ARMONK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/04/07 -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it has expanded its Customer Information Control System (CICS) software in order to enhance the capabilities of the System z platform as the computing hub for service oriented architectures (SOA). By using the world class capabilities of the mainframe to free up, connect and leverage information stored in applications through SOA implementations, companies can bring products to market faster, make quicker connections with global business partners, deliver better service to customers and streamline their information technology solutions. IBM is currently working with over 1,000 enterprises across many industries that are implementing SOA with the mainframe as a hub.

The expanded software is made available in the CICS Transaction Server for z/OS V3.2 and in associated enhancements to the CICS system management and developer tools. CICS Transaction Server is a robust transactional application server designed to execute demanding mixed-language application workloads, and to enable those applications to be easily integrated with enterprise solutions. CICS system management and developer tools are a suite of tools that help leverage and transform existing CICS applications. The expanded software capabilities announced today are in the three key areas of application connectivity, application reuse and service management.

"Mainframes are finding second careers as the hub for SOA," said James Stallings, general manager for IBM System z. "Because as much as 80% of the corporate data and core application functionality that will be turned into services already resides on mainframe computers, companies are increasingly integrating a services-oriented approach to software with the proven capabilities of the System z platform."

Companies of all sizes are adopting an SOA strategy to more closely align their information technology (IT) assets with the goals of the business. To successfully reap the rewards of an SOA requires a flexible IT environment that allows an organization to streamline business processes, break down silos of information, and easily integrate new technologies such as those anticipated for "Web 2.0." This flexibility can be delivered through the use and reuse of existing IT offerings regardless of the source code, application or platform. Using IBM transaction processing software products such as CICS, and IBM integration middleware products such as WebSphere on a mainframe can help companies accelerate the creation of an SOA while at the same time extending their investments in core systems.

CICS Transaction Server for z/OS V3.2 provides open, standards-based connectivity, enabling CICS applications to be integrated within an SOA while maintaining the long-established CICS qualities of security, reliability, data integrity and optimal application responsiveness. These capabilities allow users to more easily share information across the organization which can result in improved productivity and customer satisfaction.

One of the fundamental value propositions of an SOA strategy is the ability for customers with mixed computing environments to bridge mainframe data across an organization without requiring an extensive additional investment in IT resources. The new CICS Transaction Server for z/OS V3.2 product is a response to the growing customer demand for building SOAs on the mainframe to protect existing investments.

The CICS system management and developer tools have been updated to complement the new capabilities of CICS Transaction Server for z/OS V3.2. The updated CICS tools enable better monitoring and understanding of CICS applications and their performance. In addition they can help optimize IT resource usage, potentially reduce operational costs and improve user productivity.

For more information on IBM and SOA see: www.ibm.com/soa

For more information on CICS see: www-306.ibm.com/software/htp/cics/

For more information about IBM, please go to www.ibm.com

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Contact:
IBM
Bruce McConnel
914-766-4427
wmcconn@us.ibm.com