Sun Microsystems Inc’s SunIntegration Services unit has a new set of downsizing tools for helping users to move from mainframes to client-server systems. The Sun Enterprise Toolset was developed to help the company’s own internal migration programme – though Sun’s Amdahl Corp mainframe won’t be turned off until next year – and includes five packages: SunDans is a distributed network software administrator; SunRai interfaces Unix applications with those on the system being replaced – and enables client-server relational and IBM databases to synchronise transactions; Paperless Reporter can pull reports off a variety of systems and distribute them to local servers; ConsoleServer enables local and remote systems to be controlled from a single location (and console functions to be accessed from remote locations); DataCenter Scripts help automate data centre administration tasks and handle three areas, system administration collection and Sybase and Oracle administration collection. The tools are available next year – and others will be added; SunDans costs from $250 per user in a 500 user system; SunRai is $20,000 per application to application connection; Paperless Reporter costs from $750 per user in a 50-user set-up; ConsoleServer is $4,500 per administration console and DataCenter Scripts source code licences are priced between $10,000 and $18,000. Talking up the benefits of downsizing strategies, Sun points to its own experience, saying that, since it began to downsize its own operation back in 1989, its information technology expenses have declined from 7% to 4% of sales, while over the same period the company doubled its turnover to $3,400m, reduced capital commitment cycle from 274 to 139 days, took inventory turns from four to 11 per year and increased employee revenue to $348,000 from $175,000. The new tool set is expected to compete with Computer Associates International Inc’s CA-Unicenter host system management package, a Sparc version of which is being dressed up for introduction in the second quarter of next year.
