When it comes to protecting the Alpha/VAX applications that drive your business processes or operations, you have a few options:

1. Stay on Alpha or VAX (i.e. do nothing);
2. Migrate your software to other computers;
3. Use Alpha/VAX emulation to quietly move over to new hardware.

Stay on Alpha or VAX

This is always an option, although not a very good one. It avoids changes but also keeps you tied into all the disadvantages of the existing hardware. These include:

1. Risk of down-time and the (severe) associated costs. The Alpha and VAX hardware is aged and destined to break down eventually - probably at the most inconvenient moment;
2. High hardware maintenance costs;
3. Energy consumption costs. Older systems consume a lot more energy than their modern equivalents;
4. Strain on your IT resources that work hard to keep the old hardware  running.

Point one above is both the scariest one and the most difficult to calculate. What happens when your operation stops because the old hardware breaks down? What are the consequences if it's out of action for a day? Or a week? Or a month?

All things considered this is not a good option.

Software migration

This option is expensive, not to mention time consuming.

The applications on your Alpha and VAX are unique to your operation. Creating them has demanded a large investment on your part. They are custom made, but still valid and valuable for your organization. Are you prepared to make a significant investment to simply keeps things as they are?

Emulation or virtualization

The third option (AVTware) is the most attractive.

Advantages include:

1. No changes to your software;
2. No changes to processes and procedures;
3. No large investment of time and money;
4. Ability to move to modern hardware with low maintenance fees;
5. Everything embedded in your current IT infrastructure;
6. Significantly lower the energy budget;
7. Years added to your existing software with little effort.

To investigate further, follow the links to the focus pages where we go into greater detail about these features.

On the AVTware@work page you will find examples of companies who have come to us in search of solutions.

Verify the financial and organizational gains that you could make by upgrading the aged Alpha or VAX computer equipment.

Or contact us to discuss your specific situation.