Server: Netscape-Enterprise/2.01 Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 05:34:09 GMT Content-type: text/html PLATINUM technology First to Deliver End-To-End Application Infrastructure Management Solution
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November 12, 1997
 
PLATINUM technology First to Deliver End-To-End Application Infrastructure Management Solution
 
IT industry analysts cite infrastructure management solution as critical to application development success in large enterprises
 
Oakbrook Terrace, IL, November 12, 1997 — PLATINUM technology, inc. today announced availability of PLATINUM ADvantage, the first end-to-end solution for managing the application development infrastructure. With ADvantage, development managers can automate and improve their processes for building, managing, and delivering applications.
 
"We are seeing the start of a dramatic shift in the application development arena," said Ed Miller, senior vice president of PLATINUM. "Organizations are recognizing that application development must now be managed as a core business process, and the vendor community is responding. PLATINUM is at the forefront with ADvantage, a solution that enables organizations to build rapid and repeatable processes for application development."
 
ADvantage integrates new versions of PLATINUM’s tools for component modeling, change and configuration management, and project management, along with PLATINUM tools for decision-support and rules-based application development. The solution complements market-leading construction tools — including Visual Basic, PowerBuilder, C++ and Java — to enable development teams to build components more consistently for easier reuse, automate changes to software throughout an enterprise, and track the progress of projects. ADvantage helps development groups minimize risk, boost service levels, and gain easier access to information for better decision-making.
 
IT industry analysts suggest that large enterprises with dispersed operations can significantly benefit from an infrastructure management solution. "For organizations challenged to deliver applications on time and within budget, an application infrastructure management solution can be very important," said Steve Garone, research manager for Framingham, Mass.-based industry research firm International Data Corporation. "As an outcome of its acquisition and technology development strategies, PLATINUM technology is now able to deliver a solution that meets these organizations' infrastructure management requirements."
 
Business educators also contend that IT infrastructures are critical for business success. In their Sloan Management Review (Spring 1997) article, "Management by Maxim: How Business and IT Can Create IT Infrastructures," professors Marianne Broadbent and Peter Weil said, "IT infrastructure capabilities underpin the competitive positioning of business initiatives…They are the base for computer applications to execute business processes."
 
PLATINUM’s Miller said that an infrastructure management solution can dramatically reduce project failures. "The problem for development managers today is that they must deliver business-critical applications at a frantic pace, while trying to accommodate complex and changing business requirements," he said. "Many projects fail because development teams lack the necessary infrastructure to manage application changes effectively, ensure that business requirements drive application design, plan projects, facilitate team development, and leverage existing IT investments. PLATINUM is taking a lead in the application development market by providing the first-ever infrastructure that combines best-in-class, repository-based solutions to address these requirements."
 
About PLATINUM ADvantage
 
ADvantage consists of:
  • the new Version 3.5.2 of PLATINUM Paradigm Plus, the only component modeling and management tool that offers fully integrated business process, object, and physical database modeling;
     
  • the new Version 3.0 of PLATINUM CCC/Harvest, a comprehensive solution that integrates change and configuration management to provide a flexible process to manage the flow of changes to development projects;
     
  • the new Version 4.4 of PLATINUM Process Continuum, the only tool that effectively integrates project and process management in a single repository to provide automated estimation, multi-project scheduling, and deliverable-driven task management;
     
  • PLATINUM ADvisor, a decision-support tool that uses highly-graphical reports in an integrated console to report on projects, people, change requests, and development components; and
     
  • PLATINUM AionDS, a development environment that complements leading construction tools by automating complex business logic using a combination of rules-based technology and object oriented programming.
ADvantage represents the first phase of PLATINUM’s plans to integrate its application development tools. Paradigm Plus, CCC/Harvest, and Process Continuum are now functionally integrated, enabling managers and developers to complete the planning, execution, and approval of tasks in an automated environment that facilitates communication and teamwork. Paradigm Plus now features round-trip engineering support for AionDS.
 
In addition, Paradigm Plus, CCC/Harvest, and Process Continuum are now fully integrated with ADvisor, providing development managers with a unified view of status information from each of the three tools. ADvisor is the industry’s first decision support tool for managing the application development infrastructure. Application development decision-support tools like ADvisor are quickly gaining momentum in the market because they allow development managers to monitor projects and predict problem areas before they get out of control, according to The Hurwitz Trend Watch (October 7, 1997).
 
New Paradigm Plus Features
 
In addition to a host of ease-of-use enhancements, Version 3.5.2 of Paradigm Plus features Oracle 8 code generation. It also now supports Microsoft Repository Version 1.0 for improved team development and support of other development tools.
 
New CCC/Harvest Features
 
Version 3.0 of CCC/Harvest features a new graphical view of the development lifecycle that enables easy manipulation of the processes within each lifecycle. CCC/Harvest 3.0 also features a new Version Control Interface that runs on 32-bit Windows 95 and NT platforms, and is tightly integrated with Microsoft Common Source Code Control Interface Specification-compliant tools such as Microsoft Visual C++ 4.2 and 5.0, Microsoft Visual J++ 1.1, Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 and 5.0, PowerBuilder 5.0.3, and others.
 
New Process Continuum Features
 
Version 4.4 of Process Continuum features a new task manager, which is a workflow component that executes scheduled work, through a to-do list, with templates and examples to facilitate work. Version 4.4 also features a newly-architected project manager, which enables users to store resource information in a common repository, so employee skills data is only entered once and can be used to estimate and schedule multiple projects.
 
Availability, Platform Support, Pricing
 
All of the tools within ADvantage are available immediately. All of the tools support Windows 95 and NT. Paradigm Plus, CCC/Harvest and AionDS also support major UNIX platforms, and AionDS also supports MVS, CIC, and IMS platforms.
 
Starting list prices for the individual tools are $4,000 for Paradigm Plus, $4,850 for CCC/Harvest, $2,500 for Process Continuum, $5,000 for ADvisor, and $15,000 for AionDS.
 
All prices based in US terms only. Pricing varies with configuration and processor class/group.
 
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