Micro Focus Unveils New Server Enterprise Edition for PL/I

Micro Focus, a provider of enterprise application modernization, testing and management solutions, unveiled its new Micro Focus Server Enterprise Edition for PL/I applications.

The new edition is noted to be the first complete, cross-platform migration solution that enables mainframe PL/I applications to be moved, with minimal changes, from an IBM (News - Alert) mainframe to Linux, Unix or Windows Server platforms, where they can be operated for a fraction of the cost.

Micro Focus believes that with this new launch organizations will now have a brand new, low-risk alternative when considering modernization options for their PL/I application portfolios that avoids the need to rewrite, convert or replace mature PL/I applications that deliver unique competitive advantage.

The company also emphasized that with this solution, IT departments can now self-fund ongoing PL/I application modernization by reinvesting a proportion of the annual operating cost savings, which can be as much as 70 percent, into modernization and innovation.

“PL/I applications running on IBM mainframes are nearly always business-critical. It is therefore crucial to provide a robust platform that helps organizations move applications with as few changes as possible,” Kevin Brearley, director of Product Management at Micro Focus said in a press release.

“Our products mitigate risk, which is the number one concern of CIOs interested in exploring how migration can benefit their organizations,” Brearley added.

Micro Focus Server Enterprise Edition is noted to be the only integrated cross platform PL/I system migration product on the market. It enables the bulk of PL/I application code to be migrated without change and provides support for COBOL and all other key IBM mainframe subsystems used by PL/I applications.

Having this full range of language and subsystems support on Windows Server, Linux and UNIX is essential when migrating PL/I systems as it reduces risk, a key factor for all organizations considering migration.

“Companies worldwide are continuing to increase their deployments of mission-critical applications on Windows Server and SQL Server. The PL/I migration solution from Micro Focus can help companies that still depend on PL/I-based mainframe applications to move to the Microsoft (News - Alert) application platform. Companies making this switch are driven by improved agility, price/performance, and a large ecosystem of applications and skilled resources,” said Microsoft's worldwide director of platform modernization Bob Ellsworth.

In related news, Micro Focus announced the availability of Silk, a set of integrated modules that provide application lifecycle support for SAP (News - Alert) applications, as well as all other industry requirements for testing in a heterogeneous world. The solution, as reported by TMCnet, optimizes the availability, accuracy, performance and scalability of SAP applications by embedding quality activities throughout the SAP application lifecycle.