Modernizing Existing AS/400 Applications

Enterprise systems are not built overnight. The logic, rules and database structures are often embedded within millions of lines of code and hundreds of files that have evolved over the years. Although many of these systems are past their prime from a technical view point, the intelligence encapsulated in these legacy assets is not something that can be or should be easily discarded.

Many companies use LANSA to extend their legacy systems with new functionality, including Web self-service for customers and partners, Windows functionality, along with Web services and other forms of integration.

However, there comes a time when the core of the system itself needs modernizing. User productivity is often dragged down by the limitations of 24x80 character screen design, even after cosmetic refacing.

To solve the problem, LANSA has developed the Rapid Application Modernization Process (RAMP). This is a unique stepped approach that provides a low-risk modernization path. First, you rapidly consolidate your existing applications into a graphical easy-to-navigate application framework, then incrementally replace legacy programs with new portable Visual LANSA components or add new functionality. All in the same visual application framework and in a time frame that makes sense to your organization.

The end destination is a platform independent Visual LANSA Framework application with Outlook style tree navigation and Windows rich-client or Web browser deployment. The framework gives all the search filters, results lists and navigation, while the tabs in this application contain your redeveloped programs alongside new functionality. Developers use Visual LANSA's productive 4GL and, where needed, LANSA Integrator for XML and Web service integration with other systems.

Customers who have implemented solutions using RAMP from LANSA

Cookson Precious Metals, a division of Cookson PLC, a FTSE 250 company, is the largest supplier to the UK jewellery trade with a catalog of over 10,000 products and annual sales of £280 million. Cookson's main business driver for modernizing its green-screen central business, was to increase productivity in the sales order processing area, which handles over 1,000 in-bound calls per day. A new graphical front-end - built with RAMP - reduced the keystrokes needed to complete an order from 101 to 26, a 75 percent reduction. Likewise, an order status call can now be answered by looking at a single screen, instead of navigating 14 screens. The total effect has been a 25 percent productivity improvement across 12 key business processes and a significant reduction in errors and training time for staff. New functionality has been added as well. Read more

Francis Marion University (FMU) is one of South Carolina's 13 state-supported universities, providing strong liberal arts based programs for both undergraduate and graduate studies. Over the years FMU has used LANSA to extend its RPG-based student administration system with self-service Web access by students and faculty members for registration, class scheduling, grade enquiries, degree audits, financial aid applications and more. FMU is now progressively modernizing its large RPG-based student administration system (8,000 programs and 4,000 files, still including S/36 code), with RAMP and Visual LANSA.
Read the Case Study

Precision Solutions Group Inc (PSGI), based in Walpole, Massachusetts, provides customer support and professional services for the majority of North American-based companies running the PRISM process-ERP application and a growing number of JD Edwards World customers as well. PSGI was founded in 2003 with the specific goal of extending the life of its customers' legacy enterprise systems. Customers have already benefited from PGSI's service offerings, extending PRISM with business intelligence, mobile computing, product life cycle management and more. PSGI is now using RAMP to modernize PRISM, ensuring it continues to meet the needs of its users. RAMP was selected because it stood out from other modernization tools that put too much emphasis on simply developing a GUI version of what users already had. RAMP also stood out because it allows for customizations users have made. Read more

LANSA Solutions for Modernization

RAMP from LANSA – the Rapid Application Modernization Process – is the fastest and most certain way to modernize and web-enable your existing System i applications. RAMP is a single integrated solution that addresses both your immediate and strategic modernization requirements. What's unique about RAMP is it's a "reengineering" product that lets you rapidly consolidate your applications into a graphic application framework and then incrementally replace your legacy programs with new reengineered components – in a timeframe that makes sense to your organization.

Visual LANSA is the only Integrated Development Environment (IDE) you will ever need. You can easily add Web self-service extensions to your existing core applications or build new client/server or Web applications. LANSA manages all the complexity of Web applications: state management, business rule validation, data conversion and integration with different Web servers and existing applications. Developers can focus on meeting business requirements as LANSA handles the technical complexities. There is simply no faster way to effectively extend your applications to the Web.

The Visual LANSA Application Framework allows developers to prototype commercial applications rapidly without coding. It generates high quality Web and Windows programs with a consistent look and behavior. It’s like having an experienced mentor sitting next to your developers. Shipped as part of the Visual LANSA IDE, the Visual LANSA Framework is a design framework that empowers business focused developers and designers to create highly graphical robust Windows and Web applications or a combination of both. The learning curve is short, productivity is high and the applications are world class. You can prototype the application and user interface design at the same time and use the same design for both Windows and Web deployment. Features of the Visual LANSA Application Framework include :

• Rapidly prototype commercial applications without coding
• MS Outlook-style user interface
• Framework Code Assistant
• Generate Web or Windows applications
• Optional RAMP tools for rapid modernization of legacy applications

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