ADM-to-TurnOver^™ Migration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SoftLanding Announces Migration Package for IBM's Application Development Manager (ADM) on IBM eServer iSeries

Peterborough, N.H. — May 10, 2002 — In response to IBM's recent announcement that it plans to withdraw Application Developer Manager (ADM) from marketing after the latest release of the IBM eServer iSeries operating system — OS/400 V5R2 — SoftLanding Systems announces an ADM Migration Package that will aid ADM customers in migrating to TurnOver^™ Change Management. IBM asked SoftLanding to develop the ADM Migration Package in order to facilitate the transition between ADM and TurnOver, and to give ADM customers a way to manage WebSphere and other types of Web development that are dependent on non-traditional objects and files, such as Java, HTML, XML, graphics, and so on.

IBM chose SoftLanding as an ADM migration partner because its TurnOver Change Management solution already supports Web-related development and integrates with the WebSphere development environment. SoftLanding's ADM Migration Package consists of a TurnOver license, complete documentation of the migration process, a Migration Toolkit to help automate the process, and implementation and training services. As part of its package, SoftLanding is also offering full trade-in credit for current ADM license fees towards the purchase of the equivalent TurnOver license.

Background

IBM's decision to discontinue ADM stems from its iSeries Application Development (AD) strategy, in which WebSphere plays a large part. To date, IBM has shipped over 50,000 copies of WebSphere Development Studio for iSeries. Future releases of WDS will rely heavily on change management tools. For the iSeries market, this means that the change management tool must support the Integrated File System (IFS), through which Java and all other non-traditional iSeries objects are managed. ADM does not support the IFS, and will not be enhanced to do so.

Dave Slater, World-wide Market Manager iSeries Application Development at IBM, says, "In order to maximize the value proposition of the iSeries AD strategy, which is based on the inter-operability of all development tools, the iSeries market will have to adopt software change management tools that support the IFS and integrate with the WebSphere development environment. This functionality is available today, but not through ADM. We have seen TurnOver's ability to manage development from within the WebSphere IDE, and we're confident it can meet the needs of most customers. The sooner ADM users migrate to a tool that supports WebSphere development and the IFS, the sooner they'll be able to fully leverage new technology."

"We support IBM's efforts to help iSeries shops modernize their applications," says Paul Schlieben, President of SoftLanding Systems. "The ADM Migration Package was conceived to make the transition to TurnOver as fast, painless, and affordable as possible for ADM customers."

TurnOver's IFS Support

TurnOver has supported development using Java, XML, HTML, graphics, and all other objects that can be stored in the iSeries' IFS since May 1999. Development is done through TurnOver's graphical interface, TurnOver eCM, where Web components can be coordinated with related RPG/COBOL/CL programs and then promoted, in tandem, to test and production environments.

TurnOver also offers easy-to-use graphical interfaces for project management, helpdesk, and promotion processing/administration.

TurnOver's WebSphere Integration

TurnOver Change Management currently hooks into WebSphere's Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) via its interface with PVCS® Version Manager™. The TurnOver/PVCS interface lets developers use PVCS's industry-leading source control tool from within the WebSphere IDE, and then coordinates their Web changes with changes to RPG/COBOL back-end components through TurnOver. TurnOver gathers all WebSphere application components on the iSeries and then synchronizes their distribution to the appropriate iSeries, Windows, Unix, and Linux servers. Information continuously flows between the WebSphere IDE, PVCS, and TurnOver without opening either PVCS or TurnOver in a window on your desktop.

The TurnOver/PVCS solution also extends TurnOver's other change management functions to WebSphere developers, such as archiving, automatic recovery of problematic promotions, change history, helpdesk, and project management. As an extension of its current WebSphere integration, SoftLanding also intends to support native iSeries development from within the WebSphere Workbench IDE in conjunction with IBM's release of the first IDE that supports RPG, COBOL, and CL programs.

Availability and More Information

The ADM-to-TurnOver Migration Package, including full documentation of the migration process, is currently available from SoftLanding Systems. PVCS Version Manager 6.8 and TurnOver 5.3 are both generally available from SoftLanding Systems. The TurnOver/PVCS interface is included free with TurnOver development licenses.

Click for more information about SoftLanding's ADM Migration Package, TurnOver Change Management, or PVCS Version Manager. You can also email info@softlanding.com or call SoftLanding Systems at 800-545-9485 or 603-924-8818.

About SoftLanding Systems

SoftLanding Systems, the Software Management experts, specializes in solutions that streamline the entire software development and maintenance process, resulting in enhanced productivity, higher quality software, and improved application availability. SoftLanding's strength is in creating the ideal Software Management solution for any software environment, regardless of complexity, by drawing on expertise and tools in the following areas: software change management, database change management, rapid problem resolution, application deployment, security, debugging and testing.

PVCS is a registered trademark of MERANT. The IBM e-business logo, eServer, iSeries, and AS/400 are registered trademarks or trademarks of IBM Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The IBM eServer brand consists of the established IBM e-business logo with the following descriptive term "server" following it. TurnOver is a trademark of SoftLanding Systems, Inc. All other trademarks contained in this release are the property of their respective owners.