Clerity, Compuware Maintain Focus on the Mainframe

As mainframe use remains a fact of life in enterprise IT today, software makers such as Clerity Solutions and Compuware continue turning out new software and services to support developers building applications for the mainframe platform. Clerity said in a news release Dec. 7:

"Clerity Solutions, a full-service provider of mainframe migration, modernization and optimization solutions, today introduced Clerity Map Editor, an application development tool that provides a graphical user interface (GUI) environment for the design, creation and maintenance of former mainframe-based 3270 'green screens' on cost-effective open systems.

"This is the latest mainframe modernization solution from Clerity, which offers the ... UniKix mainframe re-hosting software suite, used worldwide by companies to run mission-critical CICS, IMS, IDMS, Adabas/Natural and other legacy assets on flexible, distributed servers."

Clerity Map Editor helps developers "build, edit, and maintain CICS Basic Mapping Support (BMS) Maps for rehosted mainframe workloads running in UniKix software environments. With Clerity Map Editor, stand-alone BMS files and BMS files associated with COBOL copybooks can be displayed, modified and generated on any Windows, Unix or Linux-based system supporting a Java Runtime Environment 6.0 or greater," the company said.

"Clerity Map Editor provides an excellent alternative to preserve interfaces and avoid end-user retraining post migration," Shwetank Srivastava, vice president of product development and services at Clerity, said in a statement. "With its straightforward GUI, mainframe or non-mainframe personnel can quickly leverage this tool to help meet their migration objectives."

Meanwhile, Compuware has launched a Mainframe Cost Savings Program for its Mainframe Solutions customers. The program provides Compuware customers with "a free cost-savings assessment, a road map to future mainframe operational cost savings and the opportunity to win a grand prize of $1 million," Compuware said in a news release Nov. 30.

"To participate, customers take part in a straightforward and free cost-savings assessment. Through the assessment, Compuware will identify future savings opportunities as well as the specific operational cost savings that the customer currently enjoys by using Compuware," the company said.

"We're so confident in our differentiated capabilities and ROI that we're offering $1 million to help our customers prove it," said Rose Rowe, vice president of mainframe strategy at Compuware. "According to Gartner, our mainframe market leadership is greater than all of our competitors combined. We believe this is because, in the last six months alone, our customers have told us that Compuware has saved them more than $2 billion. We're launching this program to help our customers save even more money and to continue proving the unmatched value Compuware brings to this marketplace." The statement continued:

"The program is open to all Compuware customers who maintain a Compuware mainframe software maintenance contract during the program. Participating customers will access a secure web portal where they can easily submit brief stories documenting the successes and savings they have realized from Compuware Mainframe Solutions. The most compelling collection of stories will earn the winning organization a $1 million grand prize at the end of the year-long contest.

"This is an opportunity for Compuware mainframe customers to gain valuable insight into potential areas for further cost savings and efficiencies—at no cost to them—and to have a chance to win a substantial prize," said Rowe. "Every customer will benefit by simply participating in the program."

"In addition to the grand prize winner, nine runners-up will receive a $100,000 credit toward purchase of a new Compuware product software license. Each collection of cost-savings stories will be judged by a panel of industry experts and Compuware executives. This program will run through November 30, 2010."