Attachmate Releases Synapta Solutions for Service-Orienting Complex, Transaction-based Host Assets; New Synapta Services Builder exposes CICS and IMS transactions for SOA.

BELLEVUE, Wash. -- Attachmate Corporation, 20-year veterans of connecting users with critical enterprise data, today announced the latest release of the company's transaction-oriented Synapta(TM) Services Builder solutions. The new tools give developers direct access to IMS and CICS transactions, making it easy to build new services while bypassing the presentation layer for superior performance.

Synapta is Attachmate's family of host integration products that service-enable the host to convert data and logic into reusable services for new application development. By service-enabling the host, organizations can implement service-oriented architectures (SOA) without re-writing or risking the integrity of existing data and logic.

New Version 3 releases include more efficient and simplified handling of complex copy book structures, providing greater control through straightforward wizard-based design time facilities. Additionally, enhancements to the management framework improve the seamless mixture of connectivity types within the Synapta family of host integration products, as full spectrum coverage of host application components is a common need in real world solutions.

"Attachmate's Synapta brand has been helping organizations save money by working within the existing infrastructures," explained Markus Nitschke, Attachmate vice president, corporate marketing. "Synapta solutions open up new possibilities for developers working on integration projects or custom client applications. With Synapta Services Builder for CICS, for example, you can access host data through a simple high-level API from outside the mainframe CICS environment. This kind of flexibility --impossible to attain with complex host transactions -- is essential to meeting today's IT goals."

Synapta Services Builder for CICS v.3 enables developers to integrate data and logic from IBM's Customer Information Control System (CICS), a transactional environment that manages mainframe COBOL programs, into external applications and Web pages. With Synapta solutions, developers do not have to rely on IBM Universal client libraries or expertise in COBOL intricacies to create new applications, as is typical with other solutions. Communications to the CICS environment can optionally be TPC/IP- or SNA-based.

Synapta Services Builder for IMS v.3 provides a way to execute transactions for IMS (Information Management System) and retrieve data from IMS applications. IMS is a transactional environment used on IBM mainframes to manage a collection of COBOL, PL/1, or assembler language programs. These tasks can be encapsulated as Web Services, EJB and JavaBeans, COM+ or .NET objects, or XML over HTTP, MSMQ, or MQSeries. Access is via OTMA (open transaction access manager) so requires no SNA components off the mainframe. Additional information and in-depth white papers on Synapta and usage scenarios are available at www.synapta.com.

About Attachmate

One of the world's largest privately held software companies, Attachmate Corporation helps organizations take advantage of service-oriented architecture as a platform for the user-organized enterprise -- delivering solutions that overcome infrastructure and technology barriers to meeting user demands. From composite applications to efficient user interfaces, Attachmate(R) technology helps Fortune 500/Global 2000 companies and government agencies service-enable disparate systems while safeguarding existing business logic. Partnerships include: Unisys(R), Sun(R) iForce, BEA(R), and Microsoft(R) Gold Certified Partner. More information is available at http://www.attachmate.com or call worldwide headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, at 425-644-4010.

(C) 2005 Attachmate Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Attachmate is a registered trademark and Synapta is a trademark of Attachmate Corporation.