Digital transformation has gained tremendous momentum in recent years, pushing companies to modernize their technology infrastructure. Yet many industries still rely on outdated legacy systems that are prone to security issues and are often incompatible with modern applications. In this article, we’ll look at four effective methods for integrating legacy systems with other applications, looking at the pros and cons of each method.
1. Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)
An Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) is a core component of service-oriented architecture (SOA). SOA is a software architecture that was developed in the late 1990s to replace the previous monolithic architecture. The SOA consists of various software components that are used to perform certain business functions. An ESB is a middleware that integrates various software components and enables them to communicate with each other and exchange data. Using an ESB to integrate legacy systems offers several advantages:
- It enables the integration of multiple applications into a unified ecosystem.
- It standardizes communication between applications across the enterprise.
However, due to the rise of microservices architecture in the 2010s, ESBs are increasingly being replaced by more decentralized integration methods. Some disadvantages of using an ESB to integrate legacy systems include:
- An ESB is a central component that can become a single point of failure. If it fails, all systems in the company are affected.
- Most ESBs are designed as an on-premise solution for internal systems, so integrating legacy systems with third-party cloud applications is often not possible.
2. Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
APIs sind heutzutage eine der gängigsten Methoden zur Verbindung verschiedener Technologien, einschließlich Legacy-Systemen. APIs sind eine Reihe von definierten Regeln und Protokollen, die festlegen, wie verschiedene Software miteinander kommunizieren sollen. In gewisser Hinsicht erfüllen sie einen ähnlichen Zweck wie ein ESB. Im Vergleich zu einem ESB bieten APIs jedoch die folgenden Vorteile:
- Sie sind mit den meisten modernen Anwendungen kompatibel. Dadurch können Legacy-Systeme sowohl mit internen Tools als auch mit Apps von Drittanbietern integriert werden.
- Sie ermöglichen die Integration von Cloud-Anwendungen. Dies ist besonders wichtig, da ein größeres Unternehmen im Schnitt 1200 Cloud-Anwendungen verwendet.
- Sie helfen Unternehmen dabei, ihre Daten mit Kunden oder Dritten zu teilen und diese zu monetarisieren.
Allerdings unterstützen die meisten Legacy-Anwendungen keine API-Konnektivität. Unternehmen müssen daher entweder Entwickler einstellen, die Experten in der API-Entwicklung und in der Technologie des Legacy-Systems sind, ihre eigenen benutzerdefinierten APIs für die Integration entwickeln oder ihre Legacy-Systeme für die API-Unterstützung überarbeiten. Die Integration von Legacy-Systemen mit APIs kann daher zeitaufwändig und kostspielig sein.
3. Integrationsplattformen oder iPaaS
A third option is to use an integration platform or iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service). An integration platform consists of tools such as connectors, adapters, APIs, etc. that enable the integration of data, applications, systems and business processes. In other words, the platform provides you with the tools that you would normally have to develop.Integration platforms and iPaaS offer the following benefits:
- They enable companies to create integrations without months of implementation.
- They enable the integration of both on-premise and cloud applications.
- You don’t have to worry about maintaining the integrations as the provider takes care of it for you.
However, there are also some disadvantages to using a third-party platform to integrate legacy systems:
- The platform may not have the specific connectors, APIs, etc. required for integration.
- Choosing the wrong provider can lead to a vendor lock-in situation.
- Using third-party tools poses security risks.
4. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Another way to integrate legacy systems with modern software is to leverage Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and intelligent automation solutions with AI capabilities. AI-driven RPA bots can:
- Interact with different types of software.
- Read computer screens like humans and understand context using NLP and computer vision.
- Extract and migrate data between different applications.
The benefits of using RPA and intelligent automation for legacy system integration are:
- There is no need to develop custom connectivity solutions or purchase integration platforms.
- Bots can work in both front-office and back-office areas, regardless of the technology used in legacy and modern apps.
- Creating bots is easy and requires no development skills.
On the other hand, there are also some limitations in using RPA for integration:
- You need to check that the bots are working properly and monitor their behavior, which requires continuous maintenance.
- APIs and integration platforms scale better than RPA for high-volume transactions.
Since each method has its advantages and disadvantages, companies should evaluate their short- and medium-term needs and combine different methods if necessary. In the long term, however, legacy systems can become an obstacle to digital transformation.
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