Clerity Solutions, a provider of mainframe migration and modernization solutions, today introduced the Clerity Migration and Modernization Analysis Process (MMAP) for Adabas Natural environments. The new service is targeted at helping companies analyze migration options for Software AG environments, including the business impact and implementation requirements involved in moving to other platforms and application architectures.
"A lot of companies are struggling with how to get their arms around the best path forward," Jeff Hacker, vice president in charge of Clerity's Adabas Natural Modernization Practice, tells 5 Minute Briefing. Hacker explains these companies are dealing with two main issues-an aging workforce that results in a decreasing pool from which to hire qualified employees, and cost challenges. "There have been instances where I have been in discussions with companies that as recently as five to six years ago had well over 200 to 300 Adabas Natural programmers in their shops," he says. "Six years later, they have under 20."
Hacker says Clerity seeks to help these organizations consider alternative technologies and move them to Java, .NET or COBOL. Or, they may opt to migrate to Adabas Natural running on open systems which, says Hacker, "solves one of the big problems associated with the cost impact, and it buys them time as they look to perhaps rewrite the application or, ultimately, transform it to another language."
Adabas, Software AG's database server, has been used on mainframes since 1970 for large applications, and has historically been implemented in conjunction with Natural, Software AG's programming language. Transitioning from these long-established environments can be complex, contends Clerity.
Clerity says its new MMAP service is a platform-neutral approach that helps companies consider potential business and technology factors influencing a mainframe migration project and reach an appropriate decision.
"We come in and help them from an objective standpoint understand what the elements and attributes associated with their environment are," Hacker explains. "We look at it from a holistic approach, looking at the software applications, as well as the infrastructure from a hardware perspective, and the personnel impact, the skill impact, associated with it. We lead in a consultative fashion, trying to figure out what is in the best interests of the customer and then we counsel them on modernizing or moving their applications to meet their business objectives."
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