ICL Plc’s Openframework Division – which aids migration to open systems – last week opened its second UK Verification Centre in Manchester. The centre will test for interoperability between ICL and non-ICL hardware, software and operating systems at the request of customers, and ICL says that it will have 12 similar centres open worldwide by the end of the year – rising to 50 by the end of 1994. It also introduced Systemswise, a CD-ROM package that lists 5,000 hardware and software configurations based on the results of interoperability tests. It is updated quarterly and annual subscriptions are priced at UKP1,000. The firm also launched a series of books entitled The Openframemwork Architecture, which explain systems integration and open systems. The books are published by Prentice Hall and cost between UKP20 and UKP25.