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XYBASE and Computer Associates Offer Change & Configuration Management Package to Expand Market for Locally Developed Software
Change and Configuration Management a requirement for worldwide software quality certification

Kuala Lumpur, Dec 10 - XYBASE Sdn Bhd, the leading Malaysian software integrator and Computer Associates (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd today announced the launch of the XYBASE AllFusion Harvest Change & Configuration Management (CCM) package aimed at enabling local application development organizations and out-sourcing agents to compete globally by offering them a key tool for software quality assurance.

The worldwide demand for accredited software is fast becoming the norm. Software accreditation such as CMMi or Capability Maturity Model® Integration is a prerequisite for software developers bidding for projects in North America, Europe, Australia, the Asia Pacific region and increasingly in Malaysia. This certification is a process improvement model for product & service development and maintenance developed by the Software Engineering Institute of the Carnegie Mellon University. Change and configuration management processes is a key requirement in obtaining Cmmi Level 3 certification.

Besides developers, other industries notably the financial sector, are also expected to embrace change and configuration management due to the emphasis on operational risk management and BASEL II compliance.

The XYBASE AllFusion Harvest CCM package comprises consultancy, services and software leveraging on XYBASE's experience in implementing large-scale infrastructure projects both locally and internationally, and relying on technology in the form of the AllFusion Harvest Change & Configuration Management Suite from Computer Associates.

According to Executive Vice President of XYBASE Sdn Bhd, En Mohamed Izmi Md Said, Malaysian application developers are held back from expanding into the global market place because they lack the relevant certification.

"We realized that accreditation such as Cmmi is important for winning bids. Since then we have begun our application for Cmmi certification, and realize that the experience and expertise we have gained through this process needs to be shared with other local software developers."

"If there are more Malaysian developers who can compete globally it will definitely make it easier for other local developers to begin moving into the larger marketplace. Systematic change and configuration management needs to be in place in these organizations first before this can happen," Izmi said.

CCM is a key requirement for the Level 3 Cmmi certification because it allows systematic control of changes to the identified configuration for the purpose of maintaining software integrity, traceability and accountability throughout the Project Life Cycle. It ensures the integrity of a product and makes its evolution more manageable.

"Without CCM controls in place, software development can and often does descend into chaos as there is no way of keeping track of thousands of files of multiple versions developed by multiple teams for multiple modules across multiple platforms. Change and configuration is crucial because it enables the software developer to keep track of all these versions in an orderly and structured manner," said Yap Lee Kuan, the Senior Vice President for Change and Configuration Management of XYBASE.

XYBASE has been practicing and constantly developing the CCM methodology for the last seven years. "We started by using a manual CCM process for our KLIA projects. This process has undergone constant improvements across our fast track projects, large or small, local or overseas. We find that CA's AllFusion Harvest complements our CCM methodology very well. Harvest provides a sound base for us to build out existing CCM templates and flows synergistically with our ever evolving CCM methodology," she added.

An IDC report on the worldwide market for software configuration management (SCM) tools forecasts an expected increase to USD1.16 billion in 2007, a 6.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the period from 2002 through 2007 due to growing interest in SCM segments such as process-centric change and configuration management and requirements management.

According to Mr Wong Bak Wei, Computer Associates' Principal Consultant for Information Management, Asia South, it is imperative for all technology-driven organisations to consider implementing change and configuration management for the benefits it brings in terms of productivity, collaboration and product & service quality as well as ROI.

"Today's IT organizations must continue to drive error and inefficiency out of their software development processes, as they are forced to cope with a combination of increasing business demands and tighter resource constraints."

"At CA we want to extend our award-winning change and configuration management solutions for the betterment of the local application development market. Aiming for and achieving global accreditation such as Cmmi is a good start. That's why we chose to work with visionary partners such as XYBASE, who have the expertise and credibility to see an initiative such as this to fruition," Wong said.

XYBASE's Izmi explained that the partnership with CA was cemented based on the quality of AllFusion Harvest Change Management software as it provides full life-cycle support, robust and flexible process and workflow support, coupled with ease of use.

The AllFusion Harvest Change Management software provides control over all stages of the software development process to improve the quality, reliability and auditability of traditional and web-based applications while improving developer productivity. It is the recipient of the 2002 LinuxWorld Open Source Product Excellence Award for Best Development Tool and the JAVA Development Journal "Best Code Protection Tool" award for 2001.

"After a thorough evaluation, it became clear to us that CA's AllFusion suite offers the most inclusive, end-to-end, enterprise-wide life cycle management solution on the market today. We use it for our own organization, we like what it can do and what it has done, and now we're ready to share it with other application developers," said Izmi.

The XYBASE AllFusion Harvest Change and Configuration Management package includes one AllFusion Harvest Change Management license, software development and management lifecycle study, installation of the AllFusion Harvest Change Management software, creation of user grouping, creation of requirements analysis and design stages within the development life cycle including templates and forms.

Background
About the Software Engineering Institute (SEI)
The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics [OUSD (AT&L)].

The SEI's core purpose is to help others make measured improvements in their software engineering capabilities.

General Information on the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) and Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)
SEI have strengthened their Capability Maturity Model (CMM) resulting in Capability Maturity Model® Integration (Cmmi) that combines Software Development, System Integration and Integrated Product and Process Development.

CMMI is being adopted worldwide, including North America, Europe, India, Australia, Asia Pacific, and the Far East.

The new Cmmi is more exhaustive and stringent as compared to CMM, as it covers 24 process areas as against 18 of CMM and 460 practices as compared to 316 in CMM.

The key areas that have been introduced are requirements development, use of operational scenarios, shared team Vision, design alternative evaluation, quantitative management at project level, to name a few.

The SEI continues to advocate the adoption of CMMI models as the best process improvement models available for product and service development and maintenance.
The CMMI models improve upon the best practices of previous models in many important ways. CMMI best practices enable organizations to do the following: