Cotripal modernizes its COBOL environment with DBMaker SQL
With the growth of its operations and the increase in the volume of data transacted daily, Cotripal Agropecuária Cooperative modernized its COBOL application environment by adopting DBMaker SQL as a relational database integrated with ACUCOBOL-GT. The initiative brought significant performance gains, significantly reduced the processing load on servers, and expanded the management and interoperability capacity of the data, without the need to rewrite the code of the business's critical applications.
The company
Founded in 1957 in Rio Grande do Sul, Cotripal is one of the most relevant agricultural cooperatives in the southern region of Brazil. The cooperative operates in the supply of grains for the national and international markets and offers a wide range of products and services to its members, supporting large-scale agricultural, industrial, and commercial operations. Currently, Cotripal has more than 1,600 employees and maintains a technological structure essential to ensure the continuity and efficiency of its activities.
The challenge
Since the mid-1990s, Cotripal has been using applications developed in COBOL on the ACUCOBOL-GT platform, an environment that has always offered stability and reliability. However, the growth of the cooperative brought new challenges related to data volume, information management, and the need for greater integration with other corporate technologies.
Although satisfied with the Vision file system, the IT department identified limitations in terms of scalability and advanced data management. Replacing the existing environment or rewriting the COBOL applications was not a viable option due to operational risk, the impact on critical processes, and the high costs involved. The challenge, therefore, was to evolve the technological environment while fully preserving the legacy systems and their performance.
The solution
After technical analyses, proof of concepts, and impact assessments, Cotripal opted for DBMaker SQL, a relational database designed for direct integration with COBOL applications. With support from INTERON, the solution was implemented gradually, allowing for initial coexistence between DBMaker and the Vision file system, ensuring security and operational continuity during the transition.
The adoption of DBMaker enabled the cooperative to access the benefits of a modern RDBMS — such as greater control, management, and interoperability of data — without the need for changes to the existing COBOL code, preserving the characteristic performance of the ACUCOBOL-GT environment.
The results
The gains were quickly realized after implementation. The average server processing load was reduced from approximately 90% to about 40%, resulting in better utilization of hardware resources and a significant reduction in application response time for users. The modernization brought greater predictability to the IT environment and enhanced the operational efficiency of the business areas.