DevOps continues to permeate the mainframe. Whether you are a fan or not, like the mainframe itself, DevOps is here to stay.
But while DevOps has resulted in a sea change for many organizations, is it really working in the mainframe environment? Opinions on that would vary greatly as well.
There was a tagline for an industrial product many years ago that comes to mind: “The Right Tool for The Job.” For DevOps to deliver in the mainframe space, this simple statement couldn’t be more perfect. Without the right tools, and considering the many challenges facing mainframe developers already, DevOps on the mainframe could cause more problems than it solves.
Eliminating the Speed Humps to Mainframe Software Development
Two of the biggest speed humps developers face are integration testing and user acceptance testing. But how can a mainframe development team successfully get closer to CD and CI methods and push away from the waterfall method of testing their work?
This may sound counterintuitive, but to work together (DevOps) it’s better to work apart (containerized). The key is that each “container” is a clone of all the key elements of the environment in which the software will be deployed. So, programmer 2 doesn’t have to wait for programmer 1 to finish their part of the application before they can begin working, and so on. In a containerized method in a z/OS LPAR, programmers can work on the same application in parallel with more testing iterations, no more waterfall dev approach.
The Next Step in the Evolution of Mainframe Application Development – Better Testing, Fewer Errors
With Eccox Application for Parallel Testing (APT) from Insoft-Infotel, even non-mainframers can quickly and easily build parallel application testing containers using a familiar web browser interface. This eliminates programmers’ dependence on the mainframe support team to create a testing environment.
And the testing containers are not simulations. They are working containers for each developer with the same production components to be used in their testing.
Not only is there a drastic reduction in application delivery time (24%), but APT results in a 58% reduction in test cycles. What’s more, users of APT can expect a 22% reduction in production defects.
To find out how APT can put your application development program in overdrive, or to schedule a demo, contact us directly at software@infotel.com.
About Insoft-Infotel
Insoft-Infotel, with its U.S. headquarters in Tampa, Florida, is a software vendor and IT consulting firm specializing in data performance and optimization solutions for the Mainframe z/OS platform. For more than 40 years, Insoft-Infotel has delivered proven solutions to help clients improve their data management systems. For more information on Insoft-Infotel, please visit https://infotel-software.com.