News

Beyond Software Shoots LASER into Mainframe

• By Scott Bekker
• October 30, 1998

EnterpriseWeb Legacy Application Server (LASER) is designed to be both a Web server and an applications server for legacy applications that run under MVS/ESA or OS/390 platforms. It transforms the mainframe computer into a centralized "superserver," and unlocks a company's information assets.

EnterpriseWeb LASER functions are similar to traditional Web servers, but were built specifically to facilitate direct access to mainframe applications and data. With EnterpriseWeb LASER, a simple transaction can be enabled in just a few lines of code. OS/390 applications can be accessed, and transactions run from a Web browser via a desktop environment.

"Some of our clients are now beginning to think beyond the year 2000 date issue and are moving to provide enhanced access and graphical, user friendly, interfaces to applications and information stored on mainframe computers," says Brian Reaves, president and CEO of Beyond Software.

"Because over 70 percent of the world's business data still remains on the mainframe, solutions that provide easy access via Web technology to legacy applications will be in demand" says Carl Greiner, vice president of enterprise data center strategies for the Meta Group Inc. (Stamford, Conn.).

EnterpriseWeb LASER comes with a Software Developers Kit (SDK) that enables Information Systems professionals to construct business logic and wrappers around existing applications built in environments such as CICS, IMS, TSO, and DB2 using languages like COBOL, REXX, Nomad2, Adabase, SAS, FOCUS, 370/Assembler and others.

A wide range of security features allows use of existing security infrastructures including support of commercial security managers such as RACF, ACF2, and Top Secret. In addition, Web-enabled mainframe applications run with one of the strongest levels of encryption commercially available, including SSL V2 and V3 with cypher suites ranging from 40 to 168 bits. Digital signatures, encapsulation and digital certificates are fully supported as are both client and server authentication.

In addition to providing a direct two-tier environment between the mainframe and a client browser, EnterpriseWeb LASER has been designed to facilitate an "n-tier" architecture.

"Many of the corporations we spoke with during the design phase of LASER said that they wanted the ability to move quickly to Web-enable legacy applications today, but desired the option of making the mainframe a key player in a future n-tier architecture," says Erik Woodward, CTO for Beyond Software.

General availability of EnterpriseWeb LASER is scheduled for November 9. More information on EnterpriseWeb LASER is available. --Brian Ploskina, Assistant Editor