lookdirect eliminates 5250 OLTP costs, improving System i performance

Melbourne, Australia – July 19, 2006. looksoftware announces its newest dynamic modernization offering, lookdirect. Designed to take full advantage of POWER5™ System i5 technology from IBM, lookdirect allows batch CPW to be utilized for 5250 workloads, delivering a new level of System i5 price/performance.

lookdirect is supported by all looksoftware multi-channel UI products; smartclient for knowledge workers, liteclient for transaction workers, thinclient for zero deployment access for customers and partners and mobileclient for ‘anywhere, anytime’ support for PDA’s and mobile devices. lookdirect provides i5 customers and application vendors with a complete UI solution for non-invasively modernizing 5250 workloads, on–the-fly.

looksoftware's Marcus Dee said, “lookdirect is completely non-invasive, requiring no changes to applications or i5/OS and uses IBM supported interfaces, ensuring compatibility with future releases of i5/OS. We have involved IBM throughout the development process and are pleased IBM has made its worldwide Innovation Centers available for lookdirect validation.”

Alison Butterill, from IBM’s ISV Enablement Group said, “For some time now, looksoftware has been in the forefront of user and program interface design. Building on their knowledge of these areas, their resulting new product, lookdirect, should continue to show their strong position in this space.”

lookdirect has received strong endorsements from the System i community and application vendors because it will directly assist the growth and health of the System i marketplace.

Long time IBM’er and System i supporter, Doug Fulmer, said “I think looksoftware has a winner with lookdirect.”

Modernization expert Trevor Perry, said “The release of lookdirect is a pivotal moment in the evolution of the System i5. You can have your GUI at a green screen price, and move your applications into SOA at the same time.”

Ernie Betancourt, CEO, Innovative Computing Corporation, a System i ISV with 500 customers said, “looksoftware’s modernization suite, and its most recent announcement lookdirect, makes our i5 solution more competitive against other platforms. Now that we can deploy our solutions on the i5 Standard Edition, we can drive our customers’ IT dollar much further.”

lookdirect general availability is scheduled for August, 2006


Learn more about lookdirect.