The Future of MCP Development Has Arrived
Here’s an all-too-familiar situation: Tasked with executing a critical corporate initiative, a line-of-business head taps IT to develop and deliver the new capability that will help bring the strategy to life. Unfortunately, the development team is already managing a sizable backlog of projects, making it difficult to provide new functionality to the business within a timely manner.
This scenario speaks to the friction that arises when IT teams have to draw from a shoestring budget and finite supply of resources to address an ever-growing list of business demands. Moreover, it illustrates something we like to call the “agility gap” – the divide between what the business wants and what IT can actually deliver within a defined period of time.
In order to narrow this gap, many IT leaders must decide whether to maintain their existing sourcing practices or explore and initiate new pathways as business priorities evolve. And while cost will always be a primary determining factor in these decisions, risk should also considered. After all, an inexpensive development tool could turn out to be a poor decision if it ultimately results in delays, additional security risks, or the growing pains that frequently occur when waiting for new technology to mature.
Despite the challenges this situation presents, the demands line-of-business leaders place on their counterparts in IT show no signs of slowing. As a result, improving developer productivity remains a strategic priority.
So, how will you close the agility gap?
Introducing ClearPath MCP Developer Studio
ClearPath® MCP Developer Studio is the first in a series of software-only solutions delivered under our new ClearPath Software Series umbrella. It represents our response to clients’ requirements for more flexible, cost-effective, and agile development solutions that leverage their existing ClearPath infrastructures. This revolutionary, first-of-its-kind solution brings about a monumental shift in the ways you develop, maintain, and modernize the applications running on your ClearPath system, including distributed applications.
We’re making this possible by providing a software-only version of the MCP operating environment. It offers the traditional Software Developer’s Kit (SDK) that is familiar to host-based MCP developers, along with most of the MCP runtime software – including Unisys Enterprise Application Environment (EAE), Agile Business Suite (AB Suite), and the new Data Exchange product – required to support the testing of new features slated for production deployment.
With the help of MCP Developer Studio, your application development teams can break the logjams that typically plague the development pipeline and accelerate the flow of new business content into production.
How It Works
MCP Developer Studio leverages the power of the ClearPath fabric-based infrastructure to increase the flexibility and agility of application development on fabric-enabled ClearPath Libra 4300, 6300, and 8300 systems.
Deploying MCP Developer Studio into the fabric environment means you can simultaneously run multiple MCP development environments within a single ClearPath system – or even on a single node within the fabric – limited only by the number of Enterprise Partitionable Platforms (EPPs) a given system can accommodate.
This way, you can easily stage different MCP releases, or test changes to multiple MCP applications, in secure, isolated containers. Or, you could cost-effectively provide each member of your development team with his or her own environment in which to individually test newly developed MCP applications.
No matter how you choose to utilize MCP Developer Studio, pairing it with the fabric environment means you can enhance your development practices and accelerate the pace and impact of innovation – without making sizable hardware investments or purchasing an additional system complex.
What It Means to You
With MCP Developer Studio, you can:
- Improve IT and business agility by easily provisioning multiple virtual development environments that can be dedicated to specific projects or requirements
- Remove the roadblocks that cause application backlogs by provisioning additional partitions as needed and eliminating internal competition for development resources
- Reduce business risk by making it possible to develop, test, and release new functionality faster, at a lower total cost
- Seize new opportunities for differentiation by giving your organization’s innovators the freedom to create and deliver cutting-edge projects
And if you need a development environment for a single developer, or are looking for something a bit more portable, check out the article about MCP Developer Studio Personal Edition later in this issue.
Be sure to visit our web site to learn more about MCP Developer Studio and download the product’s spec sheet. Please contact your Unisys sales representative for information about pricing, configuration, licensing models, and support.