“This latest enhancement makes Ivory Service Architect easier for developers to use, and opens the door for JavaScript web designers to access the IBM mainframe — enabling more people than ever before to leverage mainframe applications and data,” said Wes Young, Senior Vice President of Sales for GT Software.

“This reinforces Ivory Service Architect’s position as the most cost-effective, flexible mainframe integration tool on the market today.”

JSON, or Java Script Object Notation, is a lightweight text-based interchange format that’s easy for developers and designers to understand. Its text format is completely language-independent but uses conventions that are familiar to JavaScript web designers. These properties make JSON an ideal data-interchange language.

“JSON support expands the support of Ivory Service Architect beyond SOAP and XML servers and provides the ability to create web-based interfaces directly accessing IBM mainframe applications,” Young said. “Ivory Service Architect is unique in offering JSON support to access applications and data on both z/OS and z/VSE platforms.”

Ivory Service Architect offers a “deploy once, support many processes” approach that enables mainframe-based SOAP, RESTful, and JSON services from a single service definition. It also supports the deployment of web services across z/OS, z/VSE, CICS, IMS, Windows, Linux and Linux on z. Key features include the ability to shift integration and SOA-related workload off the mainframe to reduce MIPS, as well as leveraging new mainframe MIPS-reducing hardware such as IFL processors with Linux on z, and the exploitation of the zIIP and zAAP.