Serena delivers a new business mashup that combines Web 2.0 with the mainframe-based world of application lifecycle management.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.
Application Development 
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