DevOps

From waterfall models to continuous development with DevOps for modernization of IBM i

Today’s organizations face many challenges and although no one really knows what the future will bring and who will succeed in the next few years, one thing is certain – continuous development will be required. We are convinced that a DevOps-oriented approach (at least from IT perspective) will be crucial to success.

IT systems and IT services are constantly updated without knowing about it. The evolution from the waterfall model, where development processes are single-ended with clear finishes before the next step can begin, has today moved more and more to DevOps and continuous development.

DevOps puts development in a broader context with operations, support and management. All with a clear purpose and goal to tie together and interact with different roles, services and applications, as well as speed up the use of software to production while minimizing business interruptions.

DevOps can also reduce the time it takes for business ideas to become production applications or new functionality. Through a significant time reduction, it also gives customers greater progress and competitiveness … but in order to achieve this, we must significantly change how our development and QA – i.e. all the efforts made to “build” in quality in the IT systems and operations work.

Read more about our partnership with ARCAD Software and our complete offer for modernize mission-critical systems on IBM’s Power and z platforms.

 

APPER-ARCAD

APPER and ARCAD Software in strategic partnership

APPER announced its partnership with ARCAD Software to support major expansion of ARCAD operations in the Nordic region.

APPER Systems AB and ARCAD Software, leading provider of DevOps, and IBM’s modernization solutions, have today set up a partnership to create the most complete offer for modernization in the Nordic region. Of systems on IBM in the platform. The focus is on the forefront of DevOps technology, giving APPER and ARCAD the opportunity to merge skills and business opportunities for the continued efficiency of modernization solutions to both large and small companies in the Nordic region.

Torbjörn Appehl, Managing Director at ARCAD Software Nordic AB, explained the importance of this new partnership:  “For ARCAD in the Nordics, our partnership with Apper AB is highly strategic.  Apper has a top class reputation in the region thanks to the high skill level of their staff.  We already have 10 consultants at Apper trained and certified on the ARCAD solutions, some of whom are already involved in implementation projects.  We are seeing significant growth in the Nordics this year particularly in the areas of DevOps and IBM i modernization and it has been vital for us to secure skilled resources to fulfil these projects.  Our close relationship with Apper means we are now well positioned to manage this growth”.

Also marking this expansion, Apper, ARCAD Software and IBM i cloud vendor Pulsen Production AB have initiated a dedicated offering around continuous modernization where Apper will play a significant role by delivering services around the ARCAD solutions.

Philippe Magne, ARCAD CEO outlines the company’s strategy for the Nordics region:  “Our partnership with Apper is exemplary of our growth plans worldwide.  We need partners to reach out to those thousands of companies that have not yet taken that vital step forward to modernize and adopt the DevOps trend.  The Nordic region is highly strategic for ARCAD, as it is home to many clients still maintaining home-grown IBM i applications that need to be modernized in a structured way”.

Per-Anders Freiholtz, MD at Apper AB concludes: “The partnership with ARCAD is a natural step in our strategy of being the leader in modernizing mission-critical systems on IBM’s Power and z platforms. ARCAD’s products and services combined with our excellence create a unique offering to the market that will secure our customers’ IT systems in the future.”

About ARCAD Software

The ARCAD Software group is leading international vendor in DevOps and Modernization solutions for IBM i, with subsidiaries in Europe, USA and Asia, supporting 1000+ installations worldwide. Since 1992, ARCAD has built on its specialist IBM i expertise to develop an integrated solution range for Application Lifecycle Management, Enterprise Modernization, Release Management and DevOps, distributed by IBM worldwide. ARCAD subsidiaries DROPS and DOT Software specialize in multi-platform application deployment and test automation solutions, across IBM i, Linux, UNIX, Windows, z/OS. ARCAD technology integrates with Rational Developer for i (RDi), Rational Team Concert (RTC), GitHub, JIRA, and also open source tools Git, SVN, and Jenkins.

Contact: Olenka Van Schendel, VP Business Development, ovanschendel@arcadsoftware.com

21grams

21 Grams acquires Europe Post ApS

21 Grams is excited to announce the acquisition of Europe Post, an international mail company based outside Copenhagen in Denmark. Europe Post was founded in 2010, by Lasse Agergaard, who now joins 21Grams as Vice President and responsible for the business area International Postage Solutions.

In 2015 Europe Post had a turnover of 32 MSEK.

21Grams has a complete offering of services including both software sortation technology and access to all major Nordic postal operators, enabling cost efficient mailings into the Nordic region.

The strong partner network of Europe Post will connect very well with 21Grams both for import and export opportunities, and with the merge 21Grams will be able to offer even more cost efficient services to both parties’ customers.

21 Grams sortation software platforms; PostSort, iSort and Winjet, will be configured to allow access and preparation of mail items automatically for all Europe Post destinations.

The new entity combined, 21 Grams and Europe Post, will have around 40 employees, and clients in 13 countries, becoming the biggest independent supplier of international mail in the Nordics.