Mainframe application modernization keeps legacy systems vital. The mainframe remains central to
large-scale high-performance enterprise computing, and its ongoing transformation is among notable
SOA success stories. At one time, legacy mainframe applications resisted renewal -- teams sorted
through spaghetti code and tried to rewrite systems not easily rewritten.
Now it is very common for organizations to ably sort through their application portfolio, and
transform what needs transforming via wrapped Web services. This is one of the takeaways from a
recent series on application modernization by Colleen Frye.
''When
is SOA the right road to application modernization?'' shows Forrester's Phil Murphy telling
Frye that when basic things are wrong with the application, it is not a target for SOA at all. But,
he says, sometimes ''SOA presents an opportunity to break things down into smaller chunks of
reusable functionality, and then rewrite.''
We sometimes see BPM
acting as the 'new integrator.' Such may be the case in a scenario described in Frye's ''Overcoming
barriers to application modernization,'' in which she talks with Tom Hall, of HP Enterprise
Services. He said clients use an SOA approach to "modernize in place." He maintained: "It's less
invasive and reduces risk vs. completely rewriting applications. One approach is to externalize in
a business rules engine to change how programs process data, to make them more flexible."
There may be an end to the road of wrapped spaghetti legacy said one observer. In our most recent
App Mod installment, OMG's
legacy modernization work focuses on ADM standards, industry veteran William M. Ulrich, who
co-chairs the OMG's Architecture-Driven Modernization (ADM) task force, said IT is ''running into
walls it can't find ways over anymore." IT has ''wrapped and rewrapped, and they still have all
this spaghetti architecture,'' he continued.
''We've already tried all the tricks in our bag, and now there's not a lot of things left, but one
is modernization. There is both business pressure and IT desire to get the architecture cleaned
up," said Ulrich.
Read these pieces for a good view on legacy today:
Legacy
application modernization benefits revealed
Legacy application modernization can make COBOL reusable. Discover what modernizing legacy
applications can do for you. [SearchCIO.in]
OMG's
legacy modernization work focuses on ADM standards
Object Management Group's ADM Task Force is developing standards to facilitate an
architecture-driven modernization approach to legacy modernization.
Overcoming
barriers to application modernization
Barriers to implementing application modernization are the initial cost, risk, business buy-in and
subject matter expertise, according to a recent Forrester Research study.
When
is SOA the right road to application modernization?
To get good results, you must distinguish between service orientation and service-oriented
architecture. Also, ask if legacy code is good enough to benefit from modernization.
SOA
user story: San Francisco uses software to cut sewer-grid loss
San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission uses asset management software to keep tabs on sewer
grates. SOA and MDM are seen as enablers in an application update.
Oracle
dresses up its first Tuxedo transaction processor with SCA
Tuxedo can serve for mainframe integration and re-hosting; Tuxedo TPM benefits from Oracle
update.
Alchemy
services move CICS applications to .NET
Alchemy services move CICS applications to .NET with minimal intervention.
Legacy-to-SOA
modernization goes to court
Legacy mid-range and mainframe host integration via XML and Web services is one of the more stellar
re-work methods of our time.
Tips for
tracing enterprise transactions
Triage of legacy means you must break applications into categories. Among these are three-tiered
client-server and mainframe applications that do not respond to easy modernization.
Brownfield
Development: Tracking the mainframe legacy 'elephant'
If you are going to eat the elephant that is legacy IT systems, it's best to get the beast down to
bite-sized chunks, says Richard Hopkins and Kevin Jenkins, executive IT architects for IBM in the
UK.
BPM
fills some application modernization needs, not all
Can the business
process management (BPM) lens be trained on legacy applications to fill enterprise modernization
needs? Some say yes, BPM is the way to go, while others argue that BPM is a relatively small
portion of a complete legacy modernization effort.
Business
architecture takes the fore in application portfolio analysis
Experts say that a
shift to business-focused application portfolio management is currently under way.
As part of that shift, business architecture is taking the forefront in application portfolio
analysis.
This was first published in August 2010
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