SQS safeguards the switch to Microsoft® Vista

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Service package for migration of business applications

Cologne, 26 April 2007

SQS Software Quality Systems has assembled a service package for the changeover to the Microsoft® Vista operating system with VistaMAP (Vista Migration Assurance Plan). The services provided by the SQS quality experts ensure that companies are able to continue using their applications, data and operational sequences with the new platform without a hiccup. This systematic migration method saves time and expense compared with a more intuitive approach. As well as that, VistaMAP reduces the risks of system operation under Vista.

“Microsoft assumes that 80 per cent of all business applications will work with Vista in exactly the same way as under the previous operating system”, says Rudolf van Megen, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SQS AG. “However, the companies using the software generally don’t know which of their applications are counted among the remaining critical 20 per cent.” According to van Megen, this holds considerable operational risks for companies which do not test their applications in the new Vista environment.
VistaMAP quickly analyses which systems have to be adapted for the Vista operating system, and in what way. As well as that, the SQS experts draw up a migration plan covering all the relevant business-critical applications and assign the appropriate priorities. Using this approach, companies can target their investment in the necessary quality assurance and have at their disposal a structured migration strategy and a detailed, risk-based test plan.
SQS proceeds in two stages:
First the experts use the appTitude tool to establish which applications are not fully compatible with Vista. AppTitude is a solution from the British IT provider Camwood, which specialises in application migration and management. The analysis performed with the aid of appTitude is generally completed within a few days rather than weeks in the case of a manual procedure. SQS runs all the applications, identifies the potential problem areas and describes them down to the last detail.
At the second stage, VistaMAP defines a road map, in which SQS together with the customer determine which solutions are suitable for dealing with the problem areas they have found and how they can be integrated into the existing IT architecture. Finally, SQS draws up a detailed work plan within the framework of VistaMAP. This provides a precise listing of which tasks will take how much time and what costs will be incurred.

• SQS Software Quality Systems
  SQS is the leading independent provider of software quality management and testing services in Europe. Based in Cologne, Germany, SQS currently employs more than 850 people in its branches in Europe—including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Ireland—and South Africa. SQS also has a minor stake in an operation in Portugal and a cooperative agreement with a company in Spain.
  SQS is the first German company to have a primary listing on AIM (Alternative Investment Market) in London. SQS completed a secondary listing on the Entry Standard of the Deutsche Börse (German Stock Exchange) in Frankfurt am Main on 2 December 2005.
  With over 4,000 successfully completed projects behind it, SQS has a strong customer base including half of the DAX 30 companies and 30 per cent of the companies in the STOXX 50. They include names like Dresdner Bank, Barclays, Deutsche Telekom, BP, DaimlerChrysler and Airbus, and various other enterprises from all business sectors.