Micro Focus delivers mainframe modernization with Enterprise Developer for IBM zEnterprise

Micro Focus has announced the release of its new Enterprise Developer for IBM zEnterprise®. The solution enables customers to optimize all aspects of IBM mainframe application delivery and drive down costs, increase productivity and accelerate innovation.

A recent study by the Standish Group showed that 70 percent of CIOs saw their organizations’ mainframes as having a central and strategic role in their overall business success. Additional research conducted by an independent global research study has shown, however, that many of the applications that run on mainframes are beginning to fall behind business requirements.

The group estimates the average application IT debt – the cost of clearing maintenance backlog in order to bring the corporate applications portfolio up to date – at $8.5 million per organization. To help meet these challenges, Micro Focus (LSE:MCRO) Enterprise Developer for zEnterprise is built for customers modernizing applications for deployment on the mainframe or any of the IBM zEnterprise environments. The product uses either the Microsoft Visual Studio or Eclipse-based Integrated Developer Environment (IDE) with mainframe integration, and also includes tools to support development and unit testing on Linux for System z, AIX and x86 environments.

Commenting on its implementation of Micro Focus Enterprise Developer for zEnterprise, Philippe Bailly, Director of Shared Services Centre at Steria in Nantes said: “The solution has enabled us to standardize our mainframe development environment and maximize programmer productivity. Moving to this Eclipse environment also means it is easier to recruit new developers and transition our existing staff thanks to user-friendly tools and a unified mainframe and Java development environment.”

Kevin Brearley, Senior Director of Product Management at Micro Focus, said: “By providing a contemporary, standard IDE for zEnterprise, Micro Focus Enterprise Developer brings modern capabilities to a core IT asset. This helps experienced mainframe programmers work up to 40 percent more productively and allows less experienced developers to easily apply the skills they bring from other languages to the mainframe. This first class technology enables our customers to deliver updates, applications and new, innovative services to market earlier.”

Greg Lotko, Vice President and Business Line Executive, IBM System z, said: “The IBM zEnterprise System, a result of more than $1 billion in R&D investments over the past four years, provides our clients with significant enhancements in handling data, analytics, cloud and, security, as well as the traditional focus areas of performance, security, availability and other key enterprise features. We are continually working with our technology partners to help our clients maximize the value in their IBM mainframes, and this latest innovation from Micro Focus is a great example of that commitment.”

Key benefits of Enterprise Developer for zEnterprise include:
· Supports on- and off-mainframe development, providing a flexible approach and swifter delivery of new business functions without consuming mainframe resources
· Enables full and flexible customization of the IDE to support unique development processes
· Provides deep integration into mainframe configuration management and tooling allowing for a more comprehensive development environment and faster developer adoption
· Improved application quality with measurable improvement in delivery times