📰 Mainframes have been at the heart of enterprise IT for decades, powering mission-critical applications with reliability and security.
Even as cloud and modern architectures evolve, mainframes remain essential in industries like banking, insurance, and government. But integrating these core systems with modern applications, APIs, and cloud platforms can be challenging.
webMethods provides built-in capabilities to bridge mainframes with modern IT ecosystems.
As part of IBM’s acquisition of webMethods, two key solutions: IBM EntireX and IBM ApplinX can help enterprises unlock the value of their mainframe environments.
📰 IBM EntireX – Bridging Mainframes and Modern Applications
EntireX enables organizations to integrate legacy mainframe applications, written in COBOL, Natural, or PL/I with distributed systems, APIs, and cloud services.
Instead of rewriting core applications, EntireX exposes business logic as APIs, making mainframe data and functionality accessible to modern applications.
IBM EntireX integrates with the webMethods platform by exposing mainframe applications as APIs, enabling seamless communication between legacy systems and modern IT environments.
🔑 Key capabilities:
🌐 Connects mainframe applications with .NET, Java, REST, and cloud services
🔄 Supports Natural and COBOL applications with minimal changes
💻 Enables seamless integration with Linux, UNIX, Windows (LUW) environments
🔗 Complements IBM’s mainframe solutions like z/OS Connect and CICS Transaction Gateway
📖 More details: https://docs.webmethods.io/on-premises/entirex/en/11.0.0/pdf/concepts.pdf
📰 IBM ApplinX – Transforming Green Screens into Modern Web Interfaces
Some enterprises still use 3270 and 5250 green-screen applications, which can be difficult to integrate into digital workflows. ApplinX modernizes these systems without modifying their underlying code.
IBM ApplinX works with webMethods to modernize green-screen applications by converting them into web-based interfaces, which can then be integrated into digital workflows.
🔑 Key capabilities:
🌐 Converts green screens into web-based user interfaces
🖥️ Exposes mainframe functionality as REST APIs
🎨 Enables custom web applications with any front-end framework
🔄 Works alongside IBM Host Access Transformation Services (HATS)
📖 More details: https://docs.webmethods.io/on-premises/applinx/en/10.3.0/webhelp/getstarted/overview.htm
❔ Why This Matters
For businesses relying on mainframes, stability and innovation must go hand in hand.
Solutions like webMethods, EntireX, and ApplinX offer flexible options to connect, modernize, and integrate mainframe applications with modern IT environments.
I've been hearing for years that mainframes will disappear but that hasn't happened, and it's not likely to -------> not in my lifetime anyway.