One of the major problems facing companies today is IT obsolescence. Not only are both hardware and software becoming obsolete at an astonishing rate but it is rapidly becoming critical for companies to make the correct choices when deciding on software, platforms and operating environments. Sybase SA, a member of the R640 million a year Ariel Technologies, is currently playing a key role in a number of major legacy projects. Sybase SA Managing Director, Alan Cowley said, "We`re currently working on projects with a couple of large clients where Sybase middleware is being used to get different proprietary databases to talk to one another. Correctional Services is in the first phase of moving to a client server environment while at Eskom, Sybase Natural Interface for Adabas is being used to facilitate real-time bi-directional transactions between Adabas and Oracle databases."Kevin Mizen from Correctional Services said, "As part of the step towards a client server environment which ultimately, as part of the National Crime Prevention Strategy, will link Correctional Services to the SAP and Department of Justice we used Sybase IQ to build a corporate data warehouse. With over 250 remote Correctional Services sites all using Btrieve only Sybase could provide realtime, incremental replication over our WAN from our large Btrieve installed base with their Btrieve Replication Agent."As technology develops and the demands on IT systems grow, companies are faced with the challenge of migrating from legacy systems to client server environments. Without the adaptability of flexible middleware, many in this position will find themselves facing huge upgrade costs and major downtime on their systems. Sybase SA is providing a range of real-time replication software which allows companies to integrate their legacy systems into the new client server environment.Traditionally 80% of Eskom`s database has run on Adabas. The company`s middleware requirement was for real-time two-way transactions between Adabas and Oracle. Oliver Taylor from Eskom said, "While most middleware will read Adabas without any trouble, only Sybase Direct Connect will write to it from Oracle. The success of Sybase Direct Connect means that we can integrate our legacy systems seamlessly into the new client server environment."The availability of Sybase middleware will, in effect, extend the life of legacy systems and mainframes as large IT users move into the next century. There are major cost benefits to being able to integrate existing hardware and software into modern client server environments. Besides these savings, this route provides companies with more time in which to assess the IT options available to them.
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