Compuware Helps Mainframe-Inexperienced Developers Quickly and Effectively Troubleshoot COBOL Code

Integration With Atlassian Enables Large Enterprises to Include Legacy Applications in Their Agile JIRA Software DevOps Workflow Environments


  • Atlassian JIRA Software is widely used by enterprise DevOps teams to plan, perform, manage, and report on agile software project activities. 


  • Mainframe COBOL application development has historically not been included in these DevOps workflow environments—despite the importance of those applications as back ends for web and mobile apps. 

  • Compuware is integrating with Atlassian JIRA so enterprise developers and operations teams with mainstream skills can include mainframe COBOL application tasks in their JIRA-based environments. 

  • The initial integration eases mainframe application problem resolution by creating a JIRA incident when an issue occurs—and automatically launching a COBOL debugging session at the right point in that application.

DETROIT, Jan. 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compuware® is enabling enterprises to manage mainframe COBOL application code within Atlassian® JIRA Software, the popular team planning and project management software. By integrating with JIRA Software, Compuware is bringing mainframe applications into the world of mainstream DevOps—greatly benefitting large enterprises that need to better leverage their mainframe applications as back ends for customer-facing web and mobile apps.

Benefits of the integration include:

  • Unified issue management across all platforms and applications. This benefit is especially important as IT services to end-users and customers increasingly utilize code components from multiple applications running on multiple platforms.
     
  • Technical guidance for mainstream developers with limited mainframe knowledge. This benefit is especially important as large enterprises lose their most experienced mainframe/COBOL specialists to retirement and have to shift responsibility for the maintenance and enhancement of legacy applications in the hands of developers with mainstream skill-sets.
     
  • More rapid problem resolution via automation. This benefit is especially important as IT organizations seek to accelerate code agility while safeguarding quality and reducing costs.


Mainframe applications have become deeply ingrained in large enterprises as critical systems of record and transaction processing systems. Unfortunately, these applications have also been managed in a highly siloed manner. This siloing has left the mainframe out of the agile revolution that allows enterprises to more nimbly update their web and mobile applications. As a result, large enterprises are often unable to exploit the full potential of their mainframe applications, as they struggle with slow and inflexible processes.

The initial integration will automatically generate an issue in JIRA Software when Compuware Abend-AID® or Compuware Strobe® detect a problem. Any developer then tasked with that issue in JIRA Software can automatically start a Compuware Topaz® Workbench debugging session, pre-configured to address the precise point in the application where the problem occurs.

“Large enterprises that fail to bring Agile and DevOps best practices to their high-value COBOL applications will remain competitively disadvantaged against smaller, nimbler market disrupters,” said Compuware CEO Chris O’Malley. “Those that succeed at making their mainframes nimble, on the other hand, will combine the competitive advantages of being big and being fast.”

“We’re thrilled that Compuware, a long-time customer of Atlassian’s products, has integrated their enterprise software for managing COBOL application code with JIRA Software,” said Bryan J. Rollins, JIRA General Manager at Atlassian. "This gives every team in the organization the ability to be agile, to move faster, and deliver quality software for customers, regardless whether they are targeting mobile, web, or mainframe."

By further integrating Compuware’s mainframe solutions with JIRA Software, large enterprises can unify their agile workflows across all code running on all platforms. The result will be a common environment for planning sprints and distributing tasks across multiple software teams, tracking team progress and re-allocating resources in the context of business requirements, executing and documenting releases, and reporting on team performance for continuous process improvement.

“Today’s digitally savvy customers demand seamless, end-to-end performance from every application,” said Jason Bloomberg, president of agile digital transformation analysis firm Intellyx. “Synchronizing IT assets from the mainframe all the way to the customer is now mandatory. The integration between Compuware and Atlassian products will enable this all-important end-to-end synchronization, and will also empower collaboration across previously siloed teams.”

Compuware announced this integration with Atlassian JIRA Software in conjunction with the introduction of Compuware’s ground-breaking strategy for transferring mainframe platform responsibilities from traditionally siloed mainframe management specialists to mainstream enterprise DevOps teams using popular, mainstream DevOps tools. Read the press release.

Compuware Corporation

Compuware empowers the world’s largest companies to excel in the digital economy by fully leveraging their high-value mainframe investments. We do this by delivering highly innovative solutions that uniquely enable IT professionals with mainstream skills to manage mainframe applications, data, and platform operations. Learn more at compuware.com.

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Mary McCarthy, Public Relations Manager, Compuware, mary.mccarthy@compuware.com, (313) 227-8188.

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Copyright © 2016 Compuware Corporation. Compuware, the Compuware logo, Topaz, Abend-AID and Strobe are registered trademarks of Compuware Corporation in the United States and/or other countries Atlassian is a registered trademark of Atlassian Pty Ltd in the United States and/or other countries.