Mainframe computer diagnostic software developer Compuware Corp, Farmington Hills, Michigan, last week outlined its new client-server product strategy and unveiled its plans for EcoSystems Software Inc, the Unix systems management software it acquired last month. After more than 20 years supplying the IBM Corp mainframe market with testing and analysis tools, Compuware is changing direction. In a recent survey of its 6,000 users worldwide Compuware found that 50% of customers were asking for more migration tools and client-server-related software while 25% wanted tools to enhance and maintain their legacy software and downsize to other IBM proprietary systems including CICS, OS/2 and AIX. Another 25% of users wanted multi-vendor Unix-based systems management and data administration software to build distributed applications. Compuware expects its business to evolve into three different client-server markets. Its key Unix strategy is EcoSystems’ systems management software, EcoTools – which manages distributed Oracle systems running across Motif-based Hewlett-Packard Co, Sun Microsystems Inc, IBM, Sequent Computer Systems Inc and Amdahl Corp systems. Compuware expects EcoSystems to bolster revenues by 30% to 40% this year. Turnover for the 1993 fiscal year was $250m. All future product development across the company will be based on EcoSystems’ Unix architecture, the firm says. The EcoSystems acquisition has accelerated product schedules in all areas of development. We couldn’t have gone client-server without their Unix architecture and their expertise in the open systems market, says Compuware’s vice-president of product marketing, Buff Jones. A new version of EcoTools is available at the end of the month and support for Sybase Inc’s SQL Server will be added by the end of the year and for Informix Online 5.0 the first quarter 1994. The firm is also developing a Microsoft Corp Windows NT version of EcoTools and expects to ship beta versions late next year. At the mainframe level, Compuware has introduced Co-operative Initiative, a suite of client-server maintenance tools for testing, re-engineering and analysing data on workstations and personal computers. They include Pathvu, a personal computer-based re-engineering tool for Cobol. Retrofit, a Cobol source code sorter – which monitors redundant Cobol code and enables programmers to analyse the importance of data without stripping it from the mainframe. Both tools are available now. Other client-server maintenance tools include Xpediter, a code debugger, and Playback, a graphical user interface-based systems testing tool. They’ll be released by the end of the year, Compuware says. The company is also re-engineering its diagnostic and fault testing software for users downsizing to other IBM systems including IBM CICS, OS/2 and DB2/6000 systems. Remote Control is the first tool available for OS/2 and CICS systems. It is a remote database configuration and administration tool, which schedules jobs and carries out DB2 back-ups. It intends to ship the thing by year-end.
