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Ptak Associates LLC Informed opinion for savvy IT

Compuware Delivers Topaz on AWS to Mainstream the Mainframe It’s time for

Compuware’s quarterly

mainframe product

announcements. This

time Compuware kicks

off its 12th quarter (3

years) of new and

enhanced product

releases by partnering

with Amazon. The duo

upends mainframe

DevOps and mainframe

IT by combining efforts

to deliver web access to the

Topaz DevOps software suite on AWS. See Figure 1.

In an industry first, Compuware provides cloud access to modern mainframe

development via Topaz. Developers can enjoy the same user experience on the cloud

as if Topaz was locally installed while fully leveraging all the security, performance,

flexibility, reliability, scalability and accessibility features of the AWS platform.

Topaz on AWS leverages Amazon AppStream1 2.0 technology, a fully managed, secure

application streaming service that allows applications to be streamed from AWS to

devices running a web browser. Now, all of Topaz’s rich capabilities and more are

accessible anywhere through the most popular web interfaces including IE/Edge,

Chrome and Firefox. The power of Topaz is accessible regardless of the device used,

be it a Windows, Mac or Chromebook desktop system.

Compuware’s patent-pending technology provides an intuitive, streamlined

configuration menu that leverages AWS best practices, and makes it easy for systems

administrators to quickly and easily configure their Topaz on AWS infrastructure,

customized to their specific needs, in a few simple steps.

Enterprises can scale the number of development environments up or down depending

on their needs. Developers have fast access to new features and functionality that

1 More information here: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/appstream/latest/developerguide/appstream-intro.html

Figure 1 – Topaz on AWS Image Courtesy of Compuware, Inc.

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Compuware makes available every 90 days without administrators having to distribute,

load, recompile, modify and test multiple individual systems or installations. Efforts to

modernize mainframe operations and capabilities happen faster with fewer delays and

without requiring the involvement of critical IT staff.

Compuware and Amazon have created a highly performant, secure and fluid developer

experience. Once developers launch Topaz on AWS, they can access datasets and

data files, analyze applications, make code changes and manage other mainframe

tasks using the Topaz suite of tools as if the user environment was locally installed.

Some architectural benefits of AWS

An important feature is that this implementation fully leverages all of the unique

enterprise product strengths of the AWS cloud architecture. These include:

• Security – individual secure deployment applied and management on a per

account basis – with built-in automated security management services to review

policies and monitor compliance with security best practices.

• Cost optimization – automated optimization assures least-cost-to-user and most

cost-effective resource management. Periodic reviews and auto-scaling combine

to optimize the operating environment as workload volumes and capacity

requirements fluctuate.

• Reliability – AWS management services work to ensure systems are architected

to meet operational thresholds to avoid when possible, and quickly recover from

inevitable failures to meet business and customer service demands.

• Operational excellence – Amazon maintains cloud centers located around the

world to assure service response and support.

• Performance efficiency – optimizes system services for maximum performance

using available resources, enabling optimal utilization of IT staff and computing

resources through automation, cloud-based services and management.

The pricing is right

All of this comes with no new charges from Compuware. The standard Compuware

Topaz licensing charge covers the use of Topaz on-premise, in the cloud or in a mixed

environment. If you already have a Topaz license, all you need to do is add an Amazon

account with AWS cloud services designed to meet the requirements of your specific

enterprise operating environment and workload. As mentioned earlier, Amazon

AppStream 2.0 services include an automated function to help users find the right

optimized pricing model and configuration for their workload and resource needs. These

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include highly flexible on-demand pricing, spot-discrete fixed price and reserved

instances for dedicated predictable workloads, and combinations. We recommend you

review the details with an AWS advisor or check here2 for more information.

What else is new?

Compuware’s quarterly announcements are never about just one thing. This time is no

exception. In addition to the major announcement, Compuware has additional

improvements and new product enhancements and capabilities to deliver.

First up is a collaboration with CloudBees Jenkins Enterprise. Leveraging Compuware

ISPW and/or Compuware Topaz for Total Test in conjunction with CloudBees Jenkins

Enterprise, large enterprises can streamline DevOps on their mainframes and

orchestrate DevOps across all platforms. Compuware will co-host a webcast with

CloudBees on October 25, which will identify opportunities and help educate users on

the latest in mainframe DevOps processes.

Next is the addition that extends ISPW

so that it can stream information and

notifications to web apps through

Webhook notifications. Webhooks

were designed to allow third-parties,

such as developers and apps, to make

changes to web APIs using callbacks.

See Figure 2. This is how ISPW can

communicate with Jenkins and other

CI services to trigger actions. In effect,

it allows ISPW to integrate with other

deployment tools and drive continuous

integration processes. Activities can be communicated by DevOps teams as they

happen in real time to such tools as Slack and Hipchat.

A bit of risk?

Choosing public cloud service delivery of the Topaz suite may appear to be risky or

even premature to some potential users. Considerations that come to mind are those

surrounding issues pertaining to security, reliability, privacy, infrastructure control and,

unfortunately, more and more government imposed legal and legislative constraints and

2 The AWS pricing information is at: https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/?nc2=h_ql_pr

Figure 2 Webhook Notifications (Courtesy Compuware, Inc.)

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mandates. Most of these issues have been and will continue to be hashed over and

argued about in the press. They remain and should remain issues of, at a minimum,

keen awareness. Our conversation with Compuware has convinced us that they are

working in lockstep with Amazon to reduce the risk and vulnerabilities as much as

possible.

Potential customers should identify potential issues and resolve what needs to be done

before making the move to the cloud. Others may find cloud-based but maintained and

operated in-house on-premise to be the right solution.

The first step to be taken is to perform due diligence to identify and assess potential

risks and vulnerabilities. Then, these can be balanced against the significant potential

benefits in the form of client/customer satisfaction, staff satisfaction and cost savings

that can result from improved operations, increased efficiencies and simplified

infrastructure management. Examine what Compuware and Amazon have done to

mitigate the risks. We believe that many will find the decision to move this development

activity to the cloud makes sense.

The Final Word

Compuware continues to deliver solutions aimed at “Mainstreaming the Mainframe.”

Their strategy depends upon their ability to identify and overcome structural and

operational issues that make mainframe utilization and COBOL code maintenance a

complex, slow and intimidating task, especially for those new to the mainframe.

Compuware has delivered significant, game-changing products each quarter for the last

3-years. They have not only improved, simplified and sped up mainframe operations

and management, but they have also introduced capabilities that were never thought

possible or are radically changing mainframe operations. They appear to us to be on

track to continue that success. Congratulations to them. Good luck as they move

forward. We recommend examining their latest offering.

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Publication Date: October 10, 2017

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