Application modernisation is set to take centre stage at the National iSystems User Group (NiSUG) international Power conference in London in November.

Last issue, iNEWSWire UK reported that NiSUG had come up with the novel idea of a modernisation code "shoot-out" between vendors at its flagship conference on November 10. The idea was taken from a Common user group event in Germany and appears to have touched a nerve with tool providers. Six firms have stepped up to take the challenge so far: mrc, Utilities 400, CoralTree, Attachmate, SpaceTec and Logicmate.

Contestants will be given a purchase order update and enquiry program written in RPG/400 consisting of a single subfile screen with a series of options to update, view, action or delete the order items. Organisers says that while the program doesn't contain any complex logic, it is ripe for a UI makeover and it gives contestants the option to add functions like data validation and third-party application integration. Steve Bradshaw, managing director of Rowton IT Solutions and NiSUG’s representative on the Common Europe Advisory Council, will act as the shoot-out's mediator.

Visitors will be able to see the fruits of the vendors' labours towards the end of the day's sessions at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in London's West End. NiSUG has also announced that the conference will conclude with a two-hour social, dubbed MiPint, with free food and drinks, competition prize-giving and extra time to examine the results of the apps mod showdown.

NiSUG's first major event in the capital follows a successful run of conferences in Manchester over the last few years. iNEWSWire UK is a media sponsor. Speakers include IBM's worldwide manager of Power Systems product marketing Ian Jarman, IBM Toronto development guru Alison Butterill, lead DB2 database query architect Rob Bestgen, security expert Erik Larsson from COMMON Sweden and PHP specialist Mike Pavlak from Zend.

Full info on the international Power conference, which is open to all i users in the UK whether they are a user group member or not, can be found on the event's website. ISVs interested in taking part in NiSUG's application modernisation shootout should contact Nigel Clapham at nigel@nccomms.com or on 01925 758565.