Enterprise System Integration and Legacy System Integration

1 Introduction:

In computing terms, legacy system is a computer system, software application or process that became obsolete and no longer receives maintenance or support, but a great number of organizations are using legacy system. As defined in Gartner legacy application is “an information system that may be based on outdated technologies but is critical in regular operation.” Many organisations such as Australian Post have gained a great deal of value from legacy system but eventually the disadvantages weigh out these values, so the system needs to be modernized. Regarding modernization of the legacy system enterprise system integration comes worthwhile in the situation.

2 Enterprise System Integration(ESI):

Enterprise system integration is an organisational integration system that enables the amalgamation of both business procedures and data which is believed to reduce processing time and improve the control over different kind of operations (Volkoff, Strong and Elmes, 2005). It provides a flawless flow of information through the organization. There are several ways organizations can get benefits from the enterprise system. In large organization like Australian Post there are multiple modules which turn out to be important for other departments. ESI enables process integration among different departments across similar maintenance plant and creates a common form of data so that it could be easily accessible by the different departments of the organisation (Volkoff, Strong and Elmes, 2005). It also allows to access real time information. As the business process and environment always change with the demand it is no longer viable to wait for the important data to be processed. On the other hand, legacy system does not allow real time access to the information. Besides, it usually runs on hardware that has become obsolete (Bisbal et al., 1999). So that, the maintenance cost is high compare to ESI. Enterprise systems integration ultimately reduces the cost o business process. As a result, the organization can use that extra budget to improve their other functionalities. Another major benefit of using ESI in the organisation is that it automates the customer service process which makes sure that each employee of the company can give the customer a consistent and marvellous experience. It increases the reliability of maintaining IT infrastructure of the organisation ensuring that the system collects the data consistently and operates in maximum level as closely as possible. Nowadays, cyber attack is a common problem that big companies are facing. In appendix 1, we came to know that cyber-attack by a malevolent worm deleted the operational data. ESI resist these kind of attack by enabling firewall and security systems throughout the organizational database engine and point-to-point communication link (Spencer, 2019).

3 Legacy System Integration (LSI):

Generally legacy software system is the mainstay of the business. But most of the legacy systems have become obsolete and uses outmoded technology. Besides, the maintenance of the software is also very expensive because documentations of system details is frequently missing and following deficiencies is expensive and time-consuming (Bisbal et al., 1999). 1999). It is often difficult to maintain because of the complexity of understanding of the system due to out of date technology (Stehle et al., n.d). Documentation of the software is not easy to understand or n worst case scenario it may not exist. This creates a huge problem when it comes to modification or extension of the software. Besides, the data migration is not as easy as it in ESI. Data format for various legacy systems are different and may not support all kinds of formatted data. On the other hand, security is another issue in this regard. According to 2018 State of cyber resilience, legacy system is one of the threats of the cyber security. As LSI persisted in the organisations for a long time ago so the security controls also become invalid in the modern era against the new type of malwares and cyber-attacks. So, the performance of the older legacy system may not be sufficient enough for the organizations (Stehle et al., n.d).

4 How can ESI help LSI:

ESI can help LSI in terms of adopting new changes and requirements. One of the main methods that EIS can offer is Architecture Driven Modernization method (ADM) (Altexsoft, 2019).  The main advantage of ADM is, it allows source-to-source migration on design perspective so that projects with legacy system become more agile. Reverse engineering is another process ESI offer that help LSI to migrate to the new environment. In additional, ESI can provide more secure online environment and protection against cyber-attack. SAP, Xplenty, Dell Boomi, Improvado, Qorus Integration Engine are some of the software and system that are available to help ICT personnel to help with the legacy system.

5 Conclusion:

Though legacy system has now become obsolete still many organizations are using it, as it is very difficult to get rid off the system. Enterprise system integration can help in this regard. ESI has many advantages over LSI. It provides varieties of business solution and more secured and improved performance. Single system monitoring, data collection, better software compatibility makes the ESI more feasible. Though legacy system is still in effect it is better to migrate from legacy for enhanced customer performance. Because the more an organization can improve their services for the consumers, the more they will flourish in the competitive and complex world of business.

6 References:

• AltexSoft. (2019). Legacy System Modernization: How to Transform the Enterprise for Digital Future. [online] Available at: https://www.altexsoft.com/whitepapers/legacy-system-modernization-how-to-transform-the-enterprise-for-digital-future/ [Accessed 19 Aug. 2019].
• Olga Volkoff, Diane M Strong & Michael B Elmes (2005) Understanding
• enterprise systems-enabled integration, European Journal of Information Systems, 14:2, 110-120,
• DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000528
• J. Bisbal, D. Lawless, Bing Wu and J. Grimson, “Legacy information systems: issues and directions,” in IEEE Software, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 103-111, Sept.-Oct. 1999.
• doi: 10.1109/52.795108
• Spencer, W. (2019). Benefits of Enterprise Application Integration for Your Business | HokuApps. [online] HokuApps. Available at: https://www.hokuapps.com/blogs/benefits-of-enterprise-application-integration-for-your-business/ [Accessed 19 Aug. 2019].
• Stehle, E., Piles, B., Max Sohmar, J. and Lynch, K. (n.d.). Migration of Legacy Software to Service Oriented Architecture. [online] Cs.drexel.edu. Available at: https://www.cs.drexel.edu/~bmitchell/course/cs575/WorkshopF0708/2T7Paper.pdf [Accessed 19 Aug. 2019].