Compuware Corporation has introduced Topaz for Total Test, an innovative mainframe solution that brings Java-like unit testing to the world of COBOL applications.
By enabling even novice developers to immediately validate and troubleshoot any changes they make to existing COBOL applications, Topaz for Total Test effectively eliminates the notion that such applications are “legacy” code that can’t be updated as frequently with the same confidence as other types of applications.
The result is unprecedented digital agility for large enterprises with higher quality, lower costs, and dramatically reduced dependency on the specialized knowledge of mainframe veterans aging out of the active IT workforce.
By bringing fast, developer-friendly unit testing to COBOL applications, Topaz for Total Test also empowers enterprises to deliver better customer experiences—since to create those experiences, IT needs its Agile/DevOps processes to encompass all platforms, from the mainframe to the cloud.
Many enterprises—among them the world’s largest banks, insurance companies, retailers and airlines—run their business on mainframe applications. Unfortunately, the ability of enterprises to quickly update those applications in response to ever-changing business imperatives is badly hampered by manual, antiquated development and testing processes; ongoing loss of specialized COBOL programming knowledge; and the risk and associated fear of introducing even the slightest defect into core mainframe systems of record.
Compuware Topaz for Total Test transforms mainframe application development by automatically creating tests for logical units of code. Developers at all skill levels can thus quickly and easily perform unit testing on COBOL code just as they do in Java, PHP and other popular programming languages. In fact, Topaz is more advanced than typical Java tools, because it requires no coding and automatically generates default unit test result assertions for developers.
“The digital agility of any enterprise is constrained by its least agile code base,” said Rich Ptak of IT analyst firm Ptak Associates. “By eliminating a long-standing constraint to COBOL agility, Compuware provides enterprise IT the ability to deliver more digital capabilities to the business at greater speed and with less risk.”
Gartner recommends in their recent research, Predicts 2017: Application Development, that application leaders in IT organizations should “Adopt a continuous quality culture that includes practices to manage technical debt and automate tests focused on unit and API testing. It should also automate test lab operations to provide access to production-like environments, and enable testing of deployment through the use of DevOps pipeline tools.”
The introduction of Topaz for Total Test follows two years of unmatched innovation by Compuware across all key aspects of mainframe application agility, integration of the mainframe into the broader context of cross-platform enterprise DevOps, and the ongoing attrition of veteran IT professionals with specialized mainframe knowledge.
As a result of this innovation, enterprise IT organizations can now ease and accelerate the entire mainframe application lifecycle including:
· Intuitive visual analysis of even the most complex and poorly documented mainframe programs and data structures (Topaz for Program Analysis and Topaz for Enterprise Data)
· Real-time quality control and error detection of mainframe coding syntax (Topaz integration with SonarSource)
· Automated creation and execution of unit tests (Topaz for Total Test)
· Agile cross-platform source code management and release automation (ISPW and integration with XebiaLabs)
“Unit Testing on the mainframe is overdue,” said Randy Dray, Director of IT at Pekin Insurance. “I’m glad to see Topaz for Total Test focusing on unit test automation.”
Compuware today also announced the acquisition of MVS Solutions, its fourth acquisition in the past twelve months.
With nine consecutive quarters of new product releases, enhancements to existing products, integrations with leading third-party DevOps tools, and continued strategic acquisitions, Compuware is redefining the long-term future of the mainframe in enterprise IT.
“Without a mainframe renaissance, large global enterprises above a certain vintage will simply not be able to compete in fast-moving digital markets where disruption is the norm,” said Compuware CEO Chris O’Malley. “Compuware is the undisputable leader of this renaissance—and we will continue to innovate with solutions, services, acquisitions and partnerships that enable our customers to reap the special advantages of being both big and fast.”
