Our Automated CA Gen Refactoring solution delivers modern Cloud-enabled applications and databases that are functionally equivalent to their legacy counterparts, eliminating the hassle and expense of CA Gen (formerly known as IEF, Composer, COOL:Gen, Advantage:Gen, and AllFusion Gen) and the mainframe. This reduces cost, allows for deeper integration, and enables customization to meet business requirements.
CHALLENGES
Developers who understand CA Gen and mainframe technology are reaching retirement age and no one is being trained to replace them, resulting in a steadily diminishing talent pool. As this shortage grows, the costs and risk of relying on CA Gen will continue to rise.
Companies are rapidly moving to modern environments and practices such as DevOps and the Cloud. CA Gen, the applications it generates, and the underlying systems that support them were not designed for modern IT, resulting in difficult integrations and limited flexibility.
Mainframes running applications generated with CA Gen cost as much as 4,500 per cent more to operate than equivalent Cloud counterparts. This figure is compounded by rising licensing and maintenance fees for ancillary mainframe applications and databases.
OUR SOLUTION
Our Automated CA Gen Refactoring solution preserves the benefits of legacy systems while empowering organizations to leverage the advantages of newer platforms, especially the Cloud. This unlocks a whole new world of quality and scalability from automated testing to quality assurance, and the ability to leverage containerized deployments and orchestration with Docker and Kubernetes.
Many CA Gen transformation solutions convert the generated COBOL from CA Gen, producing illegible, impossible to maintain Java or C#. In contrast, our Automated CA Gen Refactoring solution, harnessing a powerful combination of proprietary software and an iterative transformation methodology, uses the application definitions in the CA Gen encyclopedia. This delivers a modern, easily maintainable Java or C# application based on fully maintainable open systems.
Our Automated CA Gen Refactoring solution converts mainframe and client applications, as well as External Action Blocks, delivering a single application stack as the target end state. Functional equivalence, optimimum performance, and simple maintainability is maximized through the following assurances:
The entire inventory of CA Gen components supplied and scoped during the initial assessment is refactored to functionally equivalent Java or C# code using our proprietary software. This toolset is configured to support the options selected during the planning stages of the project. At the end of the modernization process, the refactored code along with the supporting framework is packaged and delivered. This package includes:
Once the CA Gen and its associated databases are refactored, Java and C# developers can extend application functionality for Cloud optimization using standard DevOps tools and CI/CD concepts that simply aren’t available for mainframe applications.
OUR PROCESS
We begin every modernization initiative with a discovery, free of charge. Our modernization experts work with you to understand and document your business and technical goals and objectives. Together, we gather information about your mainframe estate. Everything from infrastructure to language and database types and quantities are accounted for. The discovery concludes with a workshop where we recommend optimal modernization approaches based on information gathered, as well as rough order of magnitude (ROM) pricing, and estimated project durations and resource requirements.
The assess and design phase is performed using our automated tools to fully catalog and develop a complete understanding of the application, infrastructure, and operational components of a mainframe environment. It exposes mainframe artifacts that organizations did not know they had, relationships they did not realize existed, and assets that are no longer in use. Assess and design activities provide stakeholders with valuable insight to inform application modernization decisions such as disposition strategies and target environment architectures. It also mitigates cost and risk by highlighting potential challenges and how to overcome them. At the conclusion of the assess and design phase, all in-scope artifacts are accounted for, a detailed project plan is established, and the transformation process begins.
The transform phase includes the bulk of the automated CA Telon refactoring activities, the database and data modernization, and build-out of the target operating environment. During transform, we refactor pre-defined work packets, perform functional tests, and deliver them into the DevOps pipeline. While customer teams build, test, and deploy these work packets in the target environment, we refactor the next work packet, iterating until the entire mainframe estate has been transformed.
The test and deploy phase begins with the receipt of work packets through the DevOps toolchain as they are delivered from iterative refactoring activities in the transform phase. If issues arise, the work packet is passed back to us where we review the code, adjust our tooling, reprocess the work packet, and send it back into the DevOps pipeline to resume testing and deployment. This process repeats until the entire refactored estate has been deployed.
Prior to go-live, we refresh the target environment by transforming a final snapshot of the mainframe environment to account for changes that have taken place throughout modernization project as part of normal business operations. Fortunately, since all adjustments and optimizations have been made to the automated refactoring tools and not the refactored code, this final refresh can be delivered into production over a weekend, eliminating code freezes.
We work closely with you and your team to ensure a smooth transition into production. Part of this transition includes the cooperative construction and testing of a go-live production cutover plan to reduce the potential risks associated with application deployments. We also provide on-demand assistance during the warranty period following production deployment, as well as post-transformation support of the modernized application.
"The Advanced solution gave us a cost-effective means to move from a legacy mainframe system to a modern infrastructure without loss in core business functionality."
Howard Marsh, CIO,
Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility
This handbook covers a recent successful modernization, as well as the business case and technical considerations for ditching legacy CA Gen.
CO-HOSTED WITH MICROSOFT
Watch to find out how modernization can deliver mainframe class capabilities.
Exploring the impact of the new era of digitalization and change on the current state of legacy systems and organizations' modernization plans.
Live discussion: 2022 Mainframe Modernization Report
Automated CA Gen Modernization
We spoke to one of the top experts in CA Gen modernization about getting away from the confines of CA Gen and into a modern environment.
This blog outlines the importance of modernizing your CA Gen environment and the different ways we can help implement this change.
We have outlined three essential techniques you can employ to reduce the risk and complexity around a CA Gen modernization effort.
by Tim Jones, Managing Director - Application Modernization
Over 35 years of CA Gen and mainframe modernization experience
Read our application modernization blogs