Legacy mainframe computer systems, still in place at many large corporations, utility companies and government offices, present a unique problem for many businesses. Dating back to the 1970s and using nearly-defunct computer languages, legacy systems often are used by large corporations and government agencies for such functions as payroll, inventory, human resources and sales. Despite being outdated, a typical legacy system’s size makes it difficult to be replaced without a large expenditure.

However, DePaul University is rapidly becoming a key research center in finding the best solutions for this technology issue facing many companies, as evidenced by a recent study evaluating two products by software company Fujitsu designed to convert legacy systems to a Web-enabled solution. The trial was the second major legacy systems research study to be conducted at DePaul recently.

"Getting these systems converted to a Web-based system is imperative for companies to move forward with their business practices into the 21st century," said Howard Kanter, DePaul associate professor of accounting and management information systems, who is co-author of the study. "It’s a cost-effective way of linking these older systems with modern Web services without having to start from the ground up."

The current study, funded by Fujitsu, found that the company’s NetCOBOL for .NET and NeoKicks CICS Migration Tool, the time to web-enable mission-critical applications is 97 percent quicker than rewriting the application in the Java computer language.

Kanter, working alongside Tom Muscarello, associate professor in DePaul’s School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems (CTI), also found that conversion times with the tools were less than five percent of rewriting time, regardless of the skill level of the programmer.

This new study follows a 2003 research test at DePaul, where researchers found that using an application processing integrator, which allows programmers to convert older systems into optimized Web-enabled systems, reduced programming time by more than 82 percent and cut programmer expense by more than 84 percent when compared with a full system rewrite using Java. That study was presented at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) international conference on software maintenance in London. At the time, Muscarello estimated that there were more than 40,000 legacy systems still in operation in the United States.

Kanter noted that DePaul is quickly establishing a reputation as a national center for research into legacy systems conversion, and that it was flattering for DePaul to be selected by Fujitsu, a major technology corporation based in Silicon Valley that has easy access to major California research universities.

"These companies appreciate the way DePaul approaches the research from a perspective of dealing with the actual, practical business applications involved," Kanter added. "This issue really goes to the heart of businesses’ internal transaction systems, which are of critical importance to any company."

DePaul CTI is one of the most innovative and wide-ranging computer science programs in the country. The undergraduate program enrolls 1,200 students and offers 11 different degrees. More than 2,130 students are enrolled in its 17 graduate programs. CTI also features a doctoral degree program in computer science. For more information, visit www.cti.depaul.edu.

DePaul’s College of Commerce offers students an extraordinary opportunity to study all aspects of business and commerce in one of the world’s leading commercial centers. It was recently ranked as one of the nation’s top 13 entrepreneurial colleges, according to Entrepreneur Magazine. DePaul’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business features a part-time MBA program that has been ranked in the nation’s top ten by U.S. News and World Report for the past 11 years.

DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the nation and eighth-largest private university in the United States. A richly diverse population of 23,570 students attends classes on two city and four suburban campuses.