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Adoption in the cloud is going to be for low-risk applications
 Jorge Dinarés, President International, Micro Focus, EMEA, India and Latin America in conversation with Varun Aggarwal, speaks about the company’s strategies in India and its plans to set up a Center of Excellence (CoE) around application modernization in the country
You’ve recently set up a CoE for modernization and migration with L&T in India. What was the aim behind setting up this CoE?
There was a lot of interest from top Systems Integrators (SIs) in India to see what we can do together. We signed an agreement with L&T for an agreement of partnership. As per the agreement, L&T has created a CoE around our solutions in order to be competitive in the market and offer services to customers in India and abroad. We are also in talks with other SIs to develop similar CoEs.
What are the platforms that you target for application modernization?
It could be different platforms—UNIX or mainframe. There is, of course, a major cost saving if you move from mainframe to an x86 environment. Many customers are taking advantage of this modernization effort to move their applications from mainframe to Linux or Windows or even to the cloud. Some customers are also looking at how they can move their applications to the cloud. We support Microsoft Azure and Amazon’s EC2. Once an application is moved to our platform, we can move it to whatever application or environment the customer wants.
What are the advantages of application modernization vis-à-vis rewriting?
Application modernization offers higher cost savings and carries lower risks as compared to rewriting. For example, it is very difficult for a company to invest in a big ERP solution as the payback can take anywhere between three to seven years. However, modernization can deliver results within three to six months without disrupting the system.
Consider the example of a company that was running a 10 year-old MS COBOL which approached us since they wanted to have some modernization. The application was deployed across 100 locations and has 50,000 users. They want to redeploy it on Linux. Similarly, Oswal (Ludhiana) deployed a fresh Textile ERP solution on COBOL for 50 users. The performance they get on COBOL compared to that on Java or .Net is far better.
What kind of interest in cloud computing do you see for in India?
Currently there is a mixed reaction towards cloud computing in India. This is primarily because the Indian customer still doesn’t understand how to leverage the cloud. Moreover, the application needs to be cloud-enabled. The adoption in the cloud is going to be for low-risk applications. For example, we have proposed applications to some of our customers, giving them a DR solution over the cloud on a pay-per-use basis. A DR is used only in case of a disaster or during virtual drills. This gives the customer the opportunity to reduce their expenses. In some cases, the customer may still not be interested in a cloud infrastructure due to regulatory requirements since most cloud providers have their data centers outside India. However, the education level regarding cloud computing is on the rise in India.
How has the acquisition of Compuware helped Micro Focus?
The products within the Compuware Testing and ASQ Business are highly complementary to Micro Focus’ core Application Management & Modernization solutions. As part of its strategy review, the management of Micro Focus identified the ASQ market as a logically adjacent area to extend its Application Management footprint. The acquisition of the Compuware Testing and ASQ business is a logical extension to our existing application management proposition, providing new addressable market opportunities. We see strong growth potential in this market. We have a successful track record of integrating businesses and are well-placed to deliver value from this acquisition.
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