Mobile technology is exploding. If you were CEO of IBM, would you believe in it so much that you would invest $1,000,000,000 in the underlying technology to drive it’s future?

It is one thing to say “think mobile first”. It is quite another to invest one billion dollars. Now that is putting your money where your mouth is.

IBM is introducing a new mainframe in a bet that clients will need its souped-up speed and security to handle a surge in consumers using smartphones for everything from banking to checking health-care records.

The z13 system can encrypt and analyze data in real time and process 30,000 transactions a second, International Business Machines Corp. (IBM:US) announced today. That means faster and safer transactions for consumers on mobile phones. The system is the result of five years of development and a more than $1 billion investment, said Donna Dillenberger, an IBM distinguished engineer who helped develop the machine.

via IBM Debuts New Mainframe in a $1 Billion Bet on Mobile – Businessweek.