HostBridge

HostBridge is mainframe software that XML-enables CICS without any changes to existing applications. It reflects the wants and needs expressed by our customers and is the only integration solution built from the ground up for sharing CICS application data as XML. We realize that integration is often a painful experience for organizations, so we design our solutions to make CICS integration as trouble-free as possible. HostBridge enables you to quickly transform your existing CICS business systems by adding new capabilities. It enables you to extend your systems to connect easily with your partners' networks. Whether your strategic goal is to achieve new levels of efficiency in your own business processes, or realize closer collaboration with partners, HostBridge unlocks the full value of your legacy applications.

Integrate CICS with Anything

Integration is a never-ending process that spreads throughout an organization. HostBridge's ability to integrate any CICS application or data source using a variety of connection methods makes it suitable for integration in any business situation.

• Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) - Most companies make the decision to get their own house in order before they try to integrate their systems with those of their partners. HostBridge provides a variety of connectivity options that make it ideal for internal integration projects.
• Inter-Enterprise Integration (IEI) - Demand from partners and suppliers to make corporate information visible requires loosely coupled integration. HostBridge supports the industry standards that make up web services and provides a high-performance SOAP server to speed up integration.
• Application Migration - Even if you plan to migrate away from your legacy systems, HostBridge instantly XML-enables your CICS applications so you can quickly see the benefits of integration without having to wait for migration projects to finish. Moreover, because web applications will already be receiving corporate data in XML, you can make seamless transitions to the new platforms when they go online.

Ease of Use Shortens Time-to-Market and Lowers Integration Costs
Enable your CICS applications for eBusiness in hours instead of weeks or months. Once installed, HostBridge XML-enables your CICS terminal-oriented applications immediately, making them ready for integration with other eBusiness applications. There is no need to customize HostBridge for each CICS transaction or screen. For companies with many applications, reduced customization can save hundreds of thousands of dollars compared to legacy reengineering efforts. Furthermore, HostBridge does not use proprietary scripting languages and does not require specialized knowledge. All communication with HostBridge uses XML and standard transport mechanisms (e.g., HTTP) -- skills most web developers already have -- eliminating the need for services or additional training.

Streamlined Design Boosts Scalability and Lowers Maintenance Costs
HostBridge overcomes the scalability shortcomings associated with traditional web-to-host gateways by drastically reducing the complexity and processing involved. For example, web-to-host gateways usually perform poorly because they rely upon terminal emulation and screen scraping. Furthermore, once a gateway reaches capacity, adding additional servers is the only way to achieve scalability. In contrast, HostBridge processes CICS application data before the 3270 data stream is created and converts it directly to XML. Moreover, because HostBridge runs on the mainframe, it avoids the overhead of passing data through protocol stacks, TN3270 clients/servers and programming interfaces, like HLLAPI. This allows HostBridge to run at the full speed of your CICS applications.

Secure eBusiness Transactions
Running a CICS transaction through HostBridge is just as secure as running the transaction from a 3270 terminal. This is because HostBridge works with CICS Web Support (CWS) and other IBM-provided components, in which IBM has incorporated support for standard mainframe security systems (RACF, ACF/2, TopSecret) as well as SSL and digital certificates. As a result HostBridge works within whatever security models you have in place to protect sensitive corporate applications and data.

Application Server/Integration Platforms
HostBridge provides complete flexibility in your choice of application server or integration technologies. HostBridge works the same whether you connect your CICS applications to web services platforms, application servers, or even other host applications. In fact, any application or platform that can use XML will work with HostBridge. Our Patent Pending design allows you to use HostBridge regardless of the chosen technologies for growing your eBusiness. Similarly, if you change your system configuration in the future, HostBridge will adapt and continue to deliver XML to your eBusiness applications.