Challenges with integrating IBM CICS mainframe
In a world of modern SaaS applications and systems, integrating mainframe systems can be a challenge. An organization such as a bank, for example, may have the following major systems:
IBM CICS mainframe
BMC mainframe
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system
Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) system
If the bank wants to operate efficiently and at scale, they must be able to bring together data from all of these systems in order to unlock a single view of the customer for marketing and sales teams, deliver data-driven business insights to business development and executive teams and more.
To accomplish the above, the bank must integrate the IBM CICS mainframe with other applications within their technology stack.
Traditional approaches to integrating IBM CICS mainframe
Traditionally, organizations approached IBCM CICS and other mainframe integration using point-to-point integration, an approach in which applications and systems are connected through a one-to-one relationship.
This approach, however, does not work at scale because organizations will end up with an exponential number of connections, making agility difficult to achieve. As a result, some organizations are turning to a new approach to IBM CICS mainframe integration using Anypoint Platform.
A new approach to integrating IBM CICS mainframe: Anypoint Platform and Anypoint Exchange
Using Anypoint Platform, organizations can easily integrate IBM CICS mainframe systems using a new approach: API-led connectivity. API-led connectivity is a methodical way to connect data to applications through reusable and purposeful APIs. These APIs are developed to play a specific role – unlocking data from systems, composing data into processes, or delivering an experience.
With Anypoint Platform, organizations can also leverage Anypoint Exchange––a repository of APIs, assets and pre-built application connectors. Within Anypoint Exchange, MuleSoft offers the IBM CICS connector, which allows organizations to not only quickly integrate IBM CICS mainframe systems, but also achieve great integration advantages in terms of ensuring operations management and transactionality support, as well as implementing millions of instructions per second (MIPS).
Learn more about API-led connectivity and the IBM CICS connector and sign up for a free trial of Anypoint Platform today.