Unisys Modeling Tools Unify Mainframe and Windows Applications

How the Data Center Will Grow Up in Three Years

For the past several years, Unisys has been trying to bridge the gap between its mainframe systems and a new generation of servers that run Microsoft Windows Server operating systems. With the release of version 5.0 of the Unisys Agile Business (AB) Suite application development tools for both the MCP operating environment on Unisys ClearPath systems and Microsoft Windows platforms, IT organizations can more easily create applications that span both platforms.

Brian Herkalo, director of ClearPath portfolio management for mission-critical servers and solutions for Unisys, says as a set of modeling tools, Unisys Agile Business Suite allows IT organizations to create applications that leverage the systems of record applications that typically reside on a mainframe while taking advantage of distributed Windows server platforms.

Herkalo says Unisys has created a fabric through which Windows applications running both in and out of the cloud can be more easily integrated with mainframes running the MCP operating system, which many organizations have invested millions of dollars in over the last several decades.

In general, Herkalo says Unisys, along with the rest of the IT community, is witnessing the emergence of a bimodal approach to managing IT. Traditional enterprise IT applications are being managed with the usual focus on reliability and security, while systems of engagement based on distributed computing platforms are being deployed to support systems that require more flexibility and agility.

By providing modeling tools that allow organizations to integrate those two classes of applications at a higher level of abstraction, Herkalo says Unisys is providing the framework that enables IT organizations to more easily integrate systems of record and engagement without having to rely on low-level programming tools.

It remains to be seen how long systems of record will continue to run on mainframes. But given how resilient these platforms have proven to be over the years, it doesn’t appear they are going away any time soon. As such, the challenge now is how to integrate everything that has gone before with everything that is about to come.