Converting Old Mainframe Systems to Web Services "A Must for Survival and Success"

ATLANTA, June 17, 2010 – When someone says a project is on track at Interfleet, it means business. Railway business, to be precise. GT Software, a provider of integration solutions that leverage mainframe resources, today announced that Interfleet Technology, one of the world's leading international consultancies in rail technology, has adopted GT Software's Ivory Service Architect to be the foundation for new business solutions offered by Interfleet's Swedish operation.
 
Based on GT Software’s patented Web services technology, Ivory is an integrated toolset that enables rapid integration of mainframe assets leveraging companies' investments in applications and data. Interfleet is a global provider of rail engineering services with approximately 130 consultants in Sweden.
 
Offering complete technical support for all types of rolling stock through the vehicle's entire lifecycle, Interfleet's services include everything from a new acquisition and design support for manufacturing and ordering, test and measurement, delivery, inspection, overhaul and maintenance for demolition and replacement.
 
Interfleet's Railway Vehicle Maintenance management system was built as a hosted solution by a Swedish integrator in the early 1980s, and was in need of upgrading. Until about a year ago, they accessed the system by 3270 emulation and point-to-point system integration, said Mattias Tronje, system development manager for Interfleet Technology.
 
"We have new products in the pipeline which will generate new revenue. And, we are starting to see a great interest in online integration, which also generates new revenue in a more scalable and reusable business model," he commented."So, we have new user groups, but they were not able to use the 3270 emulation because of usability issues."
 
After considering several options, Interfleet chose Ivory because of the fast learning curve for their PL/1 developers, support for advanced workflows, and native integration with IBM MQ message broker, said Tronje.
 
They are now converting CICS transactions running on the mainframe under IBM Z/OS 390 into web applications, while at the same time building an Enterprise Service Bus to help implement the SOA environment. Additionally, said Tronje, "We have started a new product development project, a railway vehicle warranty system, which combines mainframe information with information from other sources into one system. Ivory provides the ideal technology for this integration."
 
As a relatively small organization, "We wanted a solution that could expose CICS transactions as web services, and offer a quick start and an easy way to get going. We found that in Ivory."
 
A proven solution in the most demanding of applications infrastructures, Ivory enables developers to create and publish Web services quickly and easily, developing right-sized composite business services with little or no training. For example, Interfleet's proof-of-concept project took one CICS transaction and together with a Swedish consulting firm exposed it as a web service with Ivory. Then they consumed the service in a .Net application, all in about a week.
 
The total time from selection of Ivory to implementation was about one month, said Tronje.
 
Is the system on track? "Ivory delivers the basis for building a modern, robust, open and user friendly system on top of our earlier investments in business logic and information/data. It is a foundation for new business, products and business models for us. It is a must for survival and success."