Last month, Relativity Technologies announced a significant addition to its product family -- the Modernization Workbench Enterprise Edition (see the press release here in PDF format). This new product enables development organizations to make a significant choice: To keep the Modernization Workbench on individual developer desktops, or to implement a server-based solution that will enable teams of distributed developers to work more closely.

In a common development scenario in which teams are regionally and globally dispersed -- because of multiple offices, developers working at remote sites, and the inclusion of third-party coders -- Enterprise Edition allows developers to collaborate on modernization activities, such as code analysis; business processes discovery and understanding; code refactoring and enhancement; and the re-writing of the code in modern languages to leverage current applications, services, and databases.

A major benefit for development executives will be the ability to:

• Create and enforce policies around areas like practices and access to source code.
  
  
• Monitor and manage internal and external teams, using dashboards and reports.

Those benefits should translate directly into the real reasons companies will want to implement the product:

• To shorten development time. The development process, particularly one with several external teams, should be streamlined through knowledge as well as enforcement of policies. With a centralized tool capable of reporting on activity as well as enforcing rules, managers should be able to spot potential schedule slippages or other problems earlier.
  
  
• Improve code quality. Shorter projects don't matter if code quality is poor. To be successful, managers will have to ensure that the tool is set up and performing as expected; that the most effective coding practices, such as agile development, are also implemented; and that bug-inducing activities, such as frequent and late requirement changes, are not allowed or kept to an absolute minimum.
  
  
• To reduce modernization costs. Keeping costs down -- while delivering modern applications complete with understood and documented business logic -- is what all IT executives strive for.

A new opportunity, but several challenges

Like many other software development tools that began life in the Hot Pocket and Red Bull desktop world of the individual developer, Relativity's challenge is four-fold:

1. Make sure it works. Relativity must ensure that the system does what it says -- enables collaboration between globally distributed development teams, including those from third-party shops. Like all of its products, Enterprise Edition will improve as users implement it and uncover the inevitable bugs, annoyances, and missing features. Successive iterations of the product will give a hint as to how customers really use it, as the most important features are quickly added.
   
   
2. Sell to CIOs. For Relativity and its system integrator (SI) partners, selling Enterprise Edition means that they must now convince CIOs and VPs of development that they should invest in the new, multi-user system. The potential for the vendor is great -- much higher dollar sales and influence on the top executives of the IT department. The downside is the possibility for more involved and slower sales. But big ticket deals take time, no matter how impressive the apparent return and how compelling the customer references.
   
   
3. Have clients enforce use. Success with Relativity's latest offering is not just contingent on the internal development staff embracing or accepting the new system. To work effectively and see real return from the software, companies will have to mandate its use with their own employees as well as with external developers contracted for modernization-related projects.
   
   
4. Keep developers happy. Developers don't cut the purchase order checks for company-wide software like the Enterprise Edition of Modernization Workbench, but they can have a significant impact on whether such a solution it approved. While developers are employees, they are also used to some independence, particularly in organizations where coding is considered more of an art than a science.
   

Next steps for those contemplating Enterprise Edition

Whether you want or do deal with Relativity directly, or have been exposed to its offerings through its partners, such as IBM, EDS, Capgemini, or CSC (note: links are to modernization services of each vendor), the next steps are to:

• Understand your environment -- is it ready for Enterprise Edition? IT executives and development managers may want to invest in a global, shared modernization solution, but putting one in place involves potentially significant organization, process, and third-party relationship changes.
  
  
• Test the software to see if it can streamline your modernization efforts. Even with an organization prepared for the new solution, IT will have to test out the system to see exactly what it offers and what the expected savings will be. Relativity and its partners should be able to walk you through the process of getting the system in place and learning to not only view, but use the reports, dashboard, and other metrics to reduce the time of projects, improve the quality of software, and save money.
  

By: Tom Rhinelander, NRG Analyst