C-EMS Legacy Integrator is one of the modules of the Convertigo Enterprise Mashup Server (C-EMS) platform

The concept is the integration of existing applications within the Enterprise Information System. It means some applications will reuse services provided by other applications.

For instance, it might be interesting to feed a new CRM application with revenue figures coming from an ERP application: this will give CRM users a more complete view of customers.

Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) are a solution to the headache of IT integration architects:   

• They are based on open standards like XML, Web services (SOAP and REST)
• They are fully supported by all software vendors
• They are flexible
• The can be used to integrate internal and external applications

Unfortunately, most of critical business applications, like ERP or in-house applications, running in the EIS are not SOA-enabled yet, because they have been designed and deployed before SOA.

Analysts consider more than 70% of these critical applications still run on legacy systems like IBM mainframes, or IBM iSeries (AS400) or Unix systems with a character-based UI.   

Redeveloping all these applications would be far too expensive and would also probably result in loss of business functionalities. 

This is why C-EMS Legacy Integrator gives non-intrusive access to legacy applications and exposes them as SOAP or REST Web services. Non-intrusive means without modifying existing code and only using available interfaces like 3270/5250/VT/DKU green screens or CICS COMMAREA.

As a consequence, SOA can now easily integrate legacy applications available as Web services that can be directly called from any application of the EIS.

Use cases

C-EMS Legacy Integrator exposes legacy applications business logic and data for:

• Use in new Web applications
• Use in new Desktop applications Access
• Creation of portlets integrated into JSR #168 or JSR #286 compliant portals
• Creation of widgets (visual components) composed into any mashup composer like Adobe Mosaic, IBM Lotus Mashup Center or Convertigo Mashup Composer 
• Use in ESB / EAI applications integrated in a full SOA
• Use in BPM and workflow systems

Supported systems

C-EMS Legacy Integrator can be connected with the following systems:

• IBM iSeries I5 (AS400) under OS/400, I5/os: all 5250 existing applications
• IBM zSeries mainframe under  z/OS: all TN3270 and TN3270E emulations
• IBM CICS: COMMAREA (CICS Transaction Gateway required)
• Bull GCOS Server: all existing DKU 7xxx application (like PACBASE applications, for instance)
• UNIX character based systems: all VTxx applications