Compuware Corporation announced a new modernized open development environment for managing mainframe application development, which is intended to help customers increase productivity, reduce costs and address challenges brought about by the retiring mainframe workforce. The new intuitive Compuware Workbench, which has been in beta since mid-May, provides an Eclipse-based graphical user interface (GUI), a common framework and single-launch point to initiate Compuware's mainframe products with the capability to launch other mainframe and distributed products.
The Compuware WorkBench is planned to be generally available in August and will be showcased by the company at the SHARE conference in August, Tyler Allman, product manager at Compuware, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Compuware Workbench is intended to help organizations get the most from their limited funding by increasing the output of their existing workforce, the vendor says. The productivity gains realized when using a GUI environment coupled with the tighter product integration offered in the new Compuware Workbench minimizes the time it takes to complete individual tasks, increasing IT's overall efficiency.
In addition to helping customers get the most value from their investments, states Rose Rowe, vice president of mainframe strategy for Compuware, the new solution is also intended to support IT organizations who are facing the prospect of recruiting and training of potential new programmers as baby boomers look ahead to retirement. The next generation of programmers, who grew up with digital technologies, have not had experience with the traditional "green screen" (TSO/ISPF) interface. This means that these new programmers would not only have to be trained to understand the applications they will support, but would also be faced with having to learn to support these applications in an outdated character-based development environment. For developers who have grown up in a point-and-click GUI environment, Rowe notes, providing them with this modernized, point-and-click option helps them get up to speed much quicker.
Compuware says it continues to support both green screen and GUI environments. The initial release of the Compuware Workbench is scheduled for August of this year.
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