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New Compuware Strobe Broadens and Speeds Proactive Performance Problem Resolution; "Lights Up" the Mainframe
[October 09, 2012]

New Compuware Strobe Broadens and Speeds Proactive Performance Problem Resolution; "Lights Up" the Mainframe


(GlobeNewswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Integration With Compuware APM® PurePath for z/OS Unifies Transaction Visibility; Advances in Automation, Intelligent Analytics and Ease of Use for Mainframe Operations Reduce Costs, Increase Customer Satisfaction and Drive Business Growth DETROIT, Oct. 9, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compuware, (Nasdaq:CPWR), the technology performance company, today announced major enhancements to Compuware Strobe, the company's mainframe application performance measurement and analysis solution. Strobe now includes advanced automation, intelligent analytics and improved ease of use. These enhancements further enable developers to quickly identify and resolve poorly performing transactions, thereby reducing costs, increasing customer satisfaction and supporting business growth.



In response to the rapidly increasing demands that web and mobile applications are placing on the mainframe, Strobe now seamlessly integrates with Compuware APM PurePath for z/OS technology to create Compuware APM® for Mainframe, announced earlier today.

Compuware APM for Mainframe is the industry's first and only transaction management tool that provides end-to-end visibility across the entire application delivery chain. By combining Compuware dynaTrace's patented PurePath Technology® with Strobe's unrivaled mainframe application management expertise, distributed system and mainframe teams can resolve performance problems faster, reduce MIPS costs, postpone hardware upgrades and accelerate time-to-market.


Once an offending transaction has been pinpointed with PurePath for z/OS, a single click initiates Strobe to provide deep analysis of application code and logic. With this new capability, mainframe specialists can now determine how distributed application activity impacts mainframe CPU cycles for faster problem solving and smarter MIPS management.

"For far too long the mainframe has been treated as an isolated citizen from a broader APM and service management perspective. Compuware's introduction of APM for Mainframe provides both a component and transaction-centric set of unified analytics that should help break down barriers in both triage and application and infrastructure planning across the distributed and mainframe skill groups. Compuware's ability to link this continuum to true user experience and business outcomes makes the technical drill downs all the more compelling and relevant," Dennis Drogseth, Vice President, Enterprise Management Associates.

Strobe Integration With PurePath for z/OS Means Full Transaction Visibility Strobe's integration with PurePath for z/OS lets users track transactions 24x7 across the application delivery chain, from the initial customer click, across all tiers, to the mainframe and back. Strobe supplies the in-depth data to locate the source and cause of the inefficiency and makes recommendations for how to correct the performance problem. This total-picture view helps the Strobe user make more informed decisions when managing CPU consumption and hardware costs, as well as anticipate and resolve issues before they impact users.

"IT has been blind to the impact that the distributed environment has had on CICS transactions. Teams can attempt to find quick fixes, but without end-to-end visibility and deep analysis of code and logic, they are trying to solve complex problems with incomplete data," said Kris Manery, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Compuware Mainframe Solutions business unit.

Strobe's integration with PurePath for z/OS enables performance specialists on both the distributed and mainframe side to work together to correct inefficiencies in CICS applications as they happen. In addition, integrated 24/7 monitoring of CICS transactions can prevent future issues because IT will have total visibility into how systems interact to impact mainframe workload and MIPS. This breakthrough technology delivers significantly faster mean time to resolution, creating better customer satisfaction.

In addition to Strobe's seamless integration with dynaTrace PurePath for z/OS Technology, Strobe has also been enhanced with additional features.

Strobe Advisor for Fast Identification of Performance Problems iStrobe now includes the "Strobe Advisor," which enables even IT professionals new to the mainframe to manage application performance issues in changing and challenging environments. Strobe Advisor automatically provides a detailed list of critical performance improvement opportunities based on the intelligent analytics of the iStrobe profile.

Enhanced Global Monitoring CICS transactions will to continue to increase as mainframe applications become the foundation of mobile computing. To meet this growing demand on the mainframe, Strobe now features a significantly enhanced online CICS transactions monitoring capability, which proactively identifies runaway CICS transactions (in addition to batch job steps) using low overhead. Strobe will monitor all selected batch job step and automatically initiate a Strobe session if a job exceeds the 30-day moving average for elapsed and CPU time.

BIRT Reporting Framework iStrobe's underlying reporting infrastructure has been upgraded to the Eclipse Business Intelligence Reporting Tool (BIRT) reporting framework, making the iStrobe performance database easier to use than ever before. BIRT is the industry leader in customized report writing, allowing customers to create reports easily to suit their individual needs.

Additional data from IBM System Management Facility (SMF) (type 30 and type 70) is now optionally included in reports to allow for more general trend analysis reporting. This data provides a system-wide perspective and can help in early diagnosis of potential performance outages. Strobe will also capture SMF like data from CICS regions 24x7 allowing users to identify when transaction response times begins to degrade or transaction volumes begin to increase.

Tips, Techniques and Best Practices Tips and techniques offered via video help IT staff quickly get up to speed on how to use Strobe to manage application performance issues. Also included is a best practices white paper that highlights how Strobe assists in moving up the APM Capability Maturity Model, helping organizations get more value out of Compuware's APM solution.

"The mainframe market is rapidly changing as new applications of engagement -- home banking, airline reservations, inventory tracking -- require more mainframe processing," added Manery. "At the same time, the connections between distributed and mainframe systems are increasing, and this disruptive change requires new system architecture to better manage performance. Compuware is uniquely positioned to address this need through best in class transaction-centric technology in PurePath and Strobe." About the Compuware Mainframe Solutions Compuware's Mainframe solutions help the world's leading organizations maximize developer productivity, minimize costs and deliver better service. The Solutions are available within the Compuware Workbench, an open development environment that features an intuitive and easy-to-use graphical user interface. Workbench makes common mainframe tasks faster and simpler to perform for both experienced mainframers as well those new to the mainframe, enabling companies to develop new services faster, more efficiently and with higher quality utilizing existing resources.

Follow us on: Twitter YouTube Facebook Mainframe Matters BlogAbout Compuware APM Compuware APM® is the industry's leading solution for optimizing the performance of web, non-web, mobile, streaming and cloud applications. Driven by end-user experience, Compuware APM provides the market's only unified APM coverage across the entire application delivery chain from the edge of the internet through the cloud to the datacenter. Compuware APM helps customers deliver proactive problem resolution for greater customer satisfaction, accelerate time-to-market for new application functionality and reduce application management costs through smarter analytics and advanced APM automation.

With more than 4,000 APM customers worldwide, Compuware is recognized as a leader in the "Magic Quadrant for Application Performance Monitoring" report. To read more about Compuware's leadership in the APM market, click here.

Compuware Corporation Compuware Corporation, the technology performance company, provides software, experts and best practices to ensure technology works well and delivers value. Compuware solutions make the world's most important technologies perform at their best for leading organizations worldwide, including 46 of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies and 12 of the top 20 most visited U.S. web sites. Learn more at: http://www.compuware.com.

The Compuware logo is available at //www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/ pkgid=5950 CONTACT: Press Contact Mary McCarthy Public Relations Manager, Compuware - Mainframe Solutions [email protected], (313) 227-8188 For Sales and Marketing Information Compuware Corporation One Campus Martius, Detroit, MI 48226 800-521-9353 http://www.compuware.com Source: Compuware 2012 GlobeNewswire, Inc.

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