SOFTWARE: A NEW LEVEL OF WEB-TO-HOST COMPUTING

New additions to the SecureWay family of products provide fast, flexible host integration

With the vast majority of business data residing on mainframes and other host systems, growing e-businesses need fast, easy, and efficient ways to securely extend host data to intranet, extranet, and Internet users. Now, with the recent announcement of new products and enhancements for its SecureWay host integration family, IBM is re-inventing host integration for e-businesses.

The IBM SecureWay host integration solution—including SecureWay Host On-Demand Version 4, SecureWay Host Publisher Version 2, and SecureWay Screen Customizer Version 1—helps companies quickly and securely bring new life to existing host applications and data with no additional programming.

Host integration is central to the IBM SecureWay Software product family, which integrates a critical trio of networking functions—directory, connectivity, and security. In this way, IBM helps e-businesses reduce the costs and minimize the complexity and risks associated with exploiting Internet technologies. Recent enhancements to the SecureWay host integration family include:

SecureWay Host On-Demand Version 4—the latest release of IBM's leading Java-based terminal emulator that provides secure browser access to host applications. Because Host On-Demand downloads from a Web server, it provides host access on each desktop without installing software on the clients. Host On-Demand is ideal for corporate intranets and extranets where response time is critical. Key enhancements in Version 4 include:

• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) client authentication, which leverages Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) security standards
• Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) enablement to centralize administration for large user groups
• TN5250 host print and file transfer, and native AS/400 installation to boost productivity for AS/400 users
• New ActiveX™ controls that give developers a choice of using Visual Basic® or Java
• Extensive platform support, including OS/390, OS/400, AIX, Windows NT, Sun Solaris, HP-UX®, and Linux

SecureWay Host Publisher Version 2—software that integrates multiple data sources, including host and database applications, into a single Web page on a client browser. The beta version of SecureWay Host Publisher V2 is now available, transparently delivering host information via HTML to standard Web browsers. Host Publisher V2 is Java based and supports the AIX, OS/390, Windows NT, and Sun Solaris operating systems (support for OS/400 is planned for early 2000). Enhancements in Version 2 include:

• The ability to create host integration objects that can be reused within Java development tools
• Inclusion of a runtime version of IBM WebSphere Standard Edition
• Integration with IBM connector solutions—such as MQSeries®—that significantly extend the breadth of existing applications

SecureWay Screen Customizer Version 1—new software that works with Host On-Demand or SecureWay Personal Communications to automatically convert "green screens" into customizable graphical interfaces with no additional programming. With the beta version now available, Screen Customizer can combine information from multiple host systems into a single GUI. The default GUI, which is automatically presented for each host screen at the client, features automatic menu buttons, defined input fields, and hot spots. Using simple drag-and-drop techniques, developers can customize screens by adding new objects, changing fonts or colors, hiding host fields, reordering work flow, combining data, or automatically navigating the user through screens.

Screen Customizer is based on innovative screen-recognition technology that requires no access to source code and generates no scripting or coding. With no risk to the host application, there is no impact on the host workload.

For more information
Visit www.ibm.com/software/network/hostintegration.
Visit www.ibm.com/software/network/hostondemand.
Visit www.ibm.com/software/network/hostpublisher.
Visit www.ibm.com/software/network/screencustomizer.