Modernizing Your OpenEdge Dynamics Applications

Progress OpenEdge Dynamics has been a stalwart framework for over a decade. Since then technology demands have changed, and we offer up several modernization paths for those seeking new functionalities.

Technology moves fast, and the demands on a modern application today look very different than they did just ten or fifteen years ago, when the internet was still nascent and smartphones didn’t yet exist. Progress OpenEdge Dynamics is a rare breed of application framework that has performed admirably since the turn of the millennium, and we know many OpenEdge customers have built powerful and productive enterprise applications on it. However, with customers increasingly seeking more modern and modularized frameworks that Dynamics doesn’t serve, we realized the time had come for a change.

OpenEdge Dynamics is now entering the “functionally mature” phase of its product lifecycle. We will continue to support existing customers using OpenEdge 11.6.x as well as the upcoming 11.7 release, and are committed to addressing any high priority defects that appear. As a functionally mature product though, we will not be introducing new functionality or testing Dynamics against our newer products, like Progress Application Server (PAS) for OpenEdge.

Modernization Opportunities

We know many customers are eager to modernize their applications. Based on input from customers, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best ways to go about the modernization process—in most cases, you can reuse much of the existing logic in your current apps. Note that we haven’t officially tested or endorsed these routes, so please carefully review the options before you proceed.

Enhancing the Application UI

Improving the user interface (UI) has been proven to increase user productivity and customer loyalty. Members of the OpenEdge community offer solutions that can help you either modernize your desktop UI, or convert it into a web-based UI, leveraging the existing Dynamics repository. The new Kendo UI Builder can also help you build a beautiful web-based UI based on your Dynamics UI definitions, which you can then enhance further.

Server Side Modernization

A distributed application opens up options for you in the future, and can improve performance, scalability and fault tolerance. Dynamics can already run on an application server, in fact. The OpenEdge community can provide you with options to help you reap these benefits without losing the Dynamics Smart Data Objects logic you’ve already built.

Security

Security is a growing concern for every industry, and regulations to secure data are becoming more stringent. The best way to secure your Dynamics-based application is by integrating Client Principal. With Client Principal, you can potentially gain new security capabilities from Progress Application Server for OpenEdge, for example.

Mobile Applications

Assuming you have completed the server side modernization described above, Telerik Platform for OpenEdge makes it easy to build mobile solutions on a Dynamics application.

Learn More

Progress is committed to your success and helping you leverage the investment you’ve made in past technology solutions. At the same time, we work hard to innovate and bring the newest technologies to bear to meet today’s business needs. While this can sometimes involve strategically maturing solutions, we’re dedicated to providing you with the support you need.

If you have any questions, you can always contact us or look to the Progress Community.

To learn more about each of the solutions mentioned here, read our full position paper, “Progress OpenEdge Dynamics: Application Modernization.”