Focus on SOA Express. Extending the value of mainframe applications through Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)

Transcription

1 Focus on SOA Express Extending the value of mainframe applications through Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) Highlights How SOA Express from Micro Focus unleashes the power of web services to: Leverage legacy applications to new channels of users Enhance the agility and usability of proven enterprise applications Integrate mainframe applications with other key systems Access proven core business functions from modern/web user interfaces

2 Contents Application Modernization through SOA 3 The Challenge of Change 4 Modernization with SOA Express 6 The Benefits of SOA Express 8 Summary 10 Next Steps 11 What is SOA? Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a loosely coupled collection of application services that can be combined to deliver the required business functionality. It uses open, standard interfaces to enable disparate software components to work together, regardless of their underlying technologies. Characteristics of SOA: An industry standard and widely available communication protocol is used for all interactions between distributed software components Services are described in an unambiguous, technology independent and well-defined description language Standard mechanisms are available to search for and retrieve services. 2

3 Application Modernization through SOA The mainframe applications that run the core business processes of major corporations are valuable and strategic assets. They are often large and complex, and perform efficiently and reliably because they have been the focus of considerable development effort over many years. The ability to release the great potential in mainframe enterprise applications by bringing them into the modern, distributed world of computing is of enormous value to organizations. However, these applications often suffer from the limitations of their mainframe heritage. In addition to lacking modern graphical user interfaces, they cannot easily interact with newer systems based on the latest software technologies. In particular, they are not well equipped to participate in the growing trend towards Service Oriented Architectures. SOA is a powerful asset for IT organizations, enabling them to knit disparate systems together using well-defined, common standard interfaces. The web service technology at the heart of the architecture supports construction of the agile, flexible business processes that companies need. Micro Focus SOA Express delivers all the functionality necessary to bring valuable mainframe applications into the modern world of SOAs. Most importantly, it achieves this at low risk since no changes are required to the original business logic. 3

4 The Challenge of Change The reality is that the majority of business transactions are still executed by valuable COBOL enterprise applications. The fact that these applications have been in operation for years does not, however, mean they are exempt from the need for change. Being at the center of the business, enterprise applications are especially subject to the demand for new capability. The drivers for change include the need to open up new channels to customers and partners via the Internet, pressure for fast time to market of new features, and the requirements of new legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Basel II. There is also the need for legacy enterprise applications to integrate with new systems based on the Windows and open systems technologies that make up the modern IT infrastructure. When M&A activities are involved, integration requirements can be particularly taxing. But there are significant challenges to be overcome when modernizing key applications to meet these demands. Mainframe technology may be powerful and reliable, but it is not inherently agile and most development tools do not reach beyond the mainframe environment. In addition, enterprise applications are often complex and mission critical, so it is crucial to protect their stability when making changes. Assessing the options for change There are alternatives to the modernization of existing applications when responding to business demands. Systems can be rewritten using new languages and, in some cases, moving to an industry standard package might be an option. Writing a new system in a language that can leverage the latest graphical and distributed computing technologies is superficially attractive, but industry experience has shown that, for replacing major enterprise applications, this often turns out to be a slow, expensive and high risk approach. This is not surprising considering that these applications have evolved over many years, have complicated interactions with other systems and are not well documented. In practice, companies that have taken this path often find that they have spent a large amount of time, money and effort just to replicate the proven functionality they already own. The unique nature of enterprise applications also means that they are not easily replaced by standard packages. Apart from the challenge of replicating highly evolved and undocumented functionality through expensive customization, there is a real danger that the competitive advantage delivered by these applications will be lost. 4

5 For these reasons, modernization of critical enterprise applications to preserve their value while enabling them to take advantage of the latest advances in technology has emerged as the favored option for many companies. SOA a powerful route to modernization The business drivers for modernization are often clear, but while tactical web enablement solutions can meet immediate needs they may not be scalable or reusable to meet future requirements. SOA provides a strategic approach to modernization, by building a service layer and exposing business processes such as web services. Those services form a strategic layer of the application that is independent of the legacy transaction structure or presentation logic. Modernization through SOA provides a costeffective and low risk strategy for evolving enterprise applications, as it allows them to exploit more advanced technologies and meet current and future business needs without changing the underlying code. The drivers for change include the need to open up new channels to customers and partners via the Internet, pressure for fast time to market of new features and the requirements of new legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Basel II. 5

6 Modernization with SOA Express There is more to modernizing legacy applications than simply providing them with web service interfaces. Enterprise applications are typically structured for batch operation or business processes driven by green screen characteroriented interfaces, so their transaction flow does not always meet the needs of new business functions. Understanding existing legacy interfaces is a key stepping stone to modernization. SOA Express makes use of analysis and workflow capture capabilities that allow software engineers to designers to examine the structure of an enterprise application and capture its business process transitions. SOA Express can then encapsulate the appropriate transactions and workflows and aggregate them into the required services to support new business processes. These services can then be exposed with the necessary interfaces for consumption by.net and J2EE technologies, or as standard web services. With this capability, existing mainframe-based business processes can be delivered as services across the enterprise, or beyond it. Mainframe z/os CICS Region Composite Applications Web Service.NET Java Data 3270 transactions COBOL Service Module (generated) J2EE or.net Application Server COMM AREA transactions COBOL Service Module (generated) Business Service Component (generated) IMS Region Data 3270 transactions OTMA Dependent Address Space COBOL Service Module (generated) Business Service Component (generated) 6

7 Broad mainframe support SOA Express supports a wide variety of mainframe environments and can map CICS, IMS and 3270 interfaces. CICS and IMS applications can continue to run unchanged, while their interfaces are mapped and tailored to support new web services, considerably extending their usefulness. The package also caters for enterprise data, providing direct interfaces to all the major mainframe data sources such as DB2, VSAM and IMS DB. Built-in XML mapping capabilities allow mainframe data to be shared in an industry standard form to facilitate company-wide and B2B operations. Full.NET and J2EE integration SOA Express enables the creation of.net or J2EE components from any mapped mainframe interface. All the necessary supporting COBOL and middleware elements are automatically generated so these components can be used without any specialized knowledge of these technologies. Enterprise Java Beans created by SOA Express can be used to incorporate mainframe processes seamlessly into a J2EE application. This technique can also be used to create.net components to incorporate the mainframe processes into a Microsoft.Net application. SOA Express makes use of analysis and workflow capture capabilities that allow software engineers to designers to examine the structure of an enterprise application and capture its business process transitions. Your choice of client interfaces, your choice of deployment platforms A related, valuable feature is the ability to automatically create a client user interface for a mainframe service, using a Windows Form or Java Server pages. These user interfaces can be further extended or edited with Microsoft Visual Studio or any Java IDE. This facility provides a fast and flexible method of creating modern graphical user interfaces for mainframe applications. In addition, SOA Express supports a broad choice of application servers for hosting service components including BEA Weblogic, IBM WebSphere, Oracle Application Server and Microsoft IIS. Deployment with IBM WebSphere can be on Windows, Unix, Linux, z/linux or z/os. Fast but standards-based SOA Express has been designed to optimize traffic across the network to maximize both performance and scalability, yet at the same time the services deployed are standards-based web services. Web services have emerged as the building blocks of an SOA because of the common, industry standard and technology independent interfaces they provide. SOA Express supports the interfaces promoted by the Web Services Interoperability (WS-I) organization, which encompass all aspects of the description and invocation of web services using XML-based standards. Through the automatic generation of web service interfaces and associated WSDL files, SOA Express enables selected mainframe processes to be easily accessed via Internet protocols from anywhere in the world. 7

8 The Benefits of SOA Express By providing industry standard interfaces for mainframe applications, SOA Express delivers the following benefits: Improved ROI by extending the usage of valuable enterprise applications Greatly reduced time to market of new business initiatives through the reuse of proven software The ability to add new types of users by adding web or mobile channels to existing applications The ability to easily integrate mainframe applications with other key IT systems, regardless of technology or platform Increased agility and flexibility of the IT infrastructure Reduced risk when modernizing, by enabling legacy applications to remain unchanged 8

9 For our large financial clients adapting their core mission-critical mainframe systems to new business requirements is a crucial challenge for IT. With SOA Express we can leave what s already running unchanged and leverage legacy interfaces to build services from existing systems to meet new business requests faster and more effectively. Hal Peters, President, Pinebrook Consulting Inc 9

10 Summary The ability to release the great potential in mainframe enterprise applications by bringing them into the modern, distributed world of computing is of enormous value to organizations. SOA delivers this capability through the use of industry standard protocols and web service interfaces that encapsulate existing applications and enable them to be redeployed in an open, flexible manner. Micro Focus SOA Express automates the complete process of creating powerful web services based on proven mainframe functionality. It also provides the capability to integrate legacy applications seamlessly with Windows.Net and J2EE environments to build heterogeneous business processes or to add graphical user interfaces. The business benefits of the SOA Express approach to modernization are compelling. By reusing unchanged applications to deliver modern business processes costs, risks and time to market are kept to a minimum. Micro Focus SOA Express automates the complete process of creating powerful web services based on proven mainframe functionality. 10

11 Next Steps Open up new business channels to customers with Micro Focus SOA Express. We believe that Micro Focus has a unique set of solutions to assist your organization with SOA enablement. We can help enhance the agility and usability of proven enterprise applications whilst integrating mainframe applications with other key systems Value Assessment Schedule a one-hour session with one of our pre-sales consultants to discuss your SOA strategy and learn how Micro Focus capabilities can align with your organization s needs. To benefit from this free offer, contact us today at info@microfocus.com or visit 11

12 Micro Focus Worldwide Australia Austria Belgium Canada France Germany Ireland Italy Japan Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom United States Other Countries About Micro Focus Micro Focus provides innovative software that allows companies to dramatically improve the business value of their enterprise applications. Micro Focus Enterprise Application Modernization and Management software enables customers business applications to respond rapidly to market changes and embrace modern architectures with reduced cost and risk. For additional information please visit: Micro Focus. All Rights Reserved. Micro Focus is a registered trademark. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.