Attachmate lets IT managers take host apps to Web with myEXTRA! Presentation Builder

Attachmate has announced myEXTRA! Presentation Builder, a Java-based solution that allows companies to extend host applications to the Internet in mere minutes.

myEXTRA! Presentation Builder provides an object-oriented approach to refacing and repurposing mainframe applications for the Web. myEXTRA! Presentation Builder enables the design of simple, easy-to-use Web presentations that eliminate expensive, specialised application training.

myEXTRA! Presentation Builder remodels host applications, creating streamlined workflows to advance today`s business demands for host data.

"Many business-level managers are familiar with host system workflows, but they don`t have IT developers at their disposal," says Theo Fourie, country manager for Attachmate South Africa. "myEXTRA! Presentation Builder has been designed with them in mind. By rearranging the screens and selecting pertinent fields only, a manager can extend legacy applications - previously available only to highly skilled users - to new employees and workgroups."

In minutes instead of hours, myEXTRA! Presentation Builder transform host applications into new Web presentations, providing Web-based access to business applications, without the risks inherent in altering those host applications.

With a GUI-based, drag-and-drop development designer, organisations can easily convert, customise and condense an application, such as an in-house order entry legacy application, into a self-service order entry presentation - so that anyone with a browser can access it.

Presentation Builder is non-invasive and developers do not have to make any host code changes. The product uses themes to apply predefined rules to different types of data. Developers can use these themes or create their own, which makes it easy to craft comprehensive changes. With an understanding of the host application, they can apply a theme and, in minutes, transform it to a new Web presentation. "Presentation Builder is fast and easy to use, so it solves the issue of limited IT resources by providing host-aware business analysts with the means to `remodel` host applications and create new presentations of host data," says Fourie. "This helps to solve the increasing demand for host information from a variety of new audiences."

With Presentation Builder, designers can simplify an application`s flow, eliminating unnecessary steps for improved efficiencies by shortening the time it takes to complete a transaction. This reduces errors and allows designers to customise multiple views for specific business audiences or to create self-service applications for the Web.

By making the application easier to use, businesses save time and money on training, reduce redundant data entry, and increase the number of transactions per day - giving companies an immediate return on investment.

myEXTRA! Presentation Builder`s graphical design environment allows for rapid presentation development, testing and deployment. Organisations can easily deploy new user presentations to multiple locations over large geographic areas, reducing installation and administration costs. These new Web presentations are easily managed from a central location, virtually eliminating installation and administration costs.

myEXTRA! Presentation Builder enables compliance with all security regulations, and safeguards any host information that goes beyond the firewall. Managers can easily construct the Web presentation so that each business group sees only the host information it needs; confidential information is never physically sent to the client. Presentation Builder provides only XML or HTML to the client browser; there is no live host connection between the end-user and the host.