Micro Focus Announces EnterpriseLink gains Works With certification for Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008

San Francisco, California
March 13th, 2008

Micro Focus and Microsoft join together to announce the coveted Works With Windows Server 2008 logo for Micro Focus EnterpriseLink 5.0 -- the premier Web-enabling and Web-service-enabling product from Micro Focus. The announcement was made at the Micro Focus booth during Microsoft's launch of Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 in San Francisco, California, March 13th, 2008.

The announcement featured examples of Micro Focus Server for Mainframe Migration and Micro Focus EnterpriseLink that are,

Web 2.0 is the phrase given to advanced Web applications that rely on asychronous Javascript and XML (AJAX), Microsoft XML Application Markup Language Browser Applications (XAML/XBAP) or similar Web mashups. Mark Haynie, Micro Focus Chief Technical Officer for Application Modernization explains, "In the coming years, expect to see corporate mission critical applications delivered through this technology. Base Web 1.0 applications will themselves be consumed by other Web applications in so-called Web mashups. That technology is available today with Micro Focus EnterpriseLink." The demo application at the Microsoft launch event features Microsoft Popfly as a mashup editor.

Micro Focus Server for Mainframe Migration is a COBOL application server that hosts IBM CICS or IMS COBOL online transaction processing (OLTP) applications and their JCL batch jobs in a Windows Server 2008 environment while accessing mainframe data through SQL Server 2008. Applications can thus run more effectively than in a traditional IT glass house.

EnterpriseLink 5.0, service pack 8 is certified by Veritest, subsidiary of Lionbridge, as Works With Windows Server 2008. EnterpriseLink stores its project repository and integrates customer data from Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

Micro Focus demonstrated a system consisting of Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Micro Focus Server "2008" (aka 5.1) and Micro Focus EnterpriseLink "2008" (aka 5.0sp8). The system is depicted in a screen capture from the event:

Fig. 1. EnterpriseLink Demonstration System at Microsoft Server 2008 Launch event, March, 2008

IBM mainframe applications (as well as mainframe-migrated apps in Micro Focus Server) accessed through a familiar "green screen" 3270 terminal are available on the Web 10 minutes after EnterpriseLink installation. This "Web 0.0" view of a host application is depicted in figure 2 below.

Fig. 2. EnterpriseLink automatic translation Microsoft Server 2008 Launch event, March, 2008

In 30-days or less, EnterpriseLink can Web-enable your IBM System z or System i application (e.g., CICS COBOL or IMS COBOL application), Micro Focus Server, Unisys or Tandem online transaction processing application. This reduces costs associated with maintaining terminal user interfaces and increases productivity of all who use it. Alternative views of the mainframe application are thus available for different users (Extranet, Intranet, Internet), languages or regions (English, Turkish, Japanese), devices (browsers, Windows Mobile PDAs, mobile phones) or protocols and formats (XML/SOAP, HTML 3.2, HTML 4.0, XML-RPC, PDF, FDF, Excel). Figure 3 from the Microsoft launch event depicts a bank customer service application with EnterpriseLink, a Web 1.0 interface.

Fig. 3. EnterpriseLink customized IBM application at Microsoft Server 2008 Launch event, March, 2008

Web 2.0 is the name given to advanced applications such as those demonstrated at the Microsoft launch event in the Microsoft Popfly mashup editor. Mashup editors such as Yahoo! Pipes and Google Mashup Editor as well as traditional Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) orchestration tools such as Oracle Fusion can be used to combine or integrate multiple web sources. "We combined a CICS COBOL banking application through EnterpriseLink with Microsoft Virtual Earth to create a wicked mashup," Senior Micro Focus Architect Ian White said. "It even impressed the Popfly program manager. Most mashups are used today in simple Facebook apps, not mission critical business apps." The result is shown in Figure 4.

Fig. 4. EnterpriseLink mashup at Microsoft Server 2008 Launch event, March, 2008

EnterpriseLink 5.0 Service Pack 8 (and later) Works With Server 2008 is available for download to existing customers from www.EnterpriseLink.com and Micro Focus SupportLine. For more information on EnterpriseLink, see the EnterpriseLink Information Site, or contact a representative from Micro Focus to arrange a demonstration. For more information about either Windows Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008, see Microsoft Corporation.