“Acucorp has had a regular rhythm of releases,” says Bob Cavanagh, a senior product manager with Acucorp, “and extend8 has been in our pipeline and planned for some time. We usually have a major release every couple of years, and in this one there are over 100 enhancements in the development and deployment products. What’s important to recognize is that each one of those enhancements is the result of close collaboration with our customer base, and engineered to make their products more competitive.
"We’ve listened to their needs and delivered on them. The sheer number of enhancements is a reflection of how carefully we’ve listened to our customers, and the diversity of our customer base.”
“Enhancements delivered by extend8 include a brand new product in AcuXUI, new ports to Windows x64 for our entire suite of deployment products, and enhancements to our recently-released AcuXDBC,” comments Cavanagh.
Highlights of the extend8 release include:
the new AcuXUI product, which provides the ability to display Acucorp’s graphical extensions to COBOL in a java runtime environment. This allows users to create cross-platform graphical user interfaces
64-bit ports for Windows products
more database management capabilities and a JDBC component in the recently released AcuXDBC product
new remote compiling, remote debugging, and remote pre-compiling capabilities in AcuBench, greatly enhancing its value in client-server environments
tuning of math and sort operations, to provide better performance in deployed applications
a new utility called Boomerang, which enables users to easily integrate remote pre-compilers into their Windows development experience.
Importantly, extend8 is Acucorp’s first release since it was acquired by Micro Focus earlier this year. The release is indicative of Micro Focus’s ongoing commitment to its Acucorp customers.
“From the Acucorp customers’ perspective this release marks a timely delivery on promises made; and we hope it will reassure them that they can continue to count on timely Acucorp deliveries coming from Micro Focus. When these customers look at extend8, they should see their own reflection, as they’ve been fundamental in shaping the enhancements we’ve delivered.”
“At the same time we hope that Micro Focus customers take a look at extend 8, and see a preview of what’s coming their way.”, says Cavanagh.
“That’s what Project Meld is all about.”
Project Meld is the code name for the development programme that the merged companies have put in place to produce an integrated technology stack. This stack will draw on the strengths of both Micro Focus and Acucorp products and will eventually result in a single platform.
“We believe Project Meld will deliver a great outcome for all our customers and our aim is to make the path to the combined product as smooth as possible.”
“We’re confident of being able to provide tremendous value. The project is moving forward with absolute commitments to the combined customer base, with close customer communication, supporting a free flow of information.”
For more detailed information about what is contained in extend8 and Project Meld please see the web cast hosted by Drake Coker from the Micro Focus Acucorp team and Micro Focus’s Gary Crook. View the webcast.
