looksoftware has announced Version 8.1 of itÆs Modernization Suite, which includes support for Microsoft Outlook and Google Gadgets.

Version 8.1 includes support for the two above-mentioned interfaces, which have 60 percent of the user market, according to results published by the Radicati Group.

MS Outlook is fast becoming the predominant email product of choice in the corporate market. looksoftwareÆs announcement of seamless integration for System i applications with MS Outlook provides many business users with the benefit of having their applications embedded in their rich client interface of choice.

Likewise, it is estimated that Google is the search engine of choice for 64 percent of users, so once again looksoftwareÆs move to provide an integrated thin client interface for business applications with Google Gadgets will provide a real benefit to users of the looksoftware modernization suite, the company said

looksoftware's Marcus Dee told MC Showcase, "There has been a promise of SOA for some time, but we have decided to take the road toward practical reuse and deliver what users want today. We're allowing companies to easily reuse their existing applications and do so through the interfaces users prefer."

Dee quoted SAP Product and Technology Group President Shai Agassi, who said, "We thought people would use our portal, but now we realize they want to use SAP in their own interface. People will prefer to retain their current user experience. For the foreseeable future, that user experience will be defined by Microsoft Office."

Dee said that looksoftware's soarchitect transaction recorder feature has been enhanced to provide these new features that take it beyond the current capabilities of typical portal environments like WebSphere Portal and SharePoint.

looksoftware also has augmented its change management features and is now offering support for automated testing in response to customer and partner feedback. New features will allow a system test to be recorded and replayed. The XML-based tool compares the results of multiple tests and identifies potential errors and the scope of impact of planned changes.

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