In 1986, about the time Microsoft™ were adding 720kb floppy drive support into MS-DOS 3.2 and Ferris Bueller was taking his infamous day off, IBM released NetView™ for MVS. NetView V1R1 was an amalgamation of NCCF, NPDA, NLDM, NMPF and VNCA. Nearly 25 years and 14 releases later the product has morphed into a conglomeration of utilities and facilities, some of which may be of questionable value today.

NetView’s breadth of scope, complexity and reliance on heavy customization draw comparisons with the proverbial nut-cracking sledgehammer. Furthermore, getting the most out of NetView requires a significant investment in time from skilled mainframe technicians; skills that may be in short supply.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Does a product that you may have licensed decades ago really provide critical functionality for modern mainframe networks?
• Have your network management needs shifted from mission-critical SNA to business-critical IP?
• Do you continue to pay network management license fees as if your business requirements were SNA-centric while you remain blind to IP and APPN?
• Would you like to save between 40 and 50% of those fees and gain significant extra functionality?

If the answer to any of them is "Yes" then you should talk to us.

Managing modern mainframe networks effectively and efficiently requires a modern, cost-effective solution; a solution where you only pay for the components that you need. That solution is ZEN, from William Data Systems.

ZEN provides real choice for customers who wish to replace expensive, incumbent legacy software, with state-of-the-art network management, while still retaining control of legacy networks.

In most cases ZEN will improve upon the capabilities provided by the products it replaces and at the same time offer truly significant cost savings. As a network management tool for the 21st century, ZEN can be deployed rapidly, maintained simply and used with ease by all, no matter what the level of experience.