legacy Middleware Modernization

There are many legacy middleware products out today still running legacy applications in many cases without the knowledge that they exist in the company's enterprise network. It is only when a server gets replaced or upgraded does its presence get discovered. In some cases the middlewar vendor has gone out of business and a suitable replacement needs to be found. Deciding whether you want to replace your legacy middleware applications with a COTS solution or modernize the existing middleware with a best of breed middleware product suite?

As an IT manager, you have to make the best decision on which way to go. Is it better to select a series of COTS packages and/or targeted solutions and integrate them together or to purchase an middleware solution? Commercial Off The Shelf vendors will claim— justifiably so that in many cases, that providing a specific vertical business solution insures that the software complies with specific industry standards, allows customization or provides a better user experience right out of the box. Choosing COTS solutions can also give businesses the impression that they are spending the IT money wisely. The reasoning is that a company only pays for solving a specific problem and avoids spending money on functionality that it may not use.

However, COTS can contain many hidden costs. There is an illusion that it will have every feature the client wants, but usually there are "feature gaps". COTS packages are not made to be scalable - each user would have to point to a COTS servers in a static configuration file or manually. There is no middleware servicing requests from clients nor is their middleware monitoring performance and automatically starting up additional servers based on demand. Also, each COTS product must be integrated into the organization’s existing IT infrastructure, an effort that could require additional software, development time and additional debugging to ensure that the COTS solution works with the different pieces of your infrastructure.

Middleware solutions can also have some hidden problems throughout their lifetime. Sometimes a middleware product requires that IT staff learn and maintain a proprietary interface for installation, configuration, customization, and management. Middleware also makes it difficult to identify which product is at fault in a distributed application; vendors can sometimes seem eager to blame each other for any faults. However, it is usually not the middleware vendor at fault - they typically detect the error. Since they are the "glue" that keeps the enterprise together, middleware is an easy target. Another concern is that Middleware vendors tend to come and go, so there is a perception that the customer will be left unsupported. The fact is that most middleware is standards based - they only provide the RAD tools to make development, deployment and monitoring easier. That environment can be replicated by another middleware vendor (at a cost usually much less than re-writing). The IT industry is very volatile and every software vendor is susceptible to acquisition or bankruptcy. Perhaps the biggest concern is that a middleware solution can be much more expensive than a COTS product, leading IT managers to believe they are purchasing more functionality than they need.

However, that initial investment usually buys an integrated set of components that would otherwise have to be developed on their own or assembled from other individual vendors. A big advantage of middleware is that it presents a consistent interface for the IT staff to learn, operate, and troubleshoot; a unified interface simplifies support and streamlines maintenance, increases the opportunities for an organization to automate other processes, manages assets more effectively, further reducing the their software maintenance costs.

It requires a strategic viewpoint to see the advantages of an integrated middleware suite. An integrated middleware system engineered to work together makes it easier to develop, deploy and manage applications through out the lifecycle through a single development environment, runtime and management frameworks. Organizations can easily meet existing business needs and then re-use both data and applications, preserving the flexibility necessary to meet future challenges. As a result, the ROI from a middleware suite over purchasing more COTS packages increases over time.

While there are a few negatives to using integrated middleware solutions, it is important to remember that sacrificing flexibility can end up costing you more in the long run as your needs change. Middleware products are used in virtually every Fortune 500 company and they are no different than other software products that operate in an enterprise environment. When the middleware is properly configured and maintained, they work well, and they are virtually unknown. Middleware suites provide you with scalability, versatility, multi-platform and multi-language support, and the most flexibility for your IT organization.

eCube's NXTera middleware provides probably the most flexibility when it comes to support of legacy systems and newer technologies. NXTera is an agile, extremely light-weight, standards-based middleware solution that enables companies wanting to leverage the power of their legacy applications and allows them the flexibility of adding new applications by using  our  NXTware methodology. NXTera and NXTware middleware lets companies maximize their investment in business logic built on legacy technology. Legacy-based business logic can be evolved to support and integrate with contemporary platforms such as J2EE, .NET and Web Services using NXTware Evolution Server.

eCube promotes the integration between the middleware and applications as a way to cut costs, get more out of existing applications releases, and develop distributed solutions more rapidly.

In addition to it heritage as a fifth generation middleware product, NXTware provides organizations like IBM, HP, Sun, SGI and other software vendors with a reliable and fast legacy connectivity to contemporary vendor platforms.

Download a NXTware DCE Middleware Evolution Brochure.