Micro Focus Modernizes Business Applications with Visual COBOL for Microsoft Visual Studio 2017

New Tools Enable Developers to Modernize COBOL Apps alongside Microsoft .NET and Microsoft Azure

4 April 2017

Global Infrastructure software company, Micro Focus (LSE: MCRO.L) today announced its Micro Focus Visual COBOL solution now supports Microsoft Visual Studio 2017. For over 50 years, the enterprise has continued to rely on COBOL applications to drive competitive advantage and deliver critical business services. As the pace of business accelerates, fueled by the new digital economy, Visual COBOL for Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 enables organizations to align existing COBOL systems with their digital transformation strategy.

Micro Focus Visual COBOL enables software developers to modernize COBOL applications alongside Microsoft .NET languages, including C# and VB.NET, while taking advantage of Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 to connect COBOL applications to new technologies, including .NET and Azure. Through a consistent development experience, Micro Focus Visual COBOL for Microsoft Visual Studio enables development teams to move faster and deliver more functionality, while re-using valuable application logic.

“We’re delighted to have Visual Studio partners like Micro Focus work closely with us to build and enhance the overall development experience of Microsoft Visual Studio 2017,” said Shawn Nandi, senior director, Cloud App Dev and Data Marketing for Microsoft Corp. “COBOL-based systems are prevalent across the enterprise and Micro Focus Visual COBOL helps these organizations build and modernize their critical applications.”

For over 15 years Micro Focus and Microsoft have shared a mutual and long-standing commitment to Visual Studio users, and shared a spirit of innovation for application development and modernization solutions. Micro Focus Visual COBOL for Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 reflects this commitment, delivering an integrated tool set for software developers as they look to build better business applications, improve quality and collaborate across the enterprise.

“In order to respond faster to new business requirements and competitive pressures, development teams must deliver innovation faster than ever before. To meet this new digital challenge, smarter tools are needed.” said Ed Airey, director, Solutions Marketing at Micro Focus. “Visual COBOL for Visual Studio 2017 is the next-generation of COBOL development solutions, designed for today’s .NET and COBOL developer to do just that – build better business applications, faster, while modernizing COBOL-based systems critical to global IT infrastructure.”

Micro Focus Visual COBOL delivers:

  • Industry leading COBOL integration with the latest release of Visual Studio
  • Enhanced developer productivity through smart editing and debugging tools for COBOL and .NET developers including code analysis, IntelliSense, Auto-complete, background parsing, code search and more
  • Fast composite app development using SmartLinkage enabling COBOL integration with C# and other .NET languages.
  • Full access to the .Net framework with an object oriented (OO) COBOL implementation
  • A flexible architecture enabling COBOL compilation to MSIL for deployment to .NET. Additional support for Azure deployment.

Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 delivers:

  • Improved developer productivity through faster IDE performance
  • Streamlined responsiveness and improved toolset capability
  • Accelerated application development cycles
  • Improved collaboration and integration across the DevOps toolchain with support for the latest innovation across Windows, .NET mobile and Azure platforms

More Information

Micro Focus Visual COBOL for Visual Studio 2017 is available today. For more information, visit: www.microfocus.com/vs2017

About Micro Focus

Micro Focus (LSE: MCRO.L) is a global enterprise software company helping customers innovate faster with lower risk. Our software helps customers build, operate and secure IT systems that bring together existing business logic and applications with emerging technologies to meet increasingly complex business demands. For more information, visit: www.microfocus.com.

Certain versions of content ("Material") accessible here may contain branding from Hewlett-Packard Company (now HP Inc.) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company. As of September 1, 2017, the Material is now offered by Micro Focus, a separately owned and operated company. Any reference to the HP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise/HPE marks is historical in nature, and the HP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise/HPE marks are the property of their respective owners.