Microsoft and Micro Focus partner on modernisation

3 July 2008

Microsoft and Micro Focus International have formed a strategic relationship to offer more options to customers wanting to modernise their legacy IT.

Customers that recognise the value of their existing Cobol-based applications are looking to make them relevant to today’s architectures as part of their IT modernisation initiatives. The alliance will broaden the options available to these customers, giving them advanced levels of integration and utilisation of the Windows platform and Microsoft toolset and enabling them to accelerate their modernisation strategies.

Micro Focus will further extend its Windows-based technology portfolio, including its Net Express, SOA Express and Enterprise Server products, to provide customers with managed-code, 64-bit solutions that will take advantage of the full power of the Microsoft .NET Framework, SQL Server, Team Foundation Server, BizTalk Server and System Center Operations Manager.

“For over two decades Micro Focus has been providing customers with choices for their business-critical applications, enabling them to recognise and extend the high value of their core IT assets,” said Stephen Kelly, CEO at Micro Focus. “Business leaders increasingly understand the logic in preserving and developing effective existing IT systems within their organisations. Our strategic collaboration responds to this corporate demand and demonstrates that Micro Focus and Microsoft are committed to helping them modernise applications and to extend their business to where they want it to be.”

“By working with Micro Focus we are improving the value attained by mainframe customers choosing to go with the Windows platform for their modernisation strategy, improving the return on investment and helping them reduce the costs of their deployment efforts,” said Bill Hilf, general manager for Windows Server marketing at Microsoft. “Our relationship with Micro Focus demonstrates that both companies are committed to developing world-class application modernisation solutions for enterprise customers.”