Micro Focus has recently announced ValueEdge. But what, exactly, is it? At first glance, ValueEdge may well look and sound like a brand new product, but it’s not quite as simple as that.
In this blog we’re going to cut through the bluff and bluster to answer the important question, what is Micro Focus ValueEdge?
I want to first start with a caveat, ValueEdge is very new.
In fact, some areas of the solution are still only being teased to the public. Even Calleo, gold-level partners no less, don’t have the complete story quite yet. However, as you will see, there is ample information available out there to satisfy the curious among you.
What is Micro Focus ValueEdge?
At its core, ValueEdge is a cloud-based software development platform. However, it is more than just that. ValueEdge is a multi-component Value Stream management tool. ValueEdge consists of several integrated software development products including:
- Planning
- Development
- Testing
- Operations
- Reporting components.
While all the constituent parts can play a part in ValueEdge, the real differentiator lies in the reporting module, known as ValueEdge Insights. This is the nexus of the ValueEdge suite and leverages AI to provide you with powerful, salient information on your value streams.
ValueEdge Tracks Your Value Streams
At a high level, ValueEdge is a Cloud-Based SaaS solution that tracks Value Streams through your company. This of course begs the question, what exactly is a Value Stream? Wikipedia defines a value stream as:
“A value stream is the set of actions that take place to add value to a customer from the initial request through realization of value by the customer. The value stream begins with the initial concept, moves through various stages of development and on through delivery and support. A value stream always begins and ends with a customer.”
Essentially, a value stream is a series of steps from conception to realisation. Now, I don’t know about you, but to me, that sounds remarkably like a software project. But what’s in a name?
ValueEdge Contains Many Different Software Products
As mentioned at the top, ValueEdge isn’t one single product or solution, it’s more like a suite of products. These tools are:
- Strategy
- Agile
- Quality
- Perform
- Functional Test
- Release
- Ops
- Platform Services
- Insights
Most of these products are perfectly capable of standing alone, or rather, most of these products are pre-existing standalone solutions. For example, the ValueEdge Quality module is actually ALM Octane. I also have a sneaking suspicion that the ValueEdge Perform module will be LoadRunner Cloud, but nothing has been confirmed on that front.
Thankfully though, ValueEdge is a lot more than just another corporate rebranding exercise. ValueEdge is being built on the back of incredibly successful and powerful tools. Solutions like ALM Octane are class leaders with a proven record at the team and enterprise levels. There is no point in reinventing the wheel… but you can connect them to a new axle.
ValueEdge Uses AI to Give You End-to-End Visibility
ValueEdge is focused on end-to-end visibility of your value streams, and integration of disparate tool suites. As Micro Focus states on their Introducing ValueEdge page:
“This AI-powered platform works with existing commercial and open-source software development tools. With ValueEdge, you can improve production efficiency, mitigate risks and maximize ROI across your organization.”
Yes, you read that correctly, ValueEdge works with existing open-source tools. ValueEdge features over 100 pre-built commercial and open source integrations. This means you can leverage your existing software development tool environment without disruption or delay.
Now, I have no doubt that customers will be incentivised, commercially and technically, to use Micro Focus ValueEdge components as much as possible. Though, you will be able to integrate your 3rd party applications into Value Edge and leverage the Insights module.
At this early stage, it’s difficult to fully understand the pros and cons of non-Micro Focus integration. But you can rest assured that if your development teams use tools like Jira or Jenkins, you will be able to use these within the Value Edge platform.
How to Learn More about ValueEdge
Do you already track value streams in your organisation? If you do, then Value Edge could be the tool you need… if not, well now could be the time to start.
New information is coming out all the time and the platform is already generating a real buzz.
If you’re interested in learning more about ValueEdge, get in touch with Calleo today. As a gold partner, we are constantly in touch with Micro Focus. We’ll make sure you have the latest information and are primed and ready for Micro Focus ValueEdge.
