An Easier Modernization Journey for Ingres and Database Applications

Actian’s Ingres NeXt Initiative Paves the Way for Transformation

Are you considering modernizing either your Ingres database or your “green screen” ABF or thick-client OpenROAD applications? If so, you may have read about modernization options like those from Gartner listed below. Gartner has ranked these from easiest (Encapsulate) to most difficult (Replace). The easier the approach, the lower the risk, but also the lower the business benefit both technically and operationally. The more difficult the approach, the greater the risk but the greater the reward.

Source: Gartner, 7 Options to Modernize Legacy Systems

Organizations need to modernize infrastructure to respond more quickly to market changes, keep up with the competition, and support digital transformation. If you’ve been wishing that you could move Ingres to the cloud and/or extend your database applications with a modern user interface and/or web and mobile access, that’s normal. At the same time, it’s also understandable if the effort and risks involved in modernization seem terrifying. According to a study by Hitachi Vantara, more than 50% of modernization projects fail.

But what if I told you that Actian’s Ingres NeXt Initiative can provide a safe and easy way to execute a high-value modernization project involving Ingres and your database applications? Let’s have a closer look at how we do this.

Modernizing Your Ingres Database

The Ingres NeXt Initiative provides four flexible options to meet your needs.

• On-Premises (Linux, Windows, UNIX, VMS, virtualisiert oder Bare Metal).
• Bring Your Own License (Your Infrastructure, Your Software, Self Managed).
• Platform as a Service (Actian Infrastructure, Your Software, Actian Managed).
• Database as a Service (Actian Infrastructure, Actian Software, Actian Managed).

On-Premises

Das Gleichgewicht zwischen Bewahrung und Innovation hat bei Ingres dazu geführt, dass wir unsere bewährten UNIX- und VMS-Plattformen weiterführen und auch Linux und Windows unterstützen. Diese sind On-Premises als virtualisierte oder Bare-Metal-Optionen verfügbar.

Bring Your Own License

Bring-Your-Own License (BYOL) ermöglicht es Ihnen, Ihre Ingres-Datenbank einfach in der Cloud zu hosten und zu verwalten. Das Container-basierte Deployment bietet eine portablere und ressourceneffizientere Möglichkeit, die Recheninfrastruktur zu virtualisieren. Da Container das Betriebssystem und nicht die zugrunde liegende Hardware virtualisieren, benötigen Anwendungen weniger virtuelle Maschinen und Betriebssysteme, um sie auszuführen. Außerdem sind Container schlanker als herkömmliche Virtualisierungssysteme und machen Bereitstellungen vorhersehbarer, zuverlässiger und wiederholbar.

Platform as a Service

Kunden können ihre bestehenden Lizenzen in der Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)-Option nutzen, die Ingres komplett als Cloud-native Lösung neu aufbaut, gehostet und verwaltet von Actian. Dies ist eine große Sache, denn ein Cloud-nativer Ansatz bietet die vollen Vorteile des Cloud-Computing wie Scalability, Ökonomie, Portabilität, Ressourceneffizienz, verbesserte Ausfallsicherheit und Verfügbarkeit sowie höhere Sicherheit in der Cloud.

Database as a Service

Database as a Service (DBaaS) provides the very same benefits as PaaS for new licensed purchased through Actian.

Safe and Easy Database Modernization

The best thing about BYOL, PaaS and DBaaS is that you a choice of Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, or Amazon AWS without the risk and effort that’s typically associated with moving to the cloud. Actian has already done the heavy lifting. We ensure uniform operation at the SQL and business logic level across on-premises deployments on UNIX, VMS, Linux and Windows platforms and the cloud. We’ve fully tested the Ingres BYOL option and provide cloud license portability, ensuring a smooth cloud deployment. Visit the Actian Academy to learn more.

Modernizing Database Applications

As for modernizing your database applications?  That’s where OpenROAD comes in. OpenROAD is a database-centric, object-oriented, 4GL rapid application development (RAD) tool that lets you develop and deploy mission-critical, n-tier business applications on Windows, Linux and Unix connecting to databases such as Ingres, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Actian Zen, and more via ODBC.

The Ingres NeXt Initiative provides four options to modernize your application infrastructure using OpenROAD:

ABF and Forms-Based Apps 

OpenROAD migration tools allow you to modernize “green screen” Ingres Applications-By-Forms (ABF) and form-based applications by converting them into OpenROAD frames as shown in Figure 3.  Modernized applications support cloud and on-premises databases.  

OpenROAD Fat Client 

OpenROAD thick-client applications can be transformed to browser-based equivalents without the cost, resource, effort, or risk associated with rewriting or replacing code. Developers can then extend these applications for web and mobile deployment, using HTML5 and JavaScript. Further, OpenROAD supports incremental application migration where modernized applications can run alongside unconverted applications.  

OpenROAD Server 

OpenROAD supports encapsulating and deploying business logic within the OpenROAD Server. Reuse of existing business logic avoids rewriting decades of business logic from scratch. A client, such as an HTML page with JavaScript, can connect to the OpenROAD Server via JSON-RPC with no additional libraries or plugins/add-ons.  

OpenROAD as a Service 

OpenROAD as a Service delivers an Actian-hosted and managed OpenROAD Sever. Business logic is exposed as a web service that is available to web-deployed applications.  

Take the Next Step

Actian’s Ingres NeXt Initiative is designed to help you modernize and make the most of your existing and future investments in Ingres and OpenROAD. You can choose to modernize Ingres or your database applications. Or you can choose both with efforts that can occur concurrently or sequentially, depending on your needs. Register here to learn more about our Early Access Program.

About Teresa Wingfield

Teresa Wingfield is Director of Product Marketing at Actian, driving awareness of the Actian Data Platform's integration, management, and analytics capabilities. She brings 20+ years in analytics, security, and cloud solutions marketing at industry leaders such as Cisco, McAfee, and VMware. Teresa focuses on helping customers achieve new levels of innovation and revenue with data. On the Actian blog, Teresa highlights the value of analytics-driven solutions in multiple verticals. Check her posts for real-world transformation stories.