Power i software powerhouse Business Computer Design (BCD [2]) has enhanced a number of the components that make up its BCD Modernisation Suite. UK distributor is Softlanding Europe [3].

BCD's web development tool WebSmart 8 now includes XML functions that simplify document processing and parsing. Its WebSmart PHP variant's built-in change management functions now have added support for FTP paths, making it easier to organise and publish website content.

The upcoming version of BCD's Nexus Portal will include a Google Search Appliance portlet. The minimum OS release required to run Presto, BCD’s rapid green-screen to web tool, is now V5R1 instead of V5R4. There is now an option to run Presto without installing the WebSphere Application Server for all the OS levels it supports.

Support for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) has been added to WebSmart ILE, BCD’s rapid web application development tool. This allow users to create connections to different LDAP data sources and manage entries in those sources. Catapult, BCD's PC and IBM i client/server application for automated reports has been rewritten in C# yielding performance improvements. It has also been redesigned with a XP/Vista-looking UI and a new grab rule editor that improves process flow when creating new distribution rules.

BCD has also released version 1.6 of Clover, its real-time web reporting and querying tool for the i. The alternative to IBM's DB2 Web Query now imports Query/400 query definitions to create real-time web reports that can be output as web pages with prompts and filters, as spreadsheets, graphs and as interactive drill-downs. Query options like selected fields, file joins, calculated fields, sort fields, comparisons and level breaks are retained. An SQL wizard provides further customisation. End users can access results from a browser.

Clover integrates with BCD's Nexus Portal to provide a secure login so users only see the reports they are authorised to see. It also includes a menuing system that makes reports easier to access.