30th Oct 2006 13:00
Micro Focus (LSE: MCRO.L), a leading provider of core systemdevelopment and deployment solutions, today unveiled the latest indistributed COBOL solutions with Net Express(R) 5.0, Micro FocusServer(TM) for COBOL and Micro Focus Server(TM) for .NET. All threeproducts help customers create modern COBOL applications and extendtheir existing COBOL portfolio by opening up critical business logicto the Microsoft .NET Framework. COBOL applications are core to themajority of IT Systems deployed today, according to a recentComputerworld survey that found COBOL is used by 62% of respondents,with 58% also creating new applications in COBOL.(1) £ Net Express provides a complete development environment that takescore business processes and extends them to the .NET Framework andother distributed platforms. Using Net Express, customers can quicklyconstruct enterprise components and services from existing businesslogic and use these to develop new Microsoft .NET, web orclient/server applications across the distributed enterprise. £ The latest product release of Net Express helps organizationsmodernize the look and feel of their COBOL applications by creating aninnovative graphical or Web front end in COBOL using .NET WindowsForms or Web Forms. In addition, Net Express now fully supportsMicrosoft Visual Studio 2005 and allows for the development andextension of managed or verifiable code. These COBOL applications aredeployed with Micro Focus Server for .NET, within Microsoft's .NETFramework 2.0. £ Customers such as Hollywood Entertainment, SOLCORP (an EDScompany) and McGuffie Brunton have all realized the benefits of COBOLreuse to extend their existing investments in core systemapplications. £ "After attempting to rewrite our entire point-of-sale system,Micro Focus came to us with a solution that not only reused existingand proven business logic, but also enabled Hollywood Entertainment tomeet key financial objectives," said Martin Tromblee, developmentmanager of store systems, Hollywood Entertainment. "I had completeconfidence in the Micro Focus COBOL product suite." £ "These latest Micro Focus products enhance their alreadysuccessful product suite and bring the advantages of the .NETFramework to our mutual legacy modernization customers," said SpyrosSakellariadis, Director, Mainframe and Midrange Alliance Programs,Microsoft Corp. £ Micro Focus Server for .NET also includes Micro Focus Server forCOBOL, which provides the same high performance, robust, proven andportable platform for the deployment of unmanaged COBOL applicationsoutside of the .NET Framework on Windows, UNIX or Linux. Thiscross-platform deployment option provides companies with multipleplatforms an easy and cost effective way to reuse and modernize theirCOBOL portfolio while taking advantage of investments in existinghardware and skills. £ "Reusing of existing core system business logic allows ourcustomers a sure fire way to reduce the cost of expensive and oftenrisky rewrites while delivering COBOL in to the latest in Microsofttechnology," said Stuart McGill, vice president of worldwide marketingat Micro Focus. "COBOL remains one of the most viable programminglanguages because it is scalable, portable and fast, deliveringtangible business benefits." £ Micro Focus Server for COBOL also adds the ability forapplications developed in Net Express to take advantage of theseamless scalability on multi-core applications and greaterperformance on 64-bit Windows platforms through deployment on either64-bit x86 or Intel Itanium 2 processors. £ "By collaborating on compiler architecture and technology withMicro Focus, we are helping to ensure our mutual customers enjoy aCOBOL development environment on Windows that is optimized forIntel processor-based servers," said James Reinders, Director ofMarketing, Intel Software Development Products. "Taking advantage ofmultiple cores in the new generation of servers powered by Intel(R)Itanium(R) 2 and 64-bit Intel(R) Xeon(R) processors brings energyefficient performance to enterprise customers." £ Micro Focus - Unlocking the Value of Legacy(TM) £ Micro Focus is a leading provider of legacy development anddeployment software for enterprise platforms. Micro Focus enablesorganizations to reduce costs and increase agility with minimal riskby reusing their legacy applications with contemporary architecturesand Web services. Founded in 1976, Micro Focus is a global companywith principal offices in the United Kingdom, United States, Germanyand Japan. For more information, visit www.microfocus.com. £ Micro Focus and Net Express are registered trademarks and MicroFocus Server and Unlocking the Value of Legacy are trademarks of MicroFocus. All other products mentioned in this announcement aretrademarks of their respective owners. £ (1) "COBOL: Not Dead Yet," Computerworld, Oct. 9, 2006, pp: 27-28and 37. Copyright Business Wire 2006Related Shares:
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