Micro Focus Releases Legacy Migration Strategy for IBM Platforms; Micro Focus 'Lift and Shift' Migration Strategy Now Supports IBM's eServer Line Lowering Costs and Increasing Agility

Business Wire, August 17, 2004

NEW YORK -- Micro Focus International Ltd. (Micro Focus(R)), the leading provider of legacy application development and deployment software for contemporary platforms, today announced at the SHARE Technology Exchange that its 'Lift and Shift' approach for migrating legacy applications from older mainframes to contemporary platforms is now available for the IBM eServer zSeries, xSeries and pSeries lines. Micro Focus Enterprise Server allows customers to take legacy applications and move them to the latest eServer platforms running Linux or AIX--all without the risks or costs associated with rewriting entire mission critical applications.

Micro Focus Enterprise Server underpins the 'Lift and Shift' approach, by enabling the migration and deployment of CICS/COBOL mainframe applications to Linux on the zSeries platform, for example. With the mainframe transaction option within Enterprise Server, Micro Focus and its partners offer the most rapid and lowest-risk way of re-hosting mainframe applications on IBM's latest eServer platforms running Linux and AIX. Once the application has been rehosted, it can be extended more easily and effectively through the use of XML and Web services, opening the pathway to a Service Oriented Architecture.

"Micro Focus Enterprise Server has proven to be a high-performance, scalable and reliable platform for the deployment of COBOL applications, which is more cost effective and poses considerably less risk to critical business operations than a 'replace/re-write' approach," said Steve DiPaola, vice president of administrative systems and production support at Valero Energy Corporation. "Micro Focus has enabled us to re-use existing applications and infrastructure, while ensuring that our robust technology platform can meet new business requirements."

Working with industry leading partners, Micro Focus technology and expertise is already paying dividends at other organizations migrating legacy applications to contemporary IBM platforms, enabling them to reduce reliance on older mainframe platforms and third-party software.

"Micro Focus Enterprise Server is making migrations of legacy CICS applications to Linux platforms easier and more predictable," said Ernst F. Schierholz, managing director of travert Migration Systems and Services, based in Frankfurt (Oder) Germany. "We are using the product for small mainframe shops as well as some larger ones and see great value and ease of use. It opens the door to Web services for the mainframe application and does so much more than other products that are mere CICS emulators. Enterprise Server exploits the Linux platform to deliver the required performance for the migrated application."

"Micro Focus is committed to helping organizations like travert and Valero unlock the value of their legacy investments through 'Lift and Shift' platform migrations that support new technology initiatives," said Tony Hill, chief executive officer at Micro Focus. "By moving application workload to contemporary IBM platforms, enterprises can exploit new hardware and software technologies while modernizing and extending the performance and value of their core systems."

About Micro Focus

Micro Focus is the leading provider of legacy application development and deployment software for contemporary platforms. Micro Focus enables organizations to unlock the value of their legacy by reusing their business-critical assets with .NET, Java, XML and Web services, resulting in reduced costs, increased agility and minimal risk. Founded in 1976, Micro Focus is a global company with principal offices in the United Kingdom, United States and Japan. For more information, visit www.microfocus.com.

Micro Focus is a registered trademark of Micro Focus International Ltd. All non-Micro Focus products mentioned in this announcement are property of their respective owners.