Micro Focus Buys COBOL App Modernization Rival Acucorp
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

British legacy application modernization software company Micro Focus announced last Friday that it had acquired its smaller American rival, Acucorp, for $40.7 million. By eating Acucorp, Micro Focus has been able to eliminate a rival, leaving former mainframe supplier Fujitsu as the sole large company supplying COBOL environments for Windows, Unix, and Linux platforms. READ MORE >

Top Mainframe Stories from Around the Web

(SearchDataCenter) After a year in the marketplace, the IBM z9 Business Class mainframe is being dogged by steep software prices and a lack of traction in important industry-specific markets. However, if this is really a problem, it isn't showing up on IBM's bottom line where mainframe revenues have been climbing. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) So far, LTO tape has yet to make much headway in the mainframe world, but its success in other areas is gaining a great deal of attention. So, will the latest open systems tape product introductions from IBM lead to changes in the big iron kingdoms, particularly in multiplatform shops? Here's what Big Blue is rolling out. READ MORE >

(Houston Chronicle) General Dynamics has announced a deal with the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services division that could bring the firm as much as $227 million in exchange for technology operations and infrastructure support. Included in the 77-month contract is mainframe computer operations. READ MORE >

(IT Week) According to this report, IBM will release its new Power6 processors in early July, although the article doesn't make it clear which platform or how many of these platforms will be the early adopters of Power6. System z, System p, and System i all run on Power5 at this time. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

See our full calendar of events at
http://www.itjungle.com/big/big-calendar.html

May 6-10 -- San Jose, California - The International DB2 Users Group conference, known as IDUG 2007 North America, offers training and education on topics that include including DB2 for Linux, Unix, Windows; DB2 for z/OS; Informix; Java; Websphere; and XML. LEARN MORE >

May 18-22 -- Green Bay, Wisconsin - The WAVV Conference for users of the VSE, VM, and Linux operating systems, will include session topics such as z/VSE Version 4 features and benefits, SOA and interoperability, new workloads for the System z9 Business Class server, and integration of z/VSE processes into distributed environments. The event will be held at the Regency Suites Hotel. LEARN MORE >

May 20-25 -- Orlando, Florida - IBM's Impact 2007 conference features WebSphere and service oriented architecture (SOA) as the stars. Hear the story from IBM, analysts, and companies that have implemented SOA. There will be 325 sessions and labs and three separate tracks are designed for business leaders, IT executives, and technical personnel. LEARN MORE >