CICS

Today, 1st December 2009, Matter of Fact Software launched PlexSpy Application Status Monitor.

PlexSpy is set to revolutionise the support processes surrounding CICS on the mainframe.

It's as old as the moon landings, but IBM's real-time transaction system, CICS, is still in use on the majority of all mainframes

While most anniversary celebrations this month have centred around man’s first steps on the moon, IBM is celebrating another 40th birthday - that of its Customer Information Control System (CICS).

CICS, released by IBM on 8 July 1969, was one of the first three products for which it levied a software licence charge that saw it charge for software licences. The transaction management system was designed for rapid, high-volume online processing, and now runs on 90 percent of the world’s mainframes, handling in excess of 30 billion transactions per day.

With an installed base made up mostly of financial services Fortune 500 firms, CICS is used in banking and insurance applications, ATM systems and many other types of interactive or industrial production control systems running on IBM z/OS and z/VSE (Virtual Storage Extended) mainframe operating systems (OS).

Nick Garrod, IBM CICS Transaction Server worldwide marketing manager told eWEEK Europe another reason for marking the product’s fourth decade is its UK heritage, having been developed at IBM Hursley in Hampshire, Europe's largest Software Development lab.

Read the complete News Article at eWeek Europe here: link

Today July 8, 2009 CICS is celebrating it's fortieth anniversary.

Forty years ago IBM announced the availability of the System/360 Customer Information Control System, Program Product 5736-U11.*

Where will CICS be 40 years from now?

* Thanks to Bob Yelavich

Are you responsible for the support of CICS based business applications?

Does the following sound familiar?

When service problems arise, typically a call will be made to the technicians and front-line support staff with responsibility for service provision. They are usually informed that a problem exist for.....application X. That is to say the local name of a business application.

Facing the challenge of legacy modernization across its diverse software infrastructure, Frost Bank has found its solution in Ivory Service Architect, the mainframe integration and SOA architecture from GT Software. In order to standardize mainframe access across its assortment of platforms and packaged software, Frost Bank has installed Ivory from GT Software, a leading provider of rapid SOA development solutions that leverage mainframe resources.