Application Analyzer
Our application analysis tool provides a centralised, interactive documentation repository containing a wealth of information. As long as you own the source code of the application, it can provide seven different types of analysis: Function point, relationship, portfolio technology, visual program, data relationship, change impact, and dead and orphaned code.
Application Analyzer helps you manage, maintain, or modernise your mainframe application portfolio more efficiently.
Understanding key issues
CHALLENGES
Delivering successful projects
Projects have a lower chance of success when they are complicated by a lack of understanding and, without the necessary knowledge, it’s difficult to properly determine how best to deliver a project.
On-boarding of new starters
It takes much longer to on-board new employees when organisations run undocumented applications. Documentation educates new employees so they can hit the ground running – and with fewer mistakes.
Introduction of applications
Understanding your technology stack is essential. Otherwise, if applications are connected, changes to one application or the addition of new technology could disrupt or halt processes elsewhere.
Diminishing knowledge
If your legacy technology is written in an older language, those that can understand it may soon retire or leave the industry, with no one with that same knowledge to replace them.
Technical debt
Using ‘easily’ implemented code in the short-term as a workaround creates complex applications that are difficult to understand, along with technical debt due to the extra work that will arise, draining resources.
High costs
Failed projects can incur unnecessary costs, and it usually takes too long to on-board new employees with undocumented applications to redo the projects -while those who already understand the applications are often expensive.
How our Application Visibility software can help you
FEATURES & BENEFITS
-
Application Sustainment
Application Sustainment focuses on understanding the processes, procedures, people, materials and information required to support, maintain and operate applications.
Business drivers
These include continuing business as usual with critical applications delivering their normal functionality, as well as maintaining and enhancing existing systems.
Current challenges
There is often a need to maintain service levels, with a reduced headcount and increasing workload. Challenges may also include a change request backlog and making new resources productive.
Goals met
Using Application Analyzer enables you to better understand your applications to maintain their service and function levels while your business can move forward and embrace modernisation.
-
Application Modernisation
Modernising your applications is a choice that should be made once your business needs are defined – a process that works best as part of an overall strategy to align your applications to your future. This can be through refactoring, repurposing or consolidating.
Business drivers
These include modernising and transforming existing systems plus engaging with, and fulfilling, new business requirements and initiatives –supporting technology upgrades in the process.
Current challenges
There is often a need to understand existing systems, particularly the components and relationships, before restructuring the estate through application management.
Goals met
Application Analyzer is an automated tool specifically designed to deliver the comprehensive understanding required to achieve effective application modernisation.
-
Application Repatriation
Returning the maintenance of your application to in-house teams, or integrating the technology of merged or acquired businesses, can be a complicated process. But, with Application Analyzer it can be simplified with appropriate and detailed documentation.
Business drivers
These include increasing internal capabilities, taking support back from an external service provider and handling mergers and acquisitions more smoothly, quickly and efficiently.
Current challenges
If an organisation is to improve its internal skills, it is vital new staff have a reduced learning curve so they become productive and gain a good understanding of the systems and components.
Goals met
Create the understanding and documentation required to speed up on-boarding of new staff, as well as support their maintenance and repatriation of your applications with Application Analyzer.
-
Application Outsourcing
In recognition of internal capabilities, priorities or broader IT strategy, outsourcing your application management is a viable option. For this to be successful, your applications need to be easily understood and well documented.
Business drivers
These include moving application support to a trusted external service provider, while recognising a need to reduce current support costs.
Current challenges
There is a need to provide an understanding of your systems to your service providers, but this can be complicated if you are lacking the appropriate documentation for your applications.
Goals met
Develop the necessary documentation with Application Analyzer to help your outsourcer quickly understand your applications, so they can support them effectively.
-
Strategic Planning
Organisations recognise the need to invest in digital transformation projects. But their success relies on detailed information about your current applications, so that you can determine their value and prioritise the maintenance of each one.
Business drivers
These include a need to develop short and long-term plans for IT, and determine the value of applications, so the IT budget can be allocated in the most appropriate way for your business.
Current challenges
A comprehensive understanding of your application inventory, including the application software costs and quality, will help you make informed decisions with your business goals in mind.
Goals met
Application Analyzer delivers an in-depth understanding, with information that can ensure your investments and successful strategies are worthwhile.
How Application Analyzer supports different roles
PERSONAS
Return on investment from using Application Analyzer
PROCESS OVERVIEW
Ongoing software innovation and developments
PRODUCT UPDATES
We are always improving and innovating our products to deliver the best experience for our customers. Here are a selection of the latest updates to our Application Analysis tool.
- March 2019
Business Rules Extraction: A tool-assisted solution for identifying and documenting the critical business processes hidden in your COBOL applications. Find out more here.
"Application Analyzer saved us weeks, if not months, in reverse engineering time. Without Application Analyzer, our incoming developers would have to take weeks to understand how our stack is built. With it, we have trimmed that time to days.
Mark Kaplan, Senior IT Director
The BARBRI Group
Additional insights to help you modernize
RESOURCES
-
2021 Mainframe Modernisation Report
Explore the the impact Covid-19 is having, and will continue to have, on modernisation plans, and the case for application modernisation amongst large enterprises with annual revenues over $1 billion.
Read report Report -
Know the details, reduce the risk
This whitepaper gives an in-depth explanation on why a detailed assessment of legacy applications and databases is essential for proper strategic modernisation planning and decision-making.
Read whitepaper Whitepaper -
Live Discussion: The 2021 Mainframe Modernisation Business Barometer Report
Webinar Watch on demand -
How cloud migration can help your organisation to go green
Blog Read blog -
Know the details, reduce the risk: How to begin your mainframe modernisation journey
Webinar Watch on demand -
Struggling to adopt DevOps? Maybe it’s because of your aging mainframe
Blog Read blog
Explore our additional solutions
News & Opinions
Embrace Mainframe to Azure Migration with Advanced
by Rob Anderson, Vice President of Marketing and Product for Application Modernization

Book Preview: Modern Mainframe Development by Tom Taulli

Is a legacy crisis looming? How can my organization address …

From COBOL to Java: Sitting in the Driver’s Seat
