For applications written in COBOL, the cloud offers another platform for rapid deployment and modernization. Because COBOL is both adaptive and highly portable enabling, most COBOL systems can be re-deployed to a virtual or cloud platform with very little change. COBOL’s support for containers adds even greater portability for application development, testing, and deployment across a hybrid IT deployment.
An application written in the late 1960s using traditional ANSI 68 COBOL could be redeployed with little change to the cloud as of 2022. Switching to the cloud, however, can be a significant infrastructure project other than a development project.
Helping organizations modernize core COBOL systems to new platforms means helping plan and execute the technical, operational, and cultural elements of such a change. Typical challenges can include a lack of understanding of the effort required for testing and user acceptance. For any critical system, target platform deployments will require adequate testing and validation before being placed into production.
An additional challenge area may be the skills needed for an organization before and after the move. The skills needed to move the application from one platform to the next might be very different skills from those required for day-to-day operations. In both cases, experience in large-scale modernization projects helps identify the key technical and operational considerations during the planning phase.
Contact Luvina Software today to get a consultation about any of your COBOL development demands, from developing, migrating, and modernizing new business applications to testing, maintaining, operating, and support of your existing legacy systems.