How To Get Enterprise Data
to Mobile Devices Successfully
As much as 70 percent of corporate data still lives on mainframes. In fact, the IBM System z is having a sales revival.
These powerhouse machines run mission critical applications in a wide variety of industries, in education and in government with remarkably high performance, reliability and security. They represent a huge investment in staff, applications and equipment which enterprises rely on for daily operations. Enterprises have been using TN3270 terminal emulation software for host access for many years to access “Legacy” applications on these enterprise servers.
Why Are Fortune 1000 Companies Still Using Mainframes?
Why do companies keep them? It makes business sense. Here are three major reasons:
- Reliability, Security and Safety
The enterprise mainframe computer has proven to be extremely reliable and secure.
"High-end enterprise revenue grew over 9 percent on the strength of IBM's System z product family. The introduction of the z9 BC [business class] machines coupled with the previously announced z9 EC [enterprise class] systems, invigorated the mainframe market during the quarter," said Steve Josselyn, research director for Enterprise Platforms at IDC, in a statement. "IBM's System z revenue growth of 25 percent contributed a significant amount to overall market performance, and further highlights the continued customer demand for mainframe-class systems." Enterprise Systems - December 5, 2006
- Magnitude of Investment
There currently exist thousands of active mainframe applications encompassing hundreds of millions of lines of code. These
applications jointly represent billions of dollars of investment and can be very expensive to modify. These systems represent a substantial investment in hardware, software and
services by corporations and government. A recent survey of Fortune 500 companies indicated that 490 of these companies (about 98%) planned to continue using their mainframe systems.
- Performance
Mainframes currently have the unique capability to reliably and securely process huge numbers of simultaneous business transactions.
In the face of mounting concern over the cost of cooling, powering, and housing the enormous data centers of today, it’s not surprising that enterprises are disproportionately breaking for massively consolidated systems: either server blades or high-end servers—such as mainframe systems.
These applications are often critical to the daily operations of an enterprise and so modifications to these applications are done only after much careful
analysis and thought.
With such a substantial investment in equipment and hardware, the vast majority of enterprises want to continue to maximize use.
But how do you do that and minimize costs?
Three General Approaches to Get Mainframe Data
to Mobile Devices
There are three general approaches to provide mobile devices the ability to view the mainframe data as displayed by existing
mainframe applications:
- Terminal Emulation places client software on the mobile device that communicates through established protocols, TN3270, TN5250 and VT220
, to the existing mainframe communication network.
- Web To Host
has client software, the Internet browser, on the mobile device interacting with an intermediate or middleware server. This intermediate server then interacts with the mainframe via
TN3270, TN5250 and VT220.
- Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
that diffuses some of the business logic from the mainframe to a combination of modified mainframe applications, middleware servers, and end user clients. It is accessed using the Internet browser on the mobile device. Each SOA provider has its own proprietary hardware and software for handling transactions. Interoperability standards have not yet been established.
Each approach has its positive and negative ramifications.
Terminal Emulation |
Web to Host |
Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) |
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Pros:
--Fast to implement
--Little to no training
--Lowest cost
--Real time data
--Time tested results
Cons:
--Can’t combine data from multiple sources*.
--User may have to step through multiple screens to obtain needed data*.
--Can’t change the existing business logic residing in the mainframe.
* Smart Client software
using a terminal emulation component can address some of these limitations.
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Pros:
--User friendly screens
--Combine Data from Multiple Sources
--Real time data
--Terminal emulation component offers fast implementation
Cons:
--Requires time to write code for server side pages.
--Requires process changes and some staff training.
-- May take longer to implement especially if data
from different systems is being integrated into a single user interface.
--Staff need training.
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Pros:
--User Friendly Screens
--Unifies Disparate Systems
--Real Time Data
--Components Allow Easier Changes in future
Cons:
--Still no standards in 2007. Major players all have proprietary systems which lock you in to their solution.
--Major cost and time to implement.
--Requires well thought our plan to design and execute.
--May require investment in new or additional hardware and software.
--Mistakes in execution could
disrupt operations.
--Staff need training.
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Terminal Emulation Mobile Architecture
Terminal Emulation Mobile Architecture uses client software (such as Aton Connect for
Windows Mobile or Aton Connect for Windows XP/Vista) on the mobile device that emulates a 3270, 5250 or VT220 terminal.
From the mainframe application point of view, the mobile device is no different from a legacy IBM 3270 terminal or a desktop computer with terminal emulation software.
No changes to mainframe programming are required. The user interface (green screen) remains
the same, so little or no training is required. Depending on use locations, the mobile device may connect with the same communication network being used for desktop applications.
Time is required to locate and test combinations of devices and wireless connections to
achieve a secure, reliable result for the user. The underlying business process does not change.
Terminal emulation represents a low risk way to implement a project to get mainframe data to mobile workers in the field in a very short time.
An example of this approach is illustrated in the following diagram:
Web to Host Mobile Architecture
Web-to Host or Integration architecture uses a web browser such as Windows Mobile Internet Explorer on the mobile device to display mainframe data and other data. In contrast to the
terminal emulation architecture which communicates directly with the mainframe, the middleware or web server communicates with TN3270, TN5250 or VT220 protocol over TCP/IP.
Aton Connect Host Integration Toolkit for ASP.NET allows the web server to communicate with
the mainframe to present data to the web page. Migrating data to Web-to-Host requires planning,
coordination and project management with multiple stake holders. User interfaces need to be designed.
While this is an opportunity to streamline a business process, care must be taken to change the right
processes to gain productivity. Training will be needed on the new user interfaces and business process changes. All of this lengthens the time to implement the solution.
Web to Host works well where the installation replaces older terminal emulation packages for a large number of desktops or notebooks and merges data from different hosts or operating systems
. Limitations on a mobile device, such as size of screen and intermittent connectivity may
make it less useful on mobile devices depending on the business process and needs of the user.
An example of this approach is illustrated in the following diagram:
Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)
Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) attempts to handle varying platforms, varying protocols
and varying devices used in an enterprise through use of platform independent services. Just
as you use your Internet browser to view web pages located on web servers in a multitude of locations,
a device using SOA would be able to access data to accomplish a business task by communicating directly with another system. Storage of data can be distributed rather than concentrated in a
centralized location like a mainframe.
A “service” is a function that is well-defined, self-contained, and does not depend on the context or state of other services.
For example, you go to iTunes, purchase music and download it to your iPod. This is a “web service” in its most basic form. iTunes is a Service Provider and you are the
Service Consumer. Now imagine you program your iPod to locate and download music on its own.
The iPod might communicate using XML with various music service providers to find the music you want at the lowest price. This would be XML web services. XML is the common
“language” that allows different systems to talk to each other. Now imagine business systems within a
global enterprise exchanging information like that. The exchanges happen automatically based on rules established for each Service Consumer and Service Provider.
Before this can happen, every business process must be mapped and analyzed. Developing an
SOA application involves substantial time and resources both for IT, business and other units. And,
challenges still exist at this time in the form of evolving standards, security and interoperability.
Should Mobility Initiatives Wait?
No. The potential benefits from mobilizing mainframe applications today, even if they are
limited to small pilot projects, are substantial. We believe an approach which combines both a short term and a longer term view offers the most value to an enterprise.
To rapidly deploy mobile access to mainframe data, particularly for small or experimental projects, terminal emulation offers real advantages.
It is low cost, faster to deploy, and may not require training the mobile worker who can use the same data screens in the mobile environment as on the desktop computer back at the office.
Aton International launched this line of Terminal Emulation products because we saw a need for enterprises to get data to mobile workers.
Pressing business issues need to be addressed in a matter of days or weeks, not months or years. It is an approach that is quick to implement and can be
very cost effective. This solves the pressing need to get mobility initiatives going, and provides a ready testing ground for iterative changes and improvements as business conditions warrant
We offer:
The limitations of terminal emulation can be addressed by the development of Smart Client applications.
Smart client applications are applications which are larger than “Thin” clients like an Internet browser but smaller than “Thick” clients like typical Windows desktop applications.
In a “Thick” client, most of the processing is done on the desktop or device. There is very little
processing via the network. It is a faster way to get a job done if your network is slow or congested or
gets disconnected from the mobile device as often happens with cell phone connections.
Mobile devices using “Smart Client” applications with terminal emulation take advantage of the greater power available in the latest mobile devices.
It performs part or all of the operations originally performed on the server.
This gives the mobile worker the ability to work independent of the network and store results in the device database until connected again.
Once connected, the Smart Client can automatically upload the results to the server. Developing Smart Clients which communicate with the mainframe
would require using a connection component such as Aton Connect .NET component.
We offer:
Aton Connect Host Integration Toolkit for Windows Mobile,
Aton Connect Host Integration Toolkit for Window XP/Vista
These components work with Visual Studio (a development tool you already own) to provide the same terminal emulation within your custom application.
Building your own Smart Client gives you an application more tailored to your company’s needs.
Development in Visual Studio is fast. Aton International provides support to help you deliver a successful project.
It’s easy to get started. Please phone or email us for assistance. Aton International can offer you
the experience we have developed in building applications and having them successfully certified by Microsoft. Let us help you achieve your goals faster and more cost effectively. Contact us today.
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