'As a Woman in IT' with Dr. Daniela Schilling on the KommtVorZone Podcast with Sophia Herrmann

How do you run a company in an industry that consists almost entirely of men?

Dr. Daniela Schilling, CEO of Delta Software Technology, was a guest on Sophia Herrmann's show. She shared her journey from studying computer science to leading a family business, talked about her experiences as a woman in IT and what has shaped her in her role as a leader.

This episode focused on how a woman found her place in a rare yet essential niche within IT while simultaneously taking on a leadership role in a male-dominated field. At the same time, this episode shows that IT has much less to do with the taciturn nerd in a hoodie than Hollywood movies would make us believe.

The discussion also touched on why good leadership - especially in complex fields - requires not only technical expertise but, above all - particularly in IT - communication skills. The focus was on female leadership, role models, the next generation and the question of how job profiles and role models must change so that more women can find their place in technical professions and leadership roles.

“Why are YOU, as a woman, studying computer science?” - a question that still hasn’t gone away.

Her doctoral advisor told her she no longer needed to learn the COBOL language because it was becoming obsolete. Today, she makes her living with it.

She ignored the male voices and forged her own path. Today, many years later, she has long been firmly established as a member of the executive board at an IT company that manages an extremely sensitive infrastructure essential to our daily lives. “If you can’t see my work, then everything’s fine!”

An episode about modern leadership, women’s presence in a male-dominated field, and the courage to take on responsibility in your own way.

It’s worth a listen - even for men!

Watch videos and Download Slides here

• Part 1: "ICEBERGS AHEAD - Mastering Software Modernization easily" from 13.11.2024
  
  
  
• Part 2: "ICEBERGS AHEAD: DISCOVER - (re-)understanding Applications!" from 29.01.2025
  
  
  
• Part 3: "ICEBERGS AHEAD: CleanUp - Tidy and clean up applications!" from 26.03.2025
  
  
  
• Part 4: "ICEBERGS AHEAD: Modernize - Make Applications future-proof!" from 13.05.2025
  

Download Text Series

Thank you for your interest

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

4-part webinar series: "ICEBERGS AHEAD: Discover - CleanUp - Modernize"

The final part of our webinar series, titled "Modernize - Make Applications future-proof!," took place.

In the first part of the series, we introduced you to the basic concept of our best-of-breed solution AMELIO DISCOVER - CLEAN UP - MODERNIZE.

The second part then focused on AMELIO DISCOVER. DISCOVER showed you how to re-understand "old" applications, recover content within them, abstract complex program structures, and much more.

Then, in Webinar #3, the major topic of AMELIO CleanUp came up. We discovered that clean-up is much more than just finding dead code. We provided you with a variety of practical options for cleaning up legacy applications and more in advance of the actual modernization. The keyword here is "washing machine".

And finally, part 4 of the webinar series, the topic of AMELIO MODERNIZE, came up.

If you're interested in the series or individual parts, you can find the recordings of the webinar series here ...

Part 4 from May 13th, 2025

Review: Webinar Party 4 'ICEBERGS AHEAD: Modernize - Make Applications future-proof!'

We would like to thank you very much for your interest in our webinar "ICEBERGS AHEAD: Modernize - Make Applications future-proof!" from May 13th, 2025.

Many people think of mass changes due to specifications when they hear the word "modernize". But replacing a 7 with a 9 is easy. A script is enough. We'll go a little further. For us, concepts like automated, flexible approaches, no footprint, and meta-level testing play a crucial role in modernization projects.
If you're interested in the series or individual parts, you can find the recordings of the webinar series here.

Slides and Recordings of the Webinars

You were not able to attend?

You can now watch all Recordings and download all presentation slides (part 1 to 4) using the following link: Recordings of part 1 to 4.

Part 3 from March 26th, 2025

Review: Webinar Part 3 'ICEBERGS AHEAD: CleanUp - Tidy and clean up applications!'

On March 26, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., the time had come. Part 3 of our webinar series: "ICEBERGS AHEAD: CleanUp - Tidy and clean up applications!" aired and the list of attendees was impressive.

Icebergs are best avoided, as the Titanic taught us over 100 years ago. There are icebergs in application modernization, too. In the third episode of the webinar "Icebergs Ahead," we showed you how you can safely clean up your applications with us.

Anyone who thinks that cleanup is just about finding dead code is thinking too narrowly. We'll go further ahead and provide you with a variety of practical options for cleaning up legacy applications and more in advance of the actual modernization and eliminating technical debt.

Slides and Recording of the Webinar

You were not able to attend?

No Problem: You can request the presentation slides and the Recordings of part 1, part 2 and part 3 here.
 

Part 2 from January 29th, 2025

Our second webinar 'ICEBERGS AHEAD: DISCOVER – (re)understand applications' took place on January 29th, 2025.

To circumnavigate icebergs, you have to know where they are. The same goes for modernizing applications. For a safe modernization, knowledge about the application is a key factor. You must recognize the following situation: the programmers that originally wrote the COBOL and PL/I applications are not available anymore. The successors, new team or external service providers are responsible for maintenance, modernization or re-implementation. But questions about the legacy applications are often answered with just shrugs.

Icebergs are not depicted on maps and using a pair of binoculars only makes the 10% above the surface visible. Therefor radar and sonar are needed to safely bypass them. To understand application more than just the documentation is needed. In our webinar we have demonstrated, how AMELIO Logic Discovery regains such knowledge from the program sources in an automated process.

Slides and Recording of the Webinar

You couldn't attend?

No Problem: You can request the presentation slides and the recording of part 1 and part 2 here.

Part 1 from November 13th, 2024

Our first webinar 'ICEBERGS Ahead – Software Modernization Made Easily' took place on November 13th, 2024.

Using the story of the Titanic, we showed you how you can deal with today's challenges in application modernization in a relaxed manner and avoid every iceberg.

The first episode of our webinar series on automated software modernization met with great interest. Over 80 interested parties had registered. You couldn't attend? Then you can request the recording here. The second episode in this series will be available at the end of January. The focus will then be on (re-)understanding applications

Slides and Recording of the Webinar

You couldn't attend?

No Problem: You can request the presentation slides and the recording here.

Also read our text series "Iceberg Ahead"

Review of the Webinar held on June 17, 2026: 50 Years Delta ADS

“Longevity” is a buzzword that refers to a long life - and, related with that, a healthy life.

It’s not often that this term is associated with software. But there is one application that’s turning half a century old: Delta ADS.

One might be quick to assume that it is completely outdated. With ADS, that is definitely not the case. Since its initial release, ADS has undergone countless innovations and updates. In its current version, 6.6.9, it meets all the requirements of today’s technologies.

At the start of the webinar, our CEO, Dr. Daniela Schilling, provided a comprehensive overview and highlighted key milestones such as platform independence and improvements driven by customer needs. She explained enhancements in ADS 6 that improve the code’s readability, maintainability and scalability, including a macro source optimizer and the removal of parameter limits.

At a glance:

• ADS 6 is downward compatible with version 4.x and focuses on improving code readability.
• The new macro syntax enables named parameters and free-form formatting with indentation.
• A macro source optimizer automates the code formatting to improve maintainability.
• Parameter limits have been significantly increased; for example, the number of local parameters per macro has been raised to 2,500.
• The nesting depth for macros has been increased from 10 to 50, and the number of code lines per module from 400 to 1,000.
• The code generation now offers options to reduce GOTO statements and improve readability.
• The optimizations include the generation of IF and SELECT CASE statements using newer syntax standards.
• Customers can selectively enable these options to avoid a mandatory full regeneration.
• The improved code is shorter and easier to read, which helps developers with maintenance.
• This represents a paradigm change in the handling of generated code in ADS.

Integration with Modern Development Environments

To bridge the gap between ADS and modern development workflows, the team has developed ADS plugins - including plugins for Eclipse and Visual Studio - named Delta IDS. These plugins offer intelligent code editors, integrated generation processes, and debugging tools that enable developers to work in familiar environments. The integration supports features such as error highlighting, direct navigation to code issues and post-generation analysis to trace the origins of the code.

• ADS plugins are available for Eclipse and Visual Studio and support modern IDE features.
• Developers can generate code, view errors, and navigate directly to problematic lines within the IDE.
• Post-generation debugging tools allow you to trace generated code back to source macros and parameters.
• The integration supports the call of sources via FTP or other URLs.
• These tools improve the developer productivity and reduce context change.

Live Demonstration of ADS on Eclipse

Our chief architect, Mr. Martin Herbst, presented a live demo showcasing the ADS plugin for Eclipse. He demonstrated project navigation, code editing with syntax highlighting and folding, error detection and the impact of the macro source optimizer on code readability. He also highlighted the post-generation debugger, which records macro performance and enables detailed inspection of the code generation flow, parameter values and call stacks. This provides an efficient debugging and maintenance.

• Demo of the Project Explorer and Editor features of the ADS Eclipse plugin.
• He demonstrated error lists and direct navigation to source code errors.
• The macro source optimizer improves code indentation and parameter naming for better readability.
• The post-generation debugger records macro performance and highlights executed code paths.
• Users can navigate call stacks and inspect parameter values to understand code generation.

Future Developments and Customer Engagement

Daniela Schilling outlined current and future development plans, including support for new COBOL dialects such as P3/COBOL and modern databases such as PostgreSQL. The team examines object-oriented goals beyond COBOL and PL/I. The focus is on customer-driven development, which encourages users to communicate their needs and challenges to guide future improvements. A release date for Version 7 has not yet been set.

• New goals include support for P3/COBOL and PostgreSQL databases.
• Work is underway to enable object-oriented code generation beyond traditional languages.
• Development is heavily customer-driven, with feedback determining priorities.
• Version 7 has not yet been planned or scheduled.
• The team invites customers to share their requirements and issues so we can work together to find solutions.

The team emphasizes ongoing development efforts, including support for new COBOL dialects and databases, as well as plans for object-oriented code generation—which were all driven by customer feedback.

The pipeline for even more functionality is in place, and we warmly invite you to share your requirements with us. We are looking forward to the next 50 years!

Were you unable to attend?
No problem. If you are interested in getting the presented information, please contact us directly.

Some Success Stories:

YOUPLUS Unifies its Development Environment and Updates Delta ADS

A modern development environment was the goal for the software developers of YOUPLUS Assurance Schweiz AG. Together with Delta Software Technology, the previous development environment was replaced by ADS on Eclipse and at the same time the generator system Delta ADS for COBOL was updated.

More here:
https://delta-software.com/link.php?en=6353

Bedag Relies on Delta ADS on Visual Studio

A uniform process control and development environment for the different programming languages is the goal of many enterprises. Bedag Informatik AG (Bedag) has mastered this step, it unifies its development processes and thus ensures a more efficient and future-proof application development.

More here:
https://delta-software.com/link.php?en=6291

Aquila Heywood introduces ADS on Eclipse

Aquila Heywood improves its Delta ADS software development by moving to Eclipse and Update to Delta ADS 6.

More here:
https://delta-software.com/link.php?en=6301

B+S Improves Efficiency of Software Development with ADS 6

B+S Banksysteme AG (B+S) has one of the largest application systems that has been developed with Delta tools. In April 2012 B+S started to introduce the pre-release of Delta ADS 6 in order to again increase the efficiency and quality of their software development and maintenance.

More here:
https://delta-software.com/link.php?en=6201