Serena Brings Mashups to the Mainframe

With its new business mashup, Serena Software is taking Web 2.0 technology to the mainframe.

Serena’s new business mashup targets the application release process in mainframe shops. Announced July 7, the Serena ARM (Application Release Manager) provides an automated way for application developers, IT operations and business users to communicate and collaborate with each other during the release process so that applications can be released on schedule.

The Serena ARM mashup combines Web 2.0-based workflow capabilities with Serena’s SCCM (ChangeMan ZMF Software Change and Configuration Management) software for the mainframe to deliver an efficient way to manage the application release process, from initial change requests through final deployment and into the production environment, said Rene Bonvanie, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, partner programs and online services at Serena.

Serena, best known for its ALM (application lifecycle management) software tools, jumped whole hog into the world of business mashups last year.

However, “this [ARM] relates a lot more to our roots, but it combines very nicely with a lot of things we’ve been talking about with mashups,” Bonvanie said. “This is part of the continued mainframe drive toward Web 2.0, and we see a lot of application development happening for the mainframe. We have quite a number of mainframe customers, and we continue to add them to our stable.”

Bonvanie said Serena co-developed the ARM mashup with one of its customers, which has requested not to be identified.

“This mashup is not a free mashup,” Bonvanie said. “There is a lot of labor you can replace with this mashup. Since there are fewer release engineers, developers are stepping in to solve this problem.”

Meanwhile, like other Serena Business Mashups, ARM includes a visual process designer with out-of-the-box process templates that can be easily customized, the company said. In addition, the Web capability enables users to track and approve projects over a Web-enabled mobile device from anywhere at any time.

The ARM mashup joins a lineup of other prebuilt Serena business mashups for the ALM environment, including Issue Tracking, Request to Test, Agile Backlog, Change Requests, Hardware and Software Changes, and Demand Management.