Thursday 29 July 2010
Application modernization can enable the transition. Modernization, a compelling alternative to rewriting or replacing critical applications, fosters communication between historical systems and contemporary solutions while preserving the unique value encompassed in existing information technology systems. Modernizing critical applications through a service-oriented architecture provides agencies otherwise bound to the mainframe environment with the ability to leverage modern technologies. Using these solutions, Cobol-based applications can now operate in a Web 2.0 environment, providing a responsive Rich Internet Application without altering a single line of code. These now-Web-based applications work the same – because they are the same. They may have been moved to a Web environment, but development time is ultimately reduced because the application business logic remains unchanged. Modernization can also provide a significant cost advantage and reduce the time it takes to deploy an application; a modernized application is fully functional in a fraction of the time it would typically take to rewrite or replace critical applications. In these economic times, it is important to realize every cost saving as long as security and privacy are not compromised.
While the private sector reaps the benefits of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) technologies – benefits such as cost savings, capital expenditure-to-operational expenditure conversion, elasticity and more efficient compliance procedures – the fact remains: We live in a Cobol world, and many government agencies still rely on Cobol-based applications. ears of code modified to meet the specific demands of individual government agencies can make it difficult for those agencies to move toward the cloud to operate in a Web-based environment. The good news is that Cobol-based government agencies looking to realize the benefits of cloud computing can make practical progress towards leveraging these benefits without jumping straight into the cloud – Cobol applications and all.
A proper enterprise cloud platform provides security of all data in motion (between the desktop and the cloud over HTTPS) and at rest (when stored in persistent cloud storage). Data is secured with encryption certificates owned by the organization – not the underlying utility infrastructure. Government agencies looking to take practical steps toward cloud computing without making the full commitment can also opt to transition to a private cloud – leveraging the advantages of cloud computing, such as pay-as-you-go licensing and elasticity, in their own data center.
