The News: Mainframe and mid-range modernization software provider AveriSource announced the release of its 2.0 platform. Learn more on the AveriSource website.
AveriSource Unveils 2.0 for Mainframe and Mid-Range Modernization
Analyst Take: In recent years, the mainframe market has demonstrated a fascinating bifurcation. While mainframes continue to be a stronghold, showing impressive resilience and growth—as evidenced by IBM’s robust earnings and the sustained strength of z16 MIPS shipments even late in its product lifecycle—there is an equally compelling narrative unfolding in the realm of mainframe modernization. This trend is particularly evident with the maturation of alternatives provided by hyperscale cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google. These advancements indicate a significant shift in the mainframe landscape, reflecting an increasing inclination toward modernization and cloud adoption. This dual trajectory presents a unique scenario where the mainframe survives and thrives while simultaneously evolving to integrate with modern, cloud-based solutions.
What Was Announced: AveriSource 2.0 Release
Against this market backdrop, AveriSource’s announcement of its 2.0 Platform is a foundational moment for the company and arguably the broader market for mainframe modernization and midrange systems. Having spent time with David Gutzman, the CEO of AveriSource, and his leadership team, I believe this release is a testament to AveriSource’s commitment to innovation, leveraging the latest in application analysis and AI-powered code transformation. The AveriSource Platform 2.0 is designed to significantly streamline the modernization journey, offering faster time to value for customers.
The platform’s enhanced user experience is evident in its modern dashboards, advanced reporting, and built-in guidance, all of which contribute to a near-seamless end-to-end modernization planning and delivery interface. This user-centric approach ensures that business and technical users can effectively navigate and leverage the platform’s capabilities.
A core feature of the AveriSource Platform 2.0 is the AveriSource Transform, a tool that epitomizes the potential of AI in transforming legacy code. This feature is pivotal in reducing technical debt and expediting the modernization process, whether on the mainframe or in the cloud. It boasts the ability to auto-generate up to 95 percent of legacy code, using AI to convert COBOL and RPG code into modern, maintainable Java or C# code, all the time not creating what is referred to as ‘JOBOL’, a Frankenstein combination of Java and COBOL. This transformation extends beyond mere code conversion; it includes restructuring legacy green screens into modern Angular projects, ensuring a contemporary user experience.
The AveriSource Platform 2.0 also emphasizes true portability, allowing the generated code to be used independently, free from library dependencies or vendor constraints. This flexibility is critical in today’s diverse IT environment, where applications need to be deployable across various platforms, including Docker containers, Red Hat OpenShift, Cloud Foundry, and Kubernetes environments like Amazon EKS, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), or Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE).
Integrating popular AI code assistant platforms like Amazon CodeWhisperer, GitHub Copilot, or Google Duet AI with the AveriSource Transform further enhances the platform’s capabilities. These integrations facilitate the completion of application transformation projects by streamlining development and testing processes.
AveriSource 2.0 also introduces new features to enhance the user experience and accelerate the modernization process. The platform now includes guided help and on-demand resources, making it easier for users to onboard and take meaningful steps in their modernization projects. The ability to run AveriSource Analyze in subsets allows for more efficient evaluation of the legacy codebase, and the new AveriSource Scan integration offers a freemium codebase assessment solution.
Furthermore, the platform’s expanded data dictionary support and enhanced reporting capabilities provide a comprehensive view of the application architecture, facilitating informed decision-making. The introduction of AveriSource Builder as a Windows service and the incorporation of Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for improved security are also notable additions.
Impacts to Application Modernization
The Impact of application modernization on the AveriSource Platform 2.0 marks a shift in the software development and deployment landscape. With a focus on true portability, the platform allows generated code to transcend traditional library dependencies and vendor constraints, enabling seamless deployment across many platforms and distributed cloud environments. We see in our research that application portability is critical to many organizations. This adaptability is particularly crucial in today’s dynamic IT environment, where applications must navigate diverse ecosystems such as Docker containers, Red Hat OpenShift, Cloud Foundry, and Kubernetes environments like Amazon EKS, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), or Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE). By embracing true portability, AveriSource 2.0 empowers developers to innovate without the shackles of platform limitations, fostering agility and scalability in modern application development.
Integrating leading AI code assistant platforms like Amazon CodeWhisperer, GitHub Copilot, or Google Duet AI enhances The AveriSource Platform’s transformative capabilities. By leveraging these AI-driven tools within the AveriSource Transform, developers can expedite the completion of application modernization projects, streamlining development and testing workflows. Alongside these advancements, AveriSource 2.0 introduces user-centric features designed to enhance the modernization journey. With guided help and on-demand resources, users can seamlessly onboard and navigate through their modernization endeavors. Additionally, the platform’s ability to execute AveriSource Analyze in subsets enables more efficient evaluation of legacy codebases. At the same time, integrating AveriSource Scan offers a freemium codebase assessment solution, further democratizing access to modernization technologies.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Mainframe Modernization
The launch of AveriSource Platform 2.0 marks another milestone in the mainframe modernization landscape and is a pivotal moment for the company as it looks to gain traction. As organizations increasingly prioritize mainframe modernization, the need for robust, AI-powered solutions becomes more pronounced. AveriSource’s latest offering positions them as a player worthy of evaluation in this evolving ecosystem, providing enterprises with the tools and capabilities they need to navigate their modernization journeys successfully.
As AI, automation, and the evolving IT talent landscape influence modernization strategies, AveriSource’s role as a technology provider for these key mission-critical migration projects becomes even more crucial. The company’s comprehensive approach to application modernization, encompassing everything from analysis to AI-powered code transformation, whilst still new is a promising approach.
In conclusion, AveriSource Platform 2.0 is not just a product release; it is a statement of intent from AveriSource. It embodies a forward-thinking approach to legacy system transformation, offering enterprises a path to modernize efficiently while leveraging the latest technological advancements. As the mainframe market continues to bifurcate and evolve, AveriSource is an emerging vendor, with a long-standing track record, leading enterprises toward a more agile, modern, and cloud-integrated future.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other Insights from The Futurum Group:
Application Development and Modernization
The Evolving Role of Developers in the AI Revolution
Revolutionizing Cloud-Native Apps through WebAssembly Development
Author Information
At The Futurum Group, Paul Nashawaty, Practice Leader and Lead Principal Analyst, specializes in application modernization across build, release and operations. With a wealth of expertise in digital transformation initiatives spanning front-end and back-end systems, he also possesses comprehensive knowledge of the underlying infrastructure ecosystem crucial for supporting modernization endeavors. With over 25 years of experience, Paul has a proven track record in implementing effective go-to-market strategies, including the identification of new market channels, the growth and cultivation of partner ecosystems, and the successful execution of strategic plans resulting in positive business outcomes for his clients.
Regarded as a luminary at the intersection of technology and business transformation, Steven Dickens is the Vice President and Practice Leader for Hybrid Cloud, Infrastructure, and Operations at The Futurum Group. With a distinguished track record as a Forbes contributor and a ranking among the Top 10 Analysts by ARInsights, Steven's unique vantage point enables him to chart the nexus between emergent technologies and disruptive innovation, offering unparalleled insights for global enterprises.
Steven's expertise spans a broad spectrum of technologies that drive modern enterprises. Notable among these are open source, hybrid cloud, mission-critical infrastructure, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and FinTech innovation. His work is foundational in aligning the strategic imperatives of C-suite executives with the practical needs of end users and technology practitioners, serving as a catalyst for optimizing the return on technology investments.
Over the years, Steven has been an integral part of industry behemoths including Broadcom, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and IBM. His exceptional ability to pioneer multi-hundred-million-dollar products and to lead global sales teams with revenues in the same echelon has consistently demonstrated his capability for high-impact leadership.
Steven serves as a thought leader in various technology consortiums. He was a founding board member and former Chairperson of the Open Mainframe Project, under the aegis of the Linux Foundation. His role as a Board Advisor continues to shape the advocacy for open source implementations of mainframe technologies.
