Rescue service for mainframe data

Heather Havenstein   Today’s Top Stories    or  Other Business Intelligence Stories  

Driving BI Value with Data Integration: Overcoming the Thorniest Challenges Survey: Business Intelligence Maturity and the Quest for Better Performance BI @ The Speed of Business Computerworld Custom Publishing: Bright City Lights Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

March 28, 2005 (Computerworld) -- Mainframes and legacy systems have presented IT executives with a dilemma for much of the past decade. In the race to move IT operations to the Web in the 1990s, many companies considered dumping the aging systems altogether. Yet, these "dinosaurs" usually contained mission-critical data the companies wanted to preserve and integrate into newer Web applications, and so they survived until the dot-com implosion.

Since then, many companies haven't had the resources—or often the inclination—to replace mainframes and other older IT assets that hum steadily along and are the incarnation of decades of investment. Those systems still handle high volumes of transactions—and the data they generate—securely and reliably. This leaves IT shops searching for methods to get to the data housed in the systems so that it can be used in Web-based applications—and they'd like to do it without rewriting code. Complicating the picture is the fact that mainframes were designed as discrete single functions, creating problems for companies that need to give Web-based applications access to several different silos on back-end systems.

Now, with growing corporate interest in service-oriented architectures (SOA), companies are looking at using Web services to more easily integrate data from older back-end systems such as IBM mainframes and AS/400s, Unix/OpenVMS systems and Hewlett-Packard e3000s into newer applications.

For example, construction company Shea Homes is using Web services to integrate a green-screen J.D. Edwards home-construction application running on IBM AS/400 with newer enterprise applications without having to rely on hard coding.

Mike Little, senior technical manager at Walnut, Calif.-based Shea, says he integrated the older module in less than two weeks using tools from WRQ Inc., a process he describes as "screen scraping on steroids." Writing custom code for the integration would have taken more than four months, he adds.

Seattle-based WRQ's Verastream tools are designed to expose legacy application logic as Component Object Model (COM), Java, .Net or Web services components that can then be used in Web applications or added to newer enterprise applications like CRM systems. Verastream adapters establish communications with the host system, and integration tools allow users to point and click to abstract legacy functions as components, according to WRQ.

"It is very easy to go through and set up the navigation through the screens," Little says. "They have an automated way to take what you have created and generate a Web service without generating any custom code."

Employees at Shea can now access information from the J.D. Edwards system in real time instead of waiting for batch-processing jobs to run. And the Web services can be reused, Little says.

For example, the service that contains data needed for a sales application can be used later in an accounting spreadsheet. The company, which runs up to 50,000 transactions per day to gather data from the J.D. Edwards system, has had no performance problems with the integration, Little says.

Ensuring Accuracy

Electric Insurance Co. in Beverly, Mass., is using technology from Neon Systems Inc. in Sugar Land, Texas, to help integrate data from its IBM CICS Transaction Server to a spreadsheet application that allows its call center employees to provide customers with real-time insurance-policy quotes.

Neon's Service Builder product wraps queries from call center agents as Web services, delivers them to the CICS server and returns replies as Web services, says Steve Coyne, data warehousing specialist at Electric.

The company also needed a way to easily get discount information and data related to various state regulations from the mainframe to the spreadsheet application. Neon's technology creates an abstraction layer to the mainframe data, evokes the data as a Web service and delivers it to the spreadsheet.

In the past, Electric Insurance used a Cobol program to build in rates. Several people, including pricing analysts and quality assurance workers, would have to open the program and build in rules to determine rates, says Coyne.

Electric first used Neon's technology in 2003 for personal umbrella policies and then added it to generate homeowners insurance price quotes. Now, the company is rolling it out for policies for General Electric Co. employees, Coyne says. "You're constantly battling other insurance companies for rates, [and] this allows the pricing department to be able to introduce a rate change or a discount quicker," he says.

Escaping Code History

Using Web services to access data and logic from mainframes and legacy systems can often drastically reduce the time needed to integrate data into new applications, because the technology can abstract the data without requiring developers to navigate through multiple screens or sift through multiple customizations to rewrite code.

Global Home Loans Ltd., a subsidiary of Countrywide Financial Corp. in Kent, England, used WRQ technology to slash development time to six months for an integration project that, according to the company, could have taken three to five years.

Global needed to integrate the mortgage-processing systems of London-based Barclays Bank PLC with its own systems when Barclays outsourced loan processing to Global, says James Pierce, chief technology officer of Countrywide's global markets division.

Using Verastream, Global built a Web service interface to Barclays' mainframe to allow Global's call center to service Barclays customers, Pierce says. The bank built this abstraction layer in front of the legacy system using WRQ tools to evoke data from the mainframe as Web services that can be passed to call center representatives.

This approach allows the company to service customers while it moves the Barclays origination and processing systems in smaller increments to its own core platform, he adds. "We were able to get to the legacy system and put in one call-center-type interface ... and allow one source of entry for various transactions on those systems," he says. "That gave us several years of ROI and an incremental strategy [for the Barclay's integration], which is more successful than a big-bang effort."

This ability to "migrate while you operate" is what makes Web services so attractive to companies that need to fold data on legacy systems into applications as they gradually move to newer systems, says Phil Murphy, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc.

"Folks are finally realizing that to replace systems that took 25 to 30 years to build ... will take decades," Murphy says. "With Web services, you can deliver business value immediately. As that money comes rolling in, it can be earmarked for the true infrastructure changes that may be needed down the road."

Potential Pitfalls

Murphy notes, however, that some mission-critical mainframe applications that require responses in real time won't be able to take advantage of exposing data as Web services.

"If you need 100 gazillion transactions per second, nothing but the most highly architected solution is going to work for you," Murphy says. "But in virtually every company, at least 50% of the applications don't need that level of speed—especially for the self-service kind of applications."

In addition, integrating legacy data with Web services interfaces can create other problems for businesses, says Ron Schmelzer, an analyst at ZapThink LLC in Waltham, Mass. While most companies can usually cut integration costs by half with Web services, they may still have data-transformation issues, he says.

"Even though we can get to the mainframe, we still have not solved the problem of one application that calls a purchase order one thing and the mainframe calls it something else. I still have to solve the data-transformation issue," says Schmelzer. "We're moving the cost from managing the interface and the connection to managing the data."

SOA Approach A service-oriented approach, such as this one in WRQ's Verastream, lets users access data in legacy systems via Web services and transport it to newer applications. Please click on image above to view a readable version. Source: WRQ Inc.

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

Sidebar: Tools to Tap Legacy Data Rescue service for mainframe data

"When white pages searches come up empty, it's often easier to let your fingers do the walking. It shouldn't be..." Read more... "Enterprise search continues to lag behind commerical search because companies lack a "findability" strategy, says one researcher...." Read more... Read more Business Intelligence posts or See all Blogs

DNS hole prompts synchronized patching effort by IT vendors Microsoft plugs nine holes in Windows, DNS, SQL Symantec warns of new Word attack More top stories...

Microsoft sets XP SP3 automatic download for Thursday Don't give Google a free pass on data collection, privacy advocates say after YouTube ruling XP SP3 to reach most users 'shortly,' says Microsoft

This old laptop: Revitalizing an aging notebook on the cheap All it takes is a couple hours and about $125 to breathe new life into an old laptop. Here's how. Bill Gates moves on Is Microsoft's Golden Age over? What are Gates' most memorable quotes? Find out in Computerworld's complete coverage of the end of the Bill Gates era at Microsoft. Five things you should never tell your boss There are some things your CIO definitely doesn't want to hear. Also don't miss the flipside, Five things you should always tell your boss. Hands-On: Firefox 3 fixes what's broke and keeps what's right With its latest version, Mozilla's browser continues to raise the bar for what Web browsers should be. Windows Vista A to Z Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS. More Continuing Coverage After 9/11: Homeland SecurityAsk a Premier 100 IT LeaderBlackBerry Legal BattleData Security BreachesElectronic VotingFirefoxH-1B VisasHP's Boardroom ScandalHandheld DevicesHurricane Katrina AftermathMicrosoft Legal IssuesMicrosoft's VistaOpen SourceRFID TechnologySCO's Linux FightSarbanes-Oxley ActSpamVoice Over IPWi-FiWindows Meta File VulnerabilityWindows XP Service Pack 3 IT Careers 2010 Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready? More Special Reports Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Best in Class2006 Computerworld Horizon Awards2006 Premier 100 IT Leaders2006 Salary Survey2007 Best Places to Work in IT2007 IT Forecast2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders40 Years of ComputerworldASPs, Take TwoBest Places to Work in IT 2003Best Places to Work in IT 2004Best Places to Work in IT 2005Best Places to Work in IT 2006Business Intelligence Home RunsBusiness Intelligence: Smarter BIBusiness Intelligence: The Future of BICRM Goes VerticalCRM: Sober CRMCareer Planning Guide 2005Careers: IT Profession 2010Computerworld Horizon Awards 2005Data Management: Mining for GemsData Management: Taming Data ChaosDevelopment: Hard-Workin' Web SitesDevelopment: New Tools New ChoicesDevelopment: The New World of Application DevelopmentDevelopment: The Web Services TsunamiDevelopment: Web Services HurdlesDisaster Recovery: Preparing for the WorstE-commerce Grows UpE-mail/Groupware: Big DecisionsFaces of Mobile ITForecast 2006Global MobileHardware: Multiple Cores, Multiple ChallengesHardware: On-Demand Un-HypedHardware: The Shape of Things to ComeHorizon Awards: 10 Cool Cutting Edge TechnologiesIT Management: Guide to Managing VendorsIT Management: Navigating Global ITIT Management: Recovery AheadIT Management: The Future of ITIT Management: The Resourceful Project ManagerInnovative Technology Awards 2004Management: Reinventing ITMicrosoft in TransitionMobile/Wireless Leaders and LaggardsMobile/Wireless: The Untethered WorkerMobile/Wireless: Tiny Gadgets, Huge CostsNetwork Management: Taking ControlNetworking: Turbulence Ahead!Networking: VoIP Goes MainstreamOperating Systems: In the Slow LaneOperating Systems: Linux Goes GlobalOperating Systems: Should You Nix Unix?Outsourcing: Offshore Buyer's GuideOutsourcing: Outsourcing DangersPremier 100 IT Leaders 2004 Best in ClassPremier 100 IT Leaders 2005 Best in ClassROI: Do the Math!Salary Survey 2003Salary Survey 2004Salary Survey 2005Security Action PlanSecurity: Compliance HeadachesSecurity: Proactive SecuritySecurity: Risk and RewardSecurity: Tips From Security ProsSouped-up SecurityStorage: Battling ComplexityStorage: Cheap & Secure Data StoresStorage: Stretching Your Storage DollarsStorage: The Lean Storage MachineStorage: The New Rules of StorageStorage: The Ultimate Backup GuideSupply Chain: Missing LinksSupply Chain: RFID Reality CheckThe Business of SecurityWeb 2.0 SecurityWireless: Wireless At Work All Zones Application Performance Zone Business Continuity Zone Data Center Management Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone See your link here

Speeding the time to intelligence Get this Computerworld report free for a limited time, compliments of SAS. Time To Intelligence -- a concept defining how long it takes to get accurate and timely information into the hands of workers who need it most. Do it slower than your competitors and your company is toast. Do it faster, you scorch them. Business Intelligence is the key to optimizing Time To Intelligence, and success there is a combination of people, policies, and technology. Download this executive briefing  Why SaaS is Vital to Email and Web Security Why SaaS is Vital to Email and Web Security Download this webcast, free, compilments of Webroot Software Go to the webcast  Rapid application development, rapid results Download this special report now! (Source: Intersystems) All too many businesses suffer from IT infrastructures that are a hodge-podge of disconnected databases and applications. What's needed is the ability rapidly develop connected applications under a unified service-oriented architecture. InterSystems Ensemble integration environment and Cache database are effective tools in answering this need, delivering a rapid ROI. Download this white paper  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Virtualization Analysis for VMware A Guide to Understanding Messaging Archiving Archiving Compliance with Sunbelt Exchange Archiver View more whitepapers

• Sidebar: Tools to Tap Legacy Data
• Rescue service for mainframe data

• DNS hole prompts synchronized patching effort by IT vendors
• Microsoft plugs nine holes in Windows, DNS, SQL
• Symantec warns of new Word attack
• More top stories 

SAS Business and Analytics Zone No matter where your organization is on the path toward evolving your IT infrastructure, SAS can adapt to your situation to meet your long-term enterprise intelligence needs. We can help you drive intelligence evolution to the next level, while leveraging and extending the value of your existing IT investments. Learn more in the Business and Analytics Zone See All Zones

Intercept Spam & Viruses With MessageLabs MessageLabs is offering a complimentary 30 day trial of its managed Anti-virus and Anti-spam security solutions. MessageLabs guarantees complete protection against all know and unknown email threats. By providing 24 hour support, your business can increase productivity and decrease risk. Register for a complimentary trial and receive a free datasheet. Download this white paper now!

Since You Asked A weekly storage column from storage analyst, Steve Duplessie of the Enterprise Strategy Group Click here to read the latest column by Steve Duplessie