“Well done! A good honest presentation of what is available now and what will be available in the future,” said Jim Moini with Computron Software, a long time Acucorp customer.
John Rapaport with Component Assembly Systems agreed, “It was great to have access to Micro Focus’ leaders and developers!”
Topics discussed included Project “Meld”, Micro Focus’ initiative to integrate Acucorp’s product stack, the enhanced Application Provider Program, as well as modernization. Stephen Kelly, Micro Focus’ CEO, kicked off the December 10th event with his perspective on the ISV market and discussed Micro Focus’ overall global corporate strategy. Kelly’s dynamic speaking skills and strong enthusiasm for the channel connected with the audience, setting a very positive tone for the presentations to come.
Following Kelly, Gary Crook, Vice President of Development and Randy Zack, Principal Architect of Acucorp Solutions led a discussion on the status of Project “Meld”.
“The objective of Project “Meld” is to provide a seamless migration to the next-gen product,” said Crook. Zack added, “We will measure our success based on the ease with which customers can transition.”
Since Micro Focus’ acquisition of Acucorp, only nine months prior, significant progress has been made. More details on Project “Meld” will be provided in next month’s Application Provider Connect newsletter.
However, the forum was about more than just Project “Meld”. On day two Kevin Moultrup, Executive Vice President of North America, spoke about the company’s philosophy towards partners, “We are successful when you are successful.” Moultrup said that Micro Focus is making considerable investments, both internally and externally, to align with this partner-centric philosophy. Moultrup stressed that mutual commitment is vital for success, and he encouraged audience members to take full advantage of the Application Provider Program.
Participants also heard from Robert Cavanagh, Product Manager of Acucorp Solutions and John Billman, Product Director of Application Modernization. Their presentation covered technology solutions for application providers, addressing issues such as modernizing COBOL assets, building re-usable processes through web services and server oriented architecture (SOA) as well as delivering a modern look and feel. Customer Vivian Saegesser with Infogix and Ken Webber with ADD Systems then highlighted their companies’ successful utilization of Micro Focus and Acucorp technology, respectively.
To kick off the afternoon, Julie Schrady, Vice President of North American ISV Sales spoke about the benefits of the enhanced Application Provider Program. Among the many benefits, which include annual forums, monthly webcasts and a targeted monthly electronic newsletter, Schrady highlighted Micro Focus’ ACTION initiative, the Academic ConnecTIONs (ACTION) Program designed to promote the teaching of COBOL and Modernization technologies in Universities worldwide. Full details on Application Provider Program and ACTION can be found at our Application Provider Portal.
Last, but certainly not least, Dale Vecchio, a senior Gartner analyst, entertained and enlightened the audience. Vecchio talked about the pending skills shortage in COBOL and reverberated Schrady’s message regarding ACTION, “Go to your local universities and community colleges. Tell them there is a need for programmers skilled in COBOL and there will be jobs for students with those skills.”
Regarding modernization, Vecchio commented, “There are irresistible forces pushing for software modernization.” He pointed out what he sees as a real market opportunity for application providers to leverage sales from the industry trend to move from the mainframe to open systems.
“Application providers may be able to sell packaged applications to companies not interested in modernizing their own home grown applications,” said Vecchio. He recommended attendees to prioritize investment decisions now and establish a balance between strategic and tactical actions for products, offerings, partner interactions and business planning in order to exploit these driving forces.
Kim Williams with Hubbard Systems perhaps summed up the forum best by saying, “I received a new excitement for my work. I no longer feel as though my work is on a dinosaur technology. Now I feel more like a dinosaur who has spent two days at a spa and received a complete makeover.”
All in all, the event was informative, entertaining and insightful. Customers listened intently, asked pertinent questions and received valuable information. Thank you to all attendees and presenters for making the Application Provider Forum 2007 a success!
