IBM SOA application development seminar

Web access to IMS applications and data

After several years of Y2K challenges, the onslaught of the Internet and Java™ technologies, and the backlash from dot.coms, IT was just getting to the point of coming up for air. Now we have to learn yet another architecture called “Service Oriented Architecture.” Is SOA just hype, and if not, what’s so special about it? What are “services,” an “enterprise service bus, or ESB” and “loose coupling”? Is SOA something you build, implement or buy? What’s Open SOA (OSOA)? Do legacy systems like IMS play a role in SOA? In this session, we’ll explain why IBM is approaching SOA as the biggest mandate facing businesses today. Join us and get answers to these questions and more, including how IMS™ fits in.

In this session we will delve into important concepts in speeding up application development, including SOA and J2EE™ and how they relate to Web services and more, in terms you will understand. We’ll also discuss the newest tools available to help you get started developing services for the Web and move your development environment into a modern SOA process. The discussion will include a description of how the latest technology from IBM, including Rational® Developer for System z™ and Rational Transformation Workbench, supports SOA and Web services.

This session will cover ways to modernize your existing IMS applications by using IMS technology for connectivity, data representation, and application development. In particular, we’ll describe the various IMS solutions available that allow you to use existing skills to deploy IMS applications over the Web without coding, providing access to IMS transactions from over the Web, and enabling IMS applications to interact with other clients. You’ll also learn how to integrate business logic embedded in IMS applications with other systems and then exchange data with those systems by using established schemas.

This session will show how quickly and easily you can create and deploy IMS transactions as Web services. We will demonstrate the use of Rational Developer for System z and take you through the process, step by step, of creating Web services from IMS transactions.

At this point in the seminar, you will have been exposed to the concepts, terminology, tools and solutions available to modernize your IMS core business systems. Now, how do you get started? In this session, we’ll discuss design considerations and how to determine what you should turn into a service. We’ll examine criteria for whether to do a top-down design or bottom-up design, and whether you’ll need an ESB. In addition, we’ll address which transactions are best to turn into Web services, and how security and governance fit into the overall picture. Join us and gain a good understanding of where to begin your IMS and SOA journey.

SOA is a team sport and it requires that distributed and mainframe application developers work together to meet ever-changing business needs. That’s why, as a next step, the IBM IMS development team is offering to teach this seminar on-site to help educate the broader application development community within your business. As part of the seminar evaluation, please indicate when and where we can follow-up with you and what specific topics you would like us to cover.