Attachmate Corporation, 20-year experts in legacy integration, announced that the Los Angeles Times has selected Attachmate myEXTRA! Smart Connectors for 3270 to support its 24/7 online subscriber self-service Web site, www.myaccount.latimes.com.
The Web site, which was launched in November 2003, gives subscribers the convenience of an Internet-based account management system and enables them to schedule vacation stops, update billing and delivery addresses, request replacement copies, and review billing and payment history. The site can process up to 24 transactions per second.
In addition, the online service reduces the call volume into The Times` customer service centre and helps lower call centre operating costs.
In developing the Web site, The Times faced the challenge of how to make mainframe data "self-service" while keeping the host secure, and creating reusable services to meet future development goals - without changing host code or reinventing the wheel.
Attachmate Smart Connectors were used to integrate legacy applications residing on The Times` IBM OS/390 mainframe, thereby providing an easy-to-use tool for capturing transactions as callable services for reuse in application development on the BEA WebLogic platform. This allowed The Times to develop a service-oriented architecture.
Anne Turner, senior project manager for circulation systems, said: "Online 24/7 self-service is essential for our subscribers. Our Web application handles subscriber requests in real-time and scales to accommodate high traffic levels - without sacrificing security."
"Smart Connectors are ideal for enterprises with diverse hardware and software environments, such as the Los Angeles Times," explained Markus Nitschke, Attachmate VP of corporate marketing. "Organisations can easily extend their investments in valuable legacy systems to the Web, which ultimately benefits the customer."
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The Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing company, is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country and the winner of 35 Pulitzer Prizes, including five this year - the second-largest yearly total in the history of the awards. The Times publishes five daily regional editions including the Los Angeles metropolitan area, Orange and Ventura counties, the San Fernando Valley, and an Inland Empire edition covering Riverside and San Bernardino counties as well as a national edition.
Attachmate
Attachmate is the only all-mainframe connectivity expert in the industry, with technology and services for worldwide enterprises to leverage valuable mainframe investments. A Microsoft Gold Certified, BEA, Unisys, and Sun iForce partner, Attachmate delivers productivity-focused innovation to customers. Information: www.attachmate.com, or call 425.644.4010.