reliability are core design goals: hardware-backed encryption keys, secure boot, and serviceability features for high availability environments. The z15 is intended for industries such as finance, government, and healthcare, where datacenter consolidation, regulatory compliance, and disaster recovery are essential.

IBM has continued the Z line with the z16, announced in 2022, reflecting ongoing investment in mainframe technology and data-centric security for enterprise workloads.