Hardware Emulation, Software Migration, & OpenVMS

Welcome to the Migration Specialties web site. Our goal is to preserve software while upgrading the infrastructure that supports it. Thank you for paying us a visit!

At Migration Specialties we pride ourselves on helping our international clientele select and install the best available solution for their needs. We can help you identify the right technology to preserve valuable software applications, plan effective porting projects, and deliver solutions on budget and on schedule. We have over two decades of experience migrating, converting, and porting important legacy software applications and data.

OpenVMS and its associated VAX, Alpha, and Integrity processors have been our core business since our inception. In 2005 we expanded our market, offering specialized hardware emulation solutions covering HP1000, VAX, Alpha, PDP-11, and Data General systems. We develop and support specialized software like Migration RPG and CBL. We are renowned for our quality of service and customer commitment.

Hardware Emulation

The best replacement system is generally a new one. Unfortunately, it's sometimes difficult to acquire new legacy hardware, not to mention support and spares. Hardware emulators offer an alternative solution: true binary application compatibility in a modern configuration. You get all the advantages of faster chip speeds, bigger disk drives, and improved reliability while retaining the full functionality of your legacy software applications and peripheral hardware. Migration Specialties offers installation and porting services worldwide for HP1000, Digital PDP-11, Digital VAX, and Digital Alpha emulation products.

Software Migrations

Software migrations come in three flavors. Ports involve transferring applications between similar systems. OpenVMS applications can generally be ported from an Alpha to an Integrity system with little modification. Migrations involve transferring applications between dissimilar systems while preserving the application source code. RPG II applications can be migrated from an IBM System/3X (System/3, System/34, System/36), AS/400, iSeries, or System i to an Integrity server using Migration RPG with little change to the RPG source code. The underlying operating systems are completely different. Conversions involve rewriting large portions of an application. The goal of a conversion is to retain the functionality of an application while recreating it in a new programming language. An application written in VAX DIBOL can be converted to C using the CBL Translator.

Migration Specialties has extensive experience in all three areas of software migration. We've ported, migrated, and converted a wide range of software applications on a wide range of architectures in many countries. We understand how to assess, plan, deliver, and test software migration projects.

OpenVMS Services

OpenVMS has been around for over three decades and is still going strong. HP's port of OpenVMS to its new Itanium-based Integrity servers gives the O/S a bright future. OpenVMS is widely acclaimed for is reliability, security, performance, and scaleability. For anything beyond a desktop application, OpenVMS should be at the top of the pick list.

Migration Specialties has global experience working with OpenVMS on VAX, Alpha, and Integrity processors. We have examples of each hardware platform in house. Our RPG compiler product, Migration RPG, was developed specifically to migrate RPG-based applications to OpenVMS. We are your one stop shop if you need OpenVMS management or software development services.

Other Services

Migrating software applications requires a comprehensive understanding of legacy programming languages like RPG, COBOL, and DIBOL. Clients preserving these applications often look to us to provide ongoing support for them as well. In addition, we develop new applications internally and for clients. Migration RPG is primarily written in Macro-32, while CBL is a C application. The consequences of this are that Migration Specialties understands programming and software project planning. We pride ourselves on rigorous planning, development, testing, and documentation skills and offer related consulting services.

Our services are available globally onsite and remotely on a time and materials or fixed-price basis. Please browse through our web site and see what we have to offer. If you don't see the exact software or service you are looking for, . We work in a variety of software environments and have an extensive set of skills, tools, information, and contacts available. We might already have the software or process you need in hand, or we may be able to refer you to someone that does.