CICS is a transaction processing system developed by IBM for large numbers of transactions. It performs various system functions and has web-based versions. It primarily runs on IBM’s z/OS but can run on other operating systems. Its pronunciation varies worldwide.
When you think big business, you think Fortune 500 companies. When you think software for big business, you think companies like IBM and Oracle. IBM in this case is the author of CICS, Customer Information Control System, which is also used by a wide variety of financial institutions, colleges and universities, airline reservation systems, insurance companies, ATM systems, and state and national governments.
CICS is a transaction processing system that can handle both small and large numbers of transactions, although it is primarily designed for large numbers. The highest number of transactions recorded so far is several thousand per second. The functionality extends from traditional mainframes to online batch activity as well.
Not one to be left behind, IBM has versions of CICS that are web-based and incorporate Enterprise Java Beans. Far from being just a transaction manager, CICS also performs all sorts of other important system functions, including batch job submission, catalog updating, domain management, and application bridging. This is a powerful system.
CICS was developed and runs primarily on IBM’s 64-bit z/OS, although it can run on other operating systems, including z/VSE, i5, and OS/2. Related systems can also run on third-party operating systems, including AIX, Linux, Mac OS, and Windows. The vast majority of CICS systems, however, are powered by Big Blue. Originally developed in the US in 1969 for small to medium-sized mainframe systems, CICS now owes its updates for enterprise and other large system protocols to programmers working in the UK. The latest version is CICS Transaction Server version 3.1 for Z/OS, released in 2005.
The pronunciation of the acronym is inconsistent around the world. In English-speaking countries, it is pronounced by pronouncing each letter or hardening the initial C, to sound like “kick”. Germans say “zicks” and Italians say “pulcini”. In Spain it is “dense” and in Brazil and Mexico it is “sick”.
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