IBM to acquire EZSource and modernize mainframe apps

by Abhinav Mohapatra

Business solution provider, IBM has announced the acquisition of EZ Legacy (EZSource), an Israel-based application discovery company, to modernize mainframe applications environment for digital business and hybrid cloud deployment. However, financial terms of the deal are not disclosed yet. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016 subject to completion of governmental review and customary closing conditions. EZSource provides users with visual dashboards and allows the developer information crucial to code updates making modernization and customization of apps easier and secure. The company has offices in Israel, the U.K., the U.S., Switzerland, Japan and Romania with a current client base that entails names like ING Life, Maybank and 7-Eleven. IBM intends to augment EZSource’s application programming interfaces (APIs) so that developers can focus their efforts accordingly. It includes API management solutions like z/OS Connect and IBM API to ensure optimization of development resources. This will help developers connect the dots between mainframe systems and newer mobile, cloud, social and cognitive workloads, claims IBM. The acquisition comes at a turn where digital transformation and API economy is estimated at being a $3.75 billion market and IBM in its strategic movement is trying to modify mainframe legacy and stay at the center of their digital enterprise, according to IBM Mainframe Insights blog. Ross A Mauri, General Manager, IBM z Systems, said:
“The mainframe is the backbone of today’s businesses. As clients drive their digital transformation, they are seeking the innovation and business value from new applications while leveraging their existing assets and processes. By adding EZSource’s technology to our enterprise DevOps and API management offerings, we are making it easier and faster for developers to modernize key applications that previously were manually intensive and many times required specialized skills.”

EZSource delivers three key products:

EZSource Analyze: It provides a graphical visualization of application discovery and understanding for developers and architects;

EZSource Dashboard: It offers multiple categories of application metrics for managers and executives; and

EZSource Server: It integrates with third-party source code management, workload automation and CMDB tooling systems to provide application to infrastructure mapping.

According to IBM, 80 percent of enterprises plan to launch hybrid cloud strategies by 2017, and 68 percent of production IT workloads run on mainframes, meaning technology linking business critical applications on mainframes with applications on the cloud and on mobile devices is essential. Meanwhile, IBM’s DevOps offerings, such as Application Delivery Foundation for z Systems and Rational Team Concert, will combine with the EZSource application delivery software to help developers modernize key applications faster that previously were manually intensive with reduced risk to the enterprise. “IBM’s long-term commitment to delivering enterprise infrastructure solutions has underpinned our success over the past decade in helping mainframe users generate more value from their applications,” he said in a statement. “Our focused technology combined with IBM’s global reach will help more clients than ever optimize the value of their enterprise systems,” said Eran Tirer, CEO of EZSource. As for IBM, the company’s last acquisition in Israel was for Trusteer, which it bought more than $600 million in 2013 and is followed after reports of job cuts could that could hit up to 14,000 staff members as the it looks ahead to bolster its presence in arenas like cloud, mobile, security, analytics and big data.