With the rapid pace of technological innovation over the last twenty years, the installed base of applications is of considerable size, and difficult to control. Information system applications were often developed as a seat-of-the-pants job, with no view to a longer term strategy<\/strong>. This aging installed base of applications still includes some mission-critical business processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, the challenges are growing, mergers and acquisitions mean IS and business processes need to be converged, and increased levels of communication with commercial partners makes rationalisation a necessity. Mobility and the use of SaaS solutions are quickly changing the face of the modern IS. Meanwhile, the speed of technological change and the diversification of infrastructure just make migrating data from old applications even more complicated.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Another vital component can be added to this need for upgradeability, namely the business-driven change in IS governance. Functional departments are more involved than ever before in strategy decisions over software. Business solutions need to closely match business requirements. So the technical challenge of transmitting data comes on top of this need to solve grassroots problems. Developments to application components, whether new or legacy systems, must occur with minimal impact on staff performance, and therefore on the processes in place<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In response to these performance factors, businesses now need to not only consider upgrading their old applications, but also how to structure their entire IS<\/strong> so as to best anticipate the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How process (BPM) and data (ESB) integration can create value for IT and business departments ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The majority of business have upgraded their IS, including by using SaaS solutions. This new application layer, in addition to legacy applications, rarely presents genuine synergies with old systems. This re-engineering shortcoming causes real problems for business management:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Developments in processes and software perpetually widen the gap between old and new applications<\/strong>. It is wise to consider a re-engineering and rationalisation strategy at the earliest possible stage. Following the right procedures and using the right solutions will meet technical requirements and make it possible to meet business requirements more quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a context where agility reigns supreme, it is crucial to put an information system re-engineering process in place<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A number of key principles underpin such a structuring exercise:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such principles should enable communication between applications to be unified, delivering greater working flexibility, even if the structure changes fundamentally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IS re-engineering delivers a suitable response to the challenges brought about by legacy IS, by facilitating:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two essential solutions lie at the heart of any re-engineering exercise, serving to blend data traffic management and process optimisation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Application bus technology<\/a><\/u><\/strong> carries data between applications, without needing to develop an individual interface for each one. Every component in the IS can consequently retrieve the data needed from this Enterprise Service Bus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a solution that provides straightforward, structured data interchanges between recent and legacy applications. It also contributes to infrastructure stability: application components can be added or amended while maintaining constant and reliable data flows<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The application bus can also be used to deal with common issues for all businesses, e.g. the distribution of large volumes of data, populating the master data repository, synchronous and asynchronous data interchanges, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ESB vs ETL ? The distinction between is no longer relevant relative to today’s business requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Re-engineering data interchanges serves no purpose unless the data flows fully match business requirements. Processes, structuring what the business does, cause data to circulate and expand, but they also feed off the data gathered<\/strong>. This is where Business Process Managemen<\/a>t<\/u><\/strong> enters the picture, a solution used not only to digitalise business processes but also to boost their agility and make them truly part of the IS. With automation of low added-value tasks, scheduling, monitoring and functional rules, the interoperability between ESB and BPM means that processes use data that is always reliable and always available<\/strong>. Those processes are also fully part of the information system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To deliver optimal performance, not just internally but also to external business partners, the use of such solutions should form part of a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA<\/a>) <\/u><\/strong>approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Structuring data interchanges also helps to build an ecosystem consistent with how the business operates internally<\/strong>, and provides more flexibility in services to partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"esb-bpm](\"https:\/\/www.blueway.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/mockup\/en\/mockup-lb-esb-bpm-EN.png\")
<\/figure>The organisational impact of legacy systems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What is the right approach to re-engineering legacy systems?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Meeting the challenges of legacy systems through re-engineering<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Practical software solutions to help with re-engineering<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
L’ESB<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"expert](\"https:\/\/www.blueway.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mockup_ITW_Distinction_ESB_vs_ETL-EN.png\")
<\/figure>BPM<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Taking advantage of other aspects of data interchange<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Schedule](\"https:\/\/www.blueway.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/Equipes\/Collaborateurs\/visuel-rdv-blueway-1.png\")
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