Part of

eXplain

Systematical Analysis of IBM Legacy Code.

 

Dispose of legacy or forensic rediscover?

 

Legacy applications usually have a bad reputation. But behind the seemingly old and dusty code is a legacy that is usually more valuable than initially assumed. What you really have in your inventory, you will realize when you want to get rid of legacy. But what makes an application a legacy application? eXplain and our consultancy services are your key to get the truth perspective! Step into and learn about!

 

Save Money and gain speed

Use the best analysis software with eXplain, which also stands out against IT Panorama, Wazi Analyzer, Micro Focus Enterprise Analyzer, ADI, SonarQube, CAST, Cornerstone or Natural Egineer with more functionality and better results.

Control risks and use expertise

Reduce the risks of legacy transformation and avoid bad investments with eXplain. Numerous references from well-known corporations and major customers ensure your decision in favor of eXplain.

Inspire your team from 20 to 60 years

Bring your teams together with the help of eXplain and eliminate the risk of misunderstandings in communication and project work through a clear view of the technical and functional relationships in your legacy code.

Turn legacy into innovation

Rely on the most modern and innovative analysis and re-engineering software on the market with eXplain. Thanks to eXplain you solve your tricky legacy problems and have full energy for new topics.

Our happy customers on IBM Power i (AS400) and IBM Z (System z):

Code analysis with eXplain

Sourcecode-Screening on IBM Power i (AS400) and IBM Z (System z):

  • Overview diagrams of all dependencies and interrelationships
  • Representation of redundancies and inconsistencies
  • Cleanup of the code
  • Technical re-documentation of the code

Parser and documentation are individually adaptable to special customer situations.

Supported languages:

  • COBOL, JCL, RPG, CL, Natural, REXX, Assembler, PL/1

Clustering with eXplain

Structuring of the source code into technical entities

Basis for:

  • Module-based migration planning
  • Error-free communication in the project team
  • Delimitation of non-migration relevant modules

 

Quality control with eXplain

  • Maturity assessment of mainframe applications based on general or customer-specific metrics
  • Progress monitoring of cleanup or further development for management and project managers
  • Fault prevention by proactively identifying potential sources of errors in the code
  • Quality assurance for collaboration with freelancers or nearshore/offshore teams

 

eXplain – Train the Boss: your way out of the legacy dilemma.

When you’re making decisions about modernizing, transforming or replacing critical core systems, gut instinct and a smattering of knowledge can be dangerous accomplices. As a decision-maker you have to know what you’re doing because in the end, the success or failure of a project has a significant influence on your career.

Our compact Train the Boss training boosts your decision-making skills, teaches you how to communicate effectively and respectfully with your experts, and helps you identify risks and pitfalls before it’s too late.

The eXplain Whitepaper Collection:
Concentrated know-how for decision makers & implementers

In the whitepapers available for download here, we present the three dimensions of eXplain in detail. Learn for which use case in your situation eXplain is the right tool. No matter if code analysis & field tracking (Whitepaper 1), clustering & interface analysis (Whitepaper 2) or quality measurement & control (Whitepaper 3) are your focus: here you will learn everything about the scope of services, your benefits and the concrete implementation.

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eXplain in numbers:

 

100%

Coverage of your technological peculiarities through customizable parser technology

Up to 40%

Reduction of legacy source code through intelligent death code detection

< 12 month

Reach ROI within the first year of use

3x

Triple value through technical, professional and qualitative analysis

One of the greatest challenges in maintaining matured Cobol applications is onboarding new employees into existing projects. With eXplain, we are able to onboard new employees into ongoing development projects much faster and more efficiently. This enables us to gain speed, enhance quality for our customers, and simultaneously save costs in the onboarding process. eXplain has become an essential component of our toolchain in the Cobol field.

Dieter Kölbl IT Lead Architect zFutureT-Systems International

PKS’s eXplain enabled us to identify a considerable portion of code in our Natural and COBOL-based core banking system that was no longer needed, so we could fundamentally clean up and clear out the system. In addition, the documentation that was created automatically by eXplain meets our auditing requirements fully. Those are just two of the ways that eXplain supports us in our Core Banking System Stabilization project. I’d also like to highlight how pleasant it was to work with the expert PKS team, and how we appreciated the flexibility as we worked on the project, so we could always take Helaba-specific requirements into account.

Stephan Böcher Group Lead Application DevelopmentHelaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen

Using eXplain has helped us reach a new level in various ways. We have not only become more innovative, but we also save time and money as documentation is created automatically. In addition, the clustering function will give us a better overview of our wide range of software components in the future. Working with eXplain is a real asset for our core business.

Thomas Glaser Software Development Central DatabaseDPD Deutschland GmbH

Here at Wesco we generally use Infor XA as our central ERP program. However, over the decades we’ve made lots of custom changes, for which we have developed many RPG programs. We’ve been using the PKS tool eXplain for several years so we can always have an overview of everything and react quickly and appropriately when something needs changing. eXplain simply makes it easier for us to develop software. We can identify dependencies at a glance and implement changes very securely. We wholeheartedly recommend eXplain and PKS.

Markus Strotmeyer IT / OrganizationM. Westermann & Co. GmbH

eXplain gave us fantastic support when analysing RPG programs and process structure. The graphical presentation of links between programs/modules and IO tables works brilliantly, and the export options, such as to HTML/XLS or to a visual editor, help us continue to document the application. eXplain also helps us identify obsolete program elements and therefore clean up the source code. Our collaboration with the PKS team was always very open and constructive, and we were even able to contribute our own ideas for developing eXplain further.

Pascal Nicolas Head of ITKrieger Pharma

Do you have specific questions or want to find out more?

Get in touch now and book a one-to-one consultation.

We’ll start with a discovery session to discuss your requirements and find out whether and how we can help you. Based on that, we’ll organize the next steps for you, such as product demos, reference contacts or consulting sessions.

Book an appointment

PKS has been active in the market since 1991 and focuses on business-critical individual software, especially on IBM Power i (AS/400) and IBM Z (mainframe). Up to now, this has made a significant contribution to the success of many companies. Now, however, due to generational change, the cloud transformation and other business and other business needs. This is exactly where PKS comes in: No matter if you want to modernise or replace - or if you still have to find out. With us, you will find and implement the optimal path. Because we speak plain language and implement.

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