Synergivity Developing New Menu System

July 10, 2012 Alex Woodie

Synergivity Software, the U.S. distributor of Midrange Dynamics‘ change management software for IBM i, has begun work on a new product that will allow administrators to create menu screens on the IBM i server. The green-screen software, which doesn’t have a name as yet, will be easy enough for non-technical people to use, company officials say.

Synergivity’s new menu system would give customers the ability to control what options appear on users’ screens, and what commands they can issue from screens. In this respect, it will boost security, since users will not have the option to access sensitive files that they might otherwise have access to. The new software will also help workers to more quickly get to their most commonly used screens, which will boost efficiency.

Marty Kilgallen, a principal with Synergivity, sees a need for more finely tuned menus in many industries, including among retail establishments. “In a retail environment, you don’t want workers to be able to access information about company finance and payroll and other things that they might be able to,” he says. “Menuing allows you to do that very quickly and control who sees what.”

There are a handful of third-party menu systems available on the market, including some that are sold alongside change management products. Kilgallen has met with some IBM i customers that are unhappy with the level of support they’re getting from other third-party products, which spurred the development of the new menu system.

The menu system is a critical but often overlooked aspect of the IBM i OS because it controls who has access to application functions, data, and system settings, and how they access them. Many organizations just use the menu system that comes with their packaged applications, unaware that they can be changed to better meet their needs.

Most third-party menu systems control how green-screen menus work, but Synergivity is open to making its new product work with GUI menus as well. “If the market says, we’re interested but we want a GUI interface, we’ll work with people to make that happen.”

Synergivity isn’t quite ready to launch its product, but it is open to suggestions by IBM i shops who might be interested in working with the product and the final stages of its development. To contact Synergivity, see its website at www.synergivity.com.