Traditional integration projects which involve changes to legacy systems tend to take too long. User and management interest wanes, and all enthusiasm for the project disappears long before viable results can be produced. Often by this stage, the business need has also evaporated.
Leon Bouwer, Sales Executive of Bateleur Software Solutions, recommends a new approach: integrating legacy processes and data - using integration via the user interface.
"This way, the integration project can be completed within the time dictated by the business, at little or no risk, as this method is completely non-invasive," he says. "Enterprises should embark on a Web services project by using a tactical solution with a simple business goal."
According to Bouwer, Web services are most reliable when accommodating projects that require quick development, small file sizes for interoperation and independence from enterprise systems.
A product called ApplinX Instant Legacy Integration Suite enables any legacy process or data, on any legacy platform and through any legacy interface, to be integrated into .Net-based applications. It is non-invasive, allowing organisations to rapidly create e-business applications and online services for the Web or any other enterprise platforms.
"ApplinX enables the organisation to adopt more efficient business processes and a more streamlined workflow and methodology by effectively integrating legacy assets in any new standard application environment, where one single solution supports the entire lifecycle of integration projects: access, re-engineering, integration and migration," Bouwer says.
ApplinX, a rapid application development tool developed by global enterprise integration specialist Sabratec, is distributed in SA by Bateleur Software Solutions. It acts as a link between the organisation`s mainframe- and Unix-based systems and its wireless environment.
Using a set of templates, the legacy application can be enhanced to look like a Windows application by adding colour and logos, hyper-linking menu items, adding or removing data from application maps and adding Web functions such as radio buttons and combo boxes. This level of functionality can be achieved in a matter of days.
The next step is to modify the look-and-feel of the application by combining information from multiple application maps into a single Web page. Bouwer says users can even combine data from different parts of the application and incorporate information from other legacy or open systems applications.
"Lastly, ApplinX has the ability to expose application`s functions as Web services. ApplinX has a Microsoft .Net plug-in, so legacy Web services are created without the need for any code. Once a mainframe service has been defined, it is turned into a Web service in a matter of minutes," Bouwer points out.
ApplinX enables rapid development of business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) solutions by integrating existing systems with new applications residing on emerging computing platforms such as the Web. Maximum flexibility is provided in support of new and existing business rules and workflow, and ApplinX is fully compliant with industry development standards and platforms.
The advantages of ApplinX include extremely swift development (solutions are implemented in days rather than weeks), affordability and its non-invasive nature. The product supports J2EE and is also fully integrated to IBM WebSphere, Microsoft IBF and Microsoft Biztalk.
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