Implementation of Adabas, Natural on Linux a success

The optician chain from Germany was one of Software AG's first customers to use the new version of Adabas and Natural on Linux.

The conversion to the Linux platform has so far proven a great success and Apollo expects to further reduce ongoing costs for the operation of the servers (by about 50% through the conversion to Linux). Linux versions for the Adabas database and Natural development environment underline Software AG's commitment to the open source community.

In doing so, Software AG is accommodating the trend that more and more companies are consolidating their Unix landscapes and therefore offers support with migration from Unix to Linux.

The number of companies deciding to replace their Unix systems continues to rise. As they battle to gain better control of the cost of IT solutions, many turn to Linux as the best alternative. After all, the open operating system is regarded not only as stable but also relatively economical in its maintenance and operation.

In addition, the basic knowledge and skills can be transferred from Unix to Linux. For the same cost reasons, companies are increasingly using mainframes as multi-operation system platforms. Software AG has taken these developments into account with its Linux range.

"Core products such as the high-performance Adabas database, Natural development environment, Tamino XML Server and EntireX integration server, are all approved for the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and IBM S/390 mainframe platform," commented Chief Technical Officer, Dr Peter Mossack. "The stability and high scalability of Linux makes it extremely important for mainframes as well as Intel platforms."

One of the first customers to profit from Software AG's Linux involvement was Apollo Optik. Apollo Optik was already using the Adabas database and the Natural development environment on Unix in 1993. An IT manager at Apollo Optik explained: "After the first successful production phase, we decided to roll-out the Adabas/Natural/Linux-based solution to other countries within the Pearle group, the main objective being to reduce costs for server maintenance, operation and administration. By the end of 2003, 130 servers should be converted to Linux. Two hundred more will follow until the end of 2004."

Migrating to Linux will also help to improve the overall performance and stability of the POS (point of sale) system that runs across the servers. The POS system, which has been based on Adabas and Natural since 1993, underpins the business processes of the individual branches and is integrated into the central product management system. In the shop with the most revenue, the Adabas/Natural-based POS system runs on an Intel Pentium P4 processor with 1.7GHz serving up to 30 users. Apollo Optik is currently checking whether conversion of the client systems would also offer similar savings at individual workplaces. With the Linux-based servers requiring almost no administration, the potential is enormous.

Adabas is the fastest database system worldwide. Several thousand companies use the database for critical business applications. Adabas is available on numerous operating systems and offers excellent performance with parallel access to a large number of users.

Natural is a complete 4GL development environment. This enables critical business applications to be planned, developed and realised. The development environment has been on the market since 1979 and is in use in about 3 000 companies worldwide.

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