Catch/21 From TSR Offers Fast Year 2000 Compliance for Only 25 Cents Per Line of Code.

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 9, 1997--Year 2000/ IT executives worried about selecting the right tool for Year 2000 conversion can breathe a little easier. Today there is a solution from TSR that not only does the job at one-third the cost of other approaches, but in less than half the time as well. Called Catch/21, it is an integrated software and conversion process for legacy-based COBOL systems. Catch/21 costs only 25 cents per line of code -- substantially less than the going rates, and it cuts implementation time by two-thirds, with TSR turning around at least 400,000 lines per analyst team per week. Companies using the Catch/21 solution from TSR include Schering-Plough, ADP, United HealthCare, McGraw-Hill, Newsday, AIG-AIU, Fiserv and LILCO.

The Catch/21 solution takes a different approach from existing Year 2000 conversion methods. Rather than expanding, reformatting or windowing date fields, it uses a Sliding Century Adjustment Routine (SCAR) to slide the whole century to a new span. Upon entry to program logic, date fields pass through the Sliding Century Adjustment Routine (SCAR), and are dynamically changed, or slid, according to a designated base year. The slid dates are then SCAR-restored to their original value, after logic has been executed. With Catch/21, program logic and file formats are left unchanged.

"What sets Catch/21 apart is that it is significantly less expensive and works faster than all the other Year 2000 conversion approaches. And it's a proven solution," says Joseph Hughes, CEO of TSR. "We believe once people see for themselves how quickly and easily Catch/21 works, their minds will be made up." To that effect, TSR is offering the No-Risk Catch/21 Pilot: provide TSR with 100,000 lines of COBOL code, and their analysts will convert it at TSR's conversion facility, and have it ready for testing in about a week.

Time and cost are two of the most important factors companies consider when deciding on a conversion process. Catch/21 helps beat the millennium clock because it requires no changes to file formats or program logic, reducing implementation time. (The fact that a TSR analyst team can easily convert more than 400,000 lines of code per week is an unheard of rate in the industry.) And the overall testing process that must occur after the conversion takes place is considerably diminished, going from what could be for some companies a year-long, labor-intensive process, to a streamlined procedure that takes only weeks. Even before testing begins, converted programs are already 99 percent bug-free.

At 25 per line of code, Catch/21 is by far one of the most cost-effective conversion services available. Even for companies with modest legacy systems, the savings can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. TSR is able to charge less per line of code because Catch/21 makes maximum use of automation, eliminating the potential for human error and reducing the amount of labor involved. The 25 cents per line of code is a fixed cost as well, so IT executives can provide accurately predict conversion costs. TSR expects to support other legacy platforms besides COBOL systems by the third quarter of this year.

Headquartered in Hauppauge, N.Y., TSR is a technology services company that provides consulting and Year 2000 solutions to a variety of industries. It has the capacity to produce an estimated 40 million lines of converted code each month, and expects to double that output by the end of third quarter '97. For more information about Catch/21, contact Lisa Amoroso or Annette Jenkins at 1-888-4-CATCH21.

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