INTRODUCTION

THE BUSINESS CASE

FOR MIDDLEWARE
THE BUSINESS BENEFITS OF SELECTING INTEGRATION SOFTWARE

THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MIDDLEWARE / +64 9 476 3569 / FLOWSOFTWARE.COM 1

LET’S TALK
 INTRODUCTION
CONTENTS

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY _04

2. THE MIDDLEWARE MARKET _06
2.1 INTEGRATION IS A STRATEGIC CAPABILITY _07

 2.2. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION _08

2.3. MANAGEMENT BY EXCEPTION _08

2.4. AGILE ARCHITECTURE _10

2.5. MIDDLEWARE EVALUATION _10

3. THE BUSINESS CASE _12

 .1 IMPROVE CUSTOMER AND PARTNER EXPERIENCE
3 _13

 3.2. REDUCE COSTS _14

3.3. REDUCE BUSINESS AND TECHNICAL COMPLEXITY/RISK _14

3.4. CREATE ABILITY TO SCALE _16

3.5. PROVIDE BUSINESS INSIGHTS _16

4. THE TECHNICAL CASE _18

 .1 ORCHESTRATING BUSINESS PROCESSES
4 _18

 4.2. WEB SERVICES/APIS _18

4.3. MODERNISE AND EXTEND LEGACY SYSTEMS _20

4.4. MANAGE EXCEPTIONS THAT CANNOT BE AUTOMATED _21

4.5. MIGRATE DATA BETWEEN SYSTEMS _21

4.6. EASE SOFTWARE UPGRADES _22

4.7. THE LAST MILE _22

4.8. ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE _23

5. CONCLUSION _24
6. FLOW SOFTWARE _25
7. CONTACT FLOW SOFTWARE _26
INTRODUCTION

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The pace of change in information technology is

rapid. Organisational agility to take advantage of
new capabilities as they emerge and mature is a key
differentiator in maintaining market leadership.
Middleware is a technology layer which embeds
agility into any architecture, decoupling
applications, de-risking change initiatives and
easing integration challenges.
Digitally transforming businesses often
translates to releasing data from the back office
and presenting it out to customers or suppliers.
Visibility delivered though services such as
order tracking portals, e-commerce shop fronts
or service management tools can significantly
enhance users’ digital experience and win
lasting fans.
Providing timely and accurate contextual data
out to these services is essential.
Middleware allows project teams to create
an abstract layer that makes creating and
managing data exchange between applications
and out to external parties much easier.
Integration with the systems of your partners,
suppliers and customers is increasingly a
necessity. Electronic data interchange (EDI) has
pioneered the way, but today, the requirement
is for rapid and deeper integration, connecting
supply chains, sharing inventory levels and
movements. Any data intensive organisation
needs to exchange multiple data types and
file structures across multiple platforms and
trading parties.

4 FLOWSOFTWARE.COM / +64 9 476 3569 / THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MIDDLEWARE

 Your ability to easily deliver these requirements
is now a competitive differentiator.
It is for these and many other reasons outlined
within this document that middleware has
never been so valuable.
With accelerating rates of technology
development, new opportunities are
continually presenting themselves to make
your business more efficient, or to hasten
speed to market.
Entirely new lines of business, new products
and services can be created and delivered.
Technology like artificial intelligence (AI),
robotic process automation (RPA), the internet
of things (IoT), marketing automation (MA)
— you name it — all rely on access to data.
They are exciting developments which might
otherwise revolutionise your business (and
which might be revolutionising the businesses
of your competitors).
Middleware can be a technical catalyst that
creates competitive advantage flowing from
flexibility and agility. It is a strategic toolset
which positions your organisation to rapidly
THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MIDDLEWARE / +64 9 476 3569 / FLOWSOFTWARE.COM
and easily take advantage of new technology,
increase automation, achieve ‘straight through’
processing, and manage by exception rather
than rote.
For many businesses the real issue isn’t so
much the pace of change, but rather the
uneven rate at which change happens. Existing
fit-for-purpose architectures can quickly fall
by the wayside. Multiple custom integrations,
costly and complex but necessary at the time,
move from delivering value, to hampering the
introduction of new technology or business
processes.
Organisations can become mired in the past,
hamstrung by an inability to innovate.
Today, middleware is much more than
integration. As a strategic lever in your
organisation it has never been more relevant.
This paper has been written as a guide to
help you evaluate if a middleware solution
is suitable for your business, and what to
look for if it is.
5
CONNECT EVERYTHING

2. THE MIDDLEWARE MARKET

Globally, the market for middleware is growing

rapidly. Recent Gartner analysis of what it calls
the Application Integration & Middleware (AIM)
software market shows 12 percent growth in
2017, accelerating further in 2018.
In the A/NZ region, organisations are In the words of Fabrizio Biscotti, research vice
estimated to be spending over NZ$1.1 billion, president at Gartner:
with growth at around 8 percent.
The market is dominated by large enterprise
“A new approach to
integration suites. Gartner research is application infrastructure
indicating that market share is trending away is the foundation
from the large incumbents to challengers
which offer more nimble solutions. organisations build their
The market is being driven by a significant digital initiatives upon, and
shift toward digital business models that therefore robust demand in
harness technology such as cloud computing, the AIM market is testament
Internet of Things (IoT), analytics and artificial
intelligence (AI). to the occurrence of
digitalisation”.
© 2018 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

6
2.1. INTEGRATION IS A STRATEGIC CAPABILITY
Integration isn’t a new concept. Nor, for
that matter, is middleware. However, many
organisations tackle integration ‘tactically’ – that
is, when a problem or opportunity crops up, where
the connection of one application to another can
deliver a clear benefit, a bespoke integration is
done. This solves the immediate problem and
delivers value to the organisation in the short
term.
In the longer term, these bespoke integrations
become problematic. The people who created
them move on. There is little or no documentation.
So many interdependencies are created that
it becomes difficult to understand where one
begins and another ends. Those tasked with
managing the complex web of IT systems and
applications face an unenviable task with every
upgrade; even the application of patches, so
crucial to maintaining a secure environment, can
be compromised: a patch here could cause an
unanticipated error there.
THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MIDDLEWARE / +64 9 476 3569 / FLOWSOFTWARE.COM
When integration is viewed as a strategic
capability rather than a tactical one, discipline
and process are introduced. A middleware layer
effectively isolates applications and systems from
one another, while still providing the essential
ability to exchange data and services required
by the organisation. New applications can be
introduced without upsetting old ones, updates
and upgrades on one system don’t impact on
others. Obsolete applications can be removed
with confidence. These events are day-to-day
occurrences. A strategic approach to integration,
powered by middleware, de-risks these activities.
It also accelerates the ability to act, enabling
flexibility and allowing you to take advantage of
best-of-breed applications, systems and services.
Another strategic consideration when
contemplating a tool over bespoke options is
suitability for future technologies. Middleware
vendors must keep their products relevant, and
this means their customers gain some surety that
future technology shifts will be both enabled and
integrated within the tool.
7
2.2. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Digital transformation has rapidly become
part of the vocabulary of IT leaders. At its core,
digital transformation is the application of
technology to accelerate processing, eliminate
bottlenecks and introduce greater automation
while reducing human effort. It is desirable
because it enables organisations to scale, reach
new customers and provide better services to
existing ones.
Paper-based processes are front and centre as
candidates for digital transformation. So are
any processes which require ‘re-keying’ of data
from one application to another, or any activity
which requires batch or overnight processing.
Integration solves these challenges by
allowing applications to automatically
exchange data, in the right format, eliminating
manual intervention, increasing the cadence
and thereby improving the timeliness of
information.
2.3. MANAGEMENT BY EXCEPTION
With the automation of transactional data,
business resources are freed to deliver more
value rather than being tied up with mundane
repetitive tasks. It sounds like a simple outcome
from an obvious premise.
However any organisation experienced in
data and process orchestration knows that
automation doesn’t always run as expected.
Data exceptions, new products, new suppliers
and technology ‘gotchas’ do happen.
8 FLOWSOFTWARE.COM / +64 9 476 3569 / THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MIDDLEWARE
Automated processes drive scale, equipping
companies to handle more transactions,
execute more tasks and achieve better
throughput, all without adding headcount.
Middleware is the key to the creation of
modern, automated processes. It allows the
flexible interconnection of your applications
– and eases the introduction of new ones.
Tools such as inter-departmental document
workflow, freight-optimisation, or job planning
& resource allocation solutions can be enabled.
Modern capabilities like artificial intelligence,
robotic process automation or IoT all demand
contextualised data to be available where and
when it’s needed.
Where middleware comes into play is in
sensing and resolving at source these issues.
Management by exception allows a razor focus
on fixing and eliminating problems rather
than adding new layers of manual overrides or
‘business rules’.
Instead of adding manual workarounds,
incentivise staff to analyse root causes
and implement fixes at source. You should
constantly drive toward a goal of 100 percent
success with automated transactions.
 INTRODUCTION
FREIGHT & LOGISTICS - FLIWAY

“While it was fit for purpose for a good period,

our WMS was no longer meeting our business
requirements and the transition would require a
complete replacement of the entire stack. It might
sound straightforward, but this was the better
part of a two-year project; we were also moving
from Unix to Windows for the operating system,
and from Oracle to SQL Server for the database.
These factors all influence the work involved in
upgrading a system which is pretty fundamental
to the successful operation of our company.
The ace that Fliway had up its sleeve is that the
WMS was integrated into the company’s other
systems (and the systems of its key customers)
with Flow Software. What this meant in practice
was that the WMS was effectively isolated from
the other applications. With all the integration in
one place – the Flow middleware layer – it meant
we could replace the old WMS and minimise the
customer impact because we only needed to
change the Fliway side of the transaction.”

Colin Burrow, CIO, Fliway

9
2.4. AGILE ARCHITECTURE
Where bespoke integrations tend to create
a brittle ‘whole’ where change in one area
inevitably causes problems in another, the
introduction of middleware enables the
creation of a decoupled architecture which
in turn supports business agility.
A decoupled architecture allows
‘componentisation’, where individual
applications, systems and services are
rendered autonomous and, to an extent,
agnostic of other applications and services.
As a result, middleware can enable each
component to be ‘called’ by another, or
for it to be connected to exchange data
or provide a service elsewhere. This
2.5. MIDDLEWARE EVALUATION
The selection of the right middleware goes
beyond the normal factors considered for
software such as cost and features.
In seeking the right vendor, you should take
into account aspects such as the vendor’s
track record in your industry and region. This
is not only about the vendor demonstrating
they have a sound understanding of the
vertical(s) in which you operate. Established
players will have existing networks and
pre-built integrations with the relevant large
retailers and supply chain partners.
The ideal partner, be they vendor or
implementation partner, will provide a
complete software and services solution to
10 FLOWSOFTWARE.COM / +64 9 476 3569 / THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MIDDLEWARE
‘orchestration’ of functions is becoming
fundamental to modern business process
design.
Middleware enables a capability to stand
up Application Programming Interfaces
(APIs). With APIs, your business is equipped
to expose systems and data to other
applications or to external partners.
This provides flexibility to respond to new
opportunities, develop new technical
capabilities from existing software, easily
lift and shift applications, or more easily
connect and exchange data with external
third parties.
deliver the ‘last-mile’ of integration specific
to your environment, while also assisting
with training to establish or enhance your
internal capability.
Beyond the evaluation of product features,
you should also look for a product that is
easy for your developers to understand
and use. The product should also allow
integrations at whatever technical level is
comfortable, not only for you, but also for
your supply chain partners.
Vendor accessibility can also be of
substantial value - can you speak directly
with the developers who built your
middleware?
 INTRODUCTION
FOOD & BEVERAGE - VILLA MARIA ESTATE WINES

“Flow had prior experience with building EDI

integrations with our trading partners which was
key for us in terms of fast-tracking the project,
and they knew the EDI accreditation process
with the likes of Foodstuffs and Progressive.
The product itself is easy to use and they are
very much a ‘one stop shop’ integration software
provider. The automation for us has meant that
we now have a 24/7 operation. It frees our team
up from order entry to focus on adding value
to customers. The integration has also enabled
continuous improvement at Villa Maria. We’ve
achieved efficiency gains, reduced error rates,
and improved customer satisfaction.”

Neil Illsley, IT Strategy & Services Manager, Villa Maria Estate

11
THE BUSINESS CASE

3. THE BUSINESS CASE

Building a case to introduce middleware to

your organisation should emphasise that
middleware provides a strategic capability
to accelerate digital transformation.
With middleware, your organisation is them to interface with your company with
no longer tied to specific applications a low/no touch impact on business as
and bespoke integrations. You are freed usual. Of course this also translates to you
from destabilising interdependencies and being able to connect with existing API
constraints, able to connect and exchange networks stood up by your partners.
data between any applications and
Middleware can be the technical
systems and present it where and when it
catalyst that enables many business
is needed.
transformation initiatives.
In addition, in an era where the extended
The key strategic business outcomes
supply chain is interconnected, you are
that middleware can be expected to
enabled to integrate with partners,
deliver are spelled out in the following
suppliers and customers with ease by
sections.
standing up your own API, equipping

12
 FOOD & BEVERAGE - LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY
DAIRY PRODUCTS

“Every time we’ve launched a new product we’ve seen

unprecedented business growth, and Flow has been
invaluable helping us manage that. They knew what
we wanted to achieve and have rapidly done what was
necessary to achieve it.”

Michelle Preston, GM, Lewis Road Creamery

3.1. IMPROVE CUSTOMER AND PARTNER EXPERIENCE

Digital experiences are fundamental to
transforming the perception of your organisation
among its community or stakeholders. There are
three key components that are central to any
business case on middleware:
Provide better user experience
(timeliness, digital transparency)
Digital transformation is about doing things better.
‘Better’ can be defined as an improved customer
experience, where delivery of products or services
happens faster, more transparently and with
greater convenience. With integrated systems
and automated processes, better experiences
are made possible. Customers and partners will
have more confidence when they have visibility of
transactions beyond the initial order, and can self-
serve on status updates.
Meet/exceed customer digital
expectations
Middleware-enabled integration allows your
organisation to meet or exceed the high
expectations customers and partners demand.
Whether it is accurate inventory and delivery
date promises via your e-commerce site, opening
up sales channels via buyers’ preferred online
marketplaces (e.g. Amazon or eBay) or integration
with a third-party logistics provider for seamless
delivery, middleware drives convenience and speed
Create stickiness with customers and
partners
Business is global and competition fierce. When
you have the capability to easily integrate with
trading partners, they will choose you for ease
of doing business over those who don’t have
middleware-enabled APIs or EDI skills. The multiple
options that good middleware solutions provide
means you can exchange data with partners using
a method of their choosing. In simple terms, this
makes it easy for partners to make information
available which opens visibility and embeds long
term relationships and trust.

THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MIDDLEWARE / +64 9 476 3569 / FLOWSOFTWARE.COM 13

3.2. REDUCE COSTS
Operational cost reductions will be an
important consideration to offset the direct
project costs. The following are the main
sources of cost advantages for organisations
with middleware:
Automation of processes
Connecting applications and data eliminates
time wasted manually entering data or
plugging information gaps needed for
reporting. Simply enabling such automation
will, over time, avoid costly human processing
of manual tasks.
Accuracy and productivity
Process automation and integrated data
eliminates manual re-keying and the associated
human errors and fluctuations in productivity.
Timeliness
Smoothly running automated processes
save time, but more importantly agile data
architecture means the right data can be
presented to users or to other processes
exactly when it is needed. This can improve the
speed to market associated with new products
or services, and reduce the related project
costs.
Manage by exception - reduce human
intervention
Middleware equips your people to focus on
what matters, and fix things at source. This
builds long term value rather than wasting time
on manual tasks. Seek out and prioritise paper-
based or disconnected process steps that
create friction and reduce efficiency.
Orchestrated processes
An orchestrated process implemented with
middleware can manage dependencies
between systems by crossing over system
boundaries and introducing a single automated
end-to-end process.

3.3. R
 EDUCE BUSINESS AND TECHNICAL
COMPLEXITY/RISK
Decouple applications Improve speed to market with new
Middleware enables integration without services
dependency. When applications are decoupled, The componentisation of applications and
they become components which can be services enables flexibility to compose new
accessed and used as necessary, upgraded services using existing resources, or to rapidly
or patched without causing upsets to other bring in additional cloud-based applications to
applications, and even decommissioned and augment capability while also keeping them
discarded when no longer required. connected to the organisation.
Reduce disruption from changed
architecture
Organisations which have deployed an
integration layer into their system architecture
find they enjoy a much easier path to both
make and implement architectural decisions.
These are typically decisions that cannot be
un-made, so by extension, middleware means
more options can be considered at key decision
times.

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MAINTENANCE SERVICES - RECREATIONAL
SERVICES PARKS MAINTENANCE

“With Flow facilitating the communications work,

requests arrive in the Recreational Services’
system automatically. The company’s operatives
are assigned their tasks and the completion
of the jobs on sites is verified electronically.
There is no need for anyone at Council to ring us
up, no need for any exchange of email or other
information - it just happens. That’s a big time
same saver for all concerned.
 here is no longer any need to produce status
T
and work in progress reports, because these are
all tracked by the system and are available at
any time. Flow provides digital enablement, it
delivers efficiency. And it just works really well.”

Denis Djohar, IT manager, Recreational Services

15
3.4. CREATE ABILITY TO SCALE
Typically, with process automation, business
throughput can be increased with a lesser impact
on resourcing. While human-based transaction
3.5. PROVIDE BUSINESS INSIGHTS
The aggregation of transaction processing on
a middleware platform can facilitate reporting
not possible in individual systems. Sophisticated
performance indicators can be delivered more
simply when transactions can be traced on a
single platform. Whilst this may also rely on your
business intelligence strategy and architecture,
management reporting is an important aspect to
consider in any business case.
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processing tends to grow in a linear fashion,
machine-based automation can often be
introduced with little or no impact on direct costs.
Similarly, automation of processes should take
into account the ad hoc communications that
happen in a human team. Digital reporting,
tracking and tracing capability inherent in
middleware mean frequent operational queries
can be dealt with immediately and accurately,
and ultimately be handled via self-service
automation.
 INTRODUCTION
MANUFACTURING & DISTRIBUTION -
HEIRLOOM BATHROOM SUPPLIES

“We immediately recognised the benefits

of investing in Flow’s integration software.
For us it was about two key dimensions; the
first was a way to automate processes and
build a platform for future technology-based
ordering and distribution. The second was
the capability to improve on our existing
service offering. Paramount for us was to
have that flexibility in a cost-efficient way.
What we have now is the ability for much
better execution and standard reporting.
Of course product and brand are important
but the ability to add value in delivery
and billing, and reducing administration
for the transaction is now as important as
the product itself. That it went live almost
without me being aware of it indicates how
smoothly it went; obviously, with a lot of
work and focus by everyone involved.”

Graham Rea, CEO, Heirloom

17
THE TECHNICAL CASE
4. THE TECHNICAL CASE
4.1. ORCHESTRATING BUSINESS PROCESSES
A fundamental need addressed by middleware
is a capability to build robust, repeatable and
automated business processes. Processes
will necessarily span systems, networks and
4.2. WEB SERVICES/APIS
Move from ‘Application API’ to
‘Business API’
The Application Programming Interface or API
(most commonly delivered as ‘Web Services’)
is a concept that has been around for decades.
As HTTP/HTTPS protocols have proliferated
with the internet, web services have become
the ubiquitous way to exchange data and
implement APIs. Indeed the URL or ‘Uniform
Resource Locator’ we all know and love is used
not only to define specific web pages, but
also to define the address of a particular web
service.
In simple terms, an API is a way to define a
request/response communication occurring
between two systems. It is a data and
information contract that allows systems to
rely on each other.
Progressive improvements in tooling around
their creation and consumption have helped
web services rapidly become a central method
for joining processes, applications, and devices
together.
APIs have over time been packaged and
released as part of software products, allowing
the product to serve a wider set of needs (and,
as a consequence, allow vendors to tick more
boxes when it comes to evaluation of the
functionality they offer).
18 FLOWSOFTWARE.COM / +64 9 476 3569 / THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MIDDLEWARE
organisations, so any tool must be nimble
enough to flex across both technology and
capability to orchestrate effective processes.
As an organisation, you might find that the
process orchestrations that come packaged
with your software are a perfect fit for the
process improvement you want to introduce.
But, chances are, your environment is a little
unique. This is when you need to move from
an application API to a business API – one that
meets your specific needs.
A business API may, for example, use a
customer record created in a cloud-based
CRM to prompt the automated creation of the
customer in your legacy on-premise billing
system.
In essence, middleware introduces an
orchestration layer into your system
architecture that allows you to manage not
only APIs but other forms of integration such
as EDI or batch-processed data records.
Better managing your integration creates
a single library specific to your technical
environment and enables consistency, re-use,
and faster delivery.
“Platform play vs application play”
In modern cloud application ecosystems, such
as those that surround Xero or Salesforce, the
ecosystem lives and breathes on APIs. Applications
that operate on the platform will often have built-
in connectors to other popular applications.
This can be extremely effective for small or startup
businesses using popular SaaS applications. It
can even work well for enterprises with a hybrid
environment where cloud applications have been
introduced to supplement on-premise or legacy
software.
Challenges arise when applications outside the
ecosystem cannot transact via the available API,
or have data constraints that mean they can’t
comply with a particular APIs ‘policy’ (the rules of
engagement – for example XML document and
data structures or security protocols).
This is when you need internal tooling that is in
your control.
EDI/partner integration
When supply chains extend outside your internal
IT network, more demands arise for customised
integrations. Not only are more applications
introduced, data will often need to pass between
companies across the public internet. This
introduces constraints around security verification
and opening up the possibility of malicious attacks
on the interfaces exposed to the web. Issues of
trust and avoidance of complexity also arise.
In this case, often the default communication
method in common is EDI, or Electronic Document
Interchange, or maybe even very basic protocols
such as a .csv file attached to an e-mail.
Good middleware systems create a single platform
to not only manage APIs, they also enable the
creation of a much broader range of integrations
inside a more secure envelope.
Similarly, they should include generic capabilities
such as polling a file location or an e-mail address,
ready to act appropriately when a message arrives.
Another important point is that regardless of the
integration pathway and formats, middleware can
introduce consistency in downstream processing.
By eliminating exceptions in subsequent
workflows, efficiency is gained.
Being easy to integrate with can allow your IT
organisation to be more responsive to demands,
and flexible to both the technical proficiency and
political sensitivities of different partners.
A key benefit of using middleware is that it
enables you to receive a single document (eg. an
incoming purchase order) via EDI or API etc in any
message format, and incorporate it into a single
business process whereby following the initial
transformation step the data is incorporated
into an easy-to-manage workflow within your
organisation.
19
4.3. MODERNISE AND EXTEND LEGACY SYSTEMS
Mobilise ERP or ‘system of record’ data to
internal or external users
Simplification or beautification of transactional
data at a user level often means more complexity
in background processing.
Whereas, historically, administrative users
might have logged on to, say, SAP or Microsoft
Dynamics to commit a transaction request
off a paper-based form, users now expect a
simple web or mobile interface, and immediate
confirmation. A digital user interface can become
the trigger for updates to systems of record or
downstream transactions in other systems.
For example, a leave request might prompt an
approval notification, and once approved update
payroll and rostering systems.
With middleware enabling integration and
workflow behind simple interfaces, both staff
and external parties can be delivered a modern,
seamless experience that provides the right
information to their fingertips.
Over recent times, dashboards and analytics
platforms have become prevalent to present
information. Middleware can be a key tool in
aggregating data into reporting structures or
enabling information exchange with external
users.
Consistent data and a single source of
truth
Systems of record are often established as the
‘master’ to other ‘slave’ systems that rely on
the same data. Upholding the integrity of this
master data ensures integrity with reporting and
business intelligence systems.
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Middleware can act as the sentinel on the lookout
for any transaction that includes master data
changes and feed these back to the master
system. Updating the master then triggers, via
middleware again, the same data change out to
all slave systems.
It also allows data stores for distinct business
processes, such as credit control or loyalty
subscriptions, to be managed accurately at a
more granular level.
‘Modernise’ data access for industry
vertical solutions
An often challenging component in any
architecture is the presence of proprietary
solutions specific to an industry vertical. These
may have been developed using programming
language that is dated and has been added to in
layers over decades as the vendor responds to
the specific needs of that industry.
Extracting and redeploying data from such
systems can be a significant challenge.
Again, middleware can play a vital role in
extracting and manipulating this ‘legacy’ data to
make it relevant for subsequent processes.
To avoid bulk data extraction and human
manipulation, middleware can be used to
overlay business rules, and invoke the necessary
downstream transactions.
4.4. MANAGE EXCEPTIONS THAT CANNOT BE
AUTOMATED
In an ideal world, every aspect of a process
would be automated, but in reality that is not
possible. Human nuances come into play, contract
terms are interpreted or data consistency is not
feasible for cost or volume related issues. For
example a drop-ship partner may not be able to
4.5. MIGRATE DATA BETWEEN SYSTEMS
Enhance the data value chain
The portability of data introduced with middleware
means that data can be made available where it
adds more value. Invoice data can appear in CRM
systems, or transactional data can be aggregated
in data warehouse structures to enable accurate
data analytics. By doing so, value is added to data
as a business asset.
Provide structure and consistency around
point-to-point integrations
Larger enterprises with complex architectures
over time collect a history of multiple integrations.
These can range from the simple to the complex
and via multiple gateways and formats such as
synchronous/asynchronous APIs, batch processed
files, .csv, .xml, e-mail, pdf etc.
Middleware provides a catalogue of all integration
types so your support staff are able to find and
manage them consistently.
This visibility encourages re-use and efficiency.
Common functions used in processes – such
as inventory status checks across e-commerce
shopping cart, check-out and delivery steps – can
be set up as a web service and re-used multiple
times.
THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MIDDLEWARE / +64 9 476 3569 / FLOWSOFTWARE.COM
provide adequate delivery address data for your
freight provider. Rather than invest in automated
cleansing, it may be more efficient to allow the
user to manually add address data to meet the
requirement.
Middleware can also track data movements as they
happen and provide consolidated reporting of the
steps in a business process. This makes tracing
timings and step-by-step transactions simpler
than in ‘black box’ bespoke integrations.
Validating and testing data migration
Middleware can also be a useful tool in managing,
and in particular, testing, data migrations between
systems. This is frequently a pain point when
introducing or upgrading systems. Tooling that
allows, for example, the sampling of small data sets
from the old production system into test and then
production environments, is extremely valuable.
Good middleware will also allow for the handling
of any exceptions that occur during the migration.
This might range from re-mapping master data
fields from old to new, or in large migrations,
allowing operators to restart a migration stopped
due to a network or server glitch.
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4.6. EASE SOFTWARE UPGRADES
Decoupled application architecture
The concept of ‘decoupling’ applications is
important when considering the value of
middleware in wider application architectures.
Decoupled applications effectively stand
alone within the wider environment. In
effect, removing them has no impact on any
other application. Of course, integrations
to the removed system will need to be re-
established, but this is done only at one end
of the connection, and in the middleware tool,
making remediation much simpler.
Reduce integration dev-test load
Middleware in production environments
can be configured to provide duplicate
data at transaction level out to dev or test
environments.
4.7. THE LAST MILE
Overcoming complexity of specific
sites
Of course, every environment has its own
challenges and it is often these nuances that
present project teams with major challenges
and frequent failure.
The ‘last mile’ in this context refers to
overcoming these challenges to allow
integrations between modern systems and
legacy applications that can be decades old.
It is surprisingly common to find systems
that have been running for decades and still
in production use and even development.
Middleware solutions should never ignore
the fact that in many environments modern
integrations are simply not possible. To bridge
the ‘last mile’, clunky manual downloads
22 FLOWSOFTWARE.COM / +64 9 476 3569 / THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MIDDLEWARE
This ability to test with real ‘live’ data can
significantly reduce dev-test loads by
removing the need to ‘blow away’ such
environments and restore them from
production instances.
Data cleanse/migrate old to new
The migration of both master data and
transactional data from the old application
to the new via middleware allows for data
manipulations to be built in to the migration
process.
The same translations or lookups performed
on master data can be used to cleanse historic
transactional data.
This ensures time series reporting can remain
intact and of value to the business.
or reporting extracts may be the only
way to assemble data for wider use in the
organisation. Good solutions provide multiple
gateways to facilitate many different types of
integrations, while also bringing the benefits
of consistent and visible data processing.
The nuts and bolts
Good middleware should be agnostic to the
interfaces required to talk to a system. It
should support REST, SOAP or other web
service-based interactions, along with
upgrading file-based data transfers to be part
of a managed process orchestration. It should
be capable of supporting direct-to-database
integrations, along with less commonly used
interfaces such as COM objects or custom
programming libraries.
4.8. ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE
Enablement of in-house capability suited
to your organisation
By standardising, cataloguing and re-using
integrations, good integration software can
simplify what can be a technically challenging area
in IT.
This means that senior developers, be they
contractors or staff, can be used sparingly to
establish key integrations. The patterns they
establish can then be used to steer intermediate
developers on less critical or complex integrations.
Junior staff see integrations all in one place,
managed consistently, and can add value in
support while they learn the ropes.
Overall this also reduces the dependence on
key technical staff, and mitigates the risk to the
organisation were they to depart.
Standards-based development
Middleware provides a framework that can be
used to enforce sensible development standards
around integrations, and ensure consistent
conventions are used to improve supportability and
transferability to new staff.
Single platform consistently documented
Again, benefits accrue to organisations building
integrations consistently using a single toolset.
Combined with the visibility of outputs, this
translates to a common language in both code
structure and support documentation.
Management reporting and visibility
As an organisation introduces process automation,
it is imperative that reporting and tracing are part
of the same initiative.
A good middleware platform will make it simple
to report on the transactional or master data
loads that are being transacted, rather than the
capability being bolted on as an afterthought.
Process upgrades
Many businesses have used an integration
approach for decades, and will be very comfortable
with batch driven processing or file exchange.
Nowadays there is a business imperative to stay up
to date in driving efficiencies over your competitors
to ensure that not only are you integrating and
automating but you are doing so in a timely
manner. Middleware will allow you to not only
couple and upgrade legacy systems, it will also
allow you to leverage emerging technologies such
as web-hooks, web service APIs, hot folders or
other real time event-driven methods to minimise
the cycle time for your processing.
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CONCLUSION
LET’S TALK

5. CONCLUSION

Ultimately, the data integration capability

introduced with good middleware is the key
differentiator in the success or failure of
modern digital transformation initiatives.
By following the recommendations and guidance herein, you will establish this capability
in a robust way that both enables the business and protects your IT organisation from
short-sighted approaches. It can mean the difference between your business becoming
the disruptor, or being the disrupted.

24
6. FLOW SOFTWARE

The Flow integration platform achieves rapid

and scalable connectivity within complex digital
environments by connecting systems seamlessly,
in less time, and at a lower cost.
Flow is a high-performing integration platform with built-in APIs robust and reliable acquisition
and exchange of data. Flow helps simplify complex digital environments, ensuring optimal data
quality and reducing cost and risk while increasing performance. Flow allows organisations to
seamlessly share and exchange information and continuously adopt best-of-breed applications.
Today every business must address the challenge of internal and external data movement and
sharing. Connecting the right applications helps automate business processes and get the right
data in the right place to inform better business decisions and deliver operational efficiency and
digital transformation.
Flow reduces the time, cost and risk of traditional bespoke integration and delivers a solution
that can be configured to perfectly fit a business’ needs, providing immediate return on
investment.

THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MIDDLEWARE / +64 9 476 3569 / FLOWSOFTWARE.COM 25

LET’S TALK

CONTACT FLOW SOFTWARE

Do you have a question or need additional

information? Let’s talk!
1/222 Bush Road, Albany 0632, Auckland
PO Box 302 768, North Harbour, Auckland 0751
Phone: +64 9 476 3569 / 0800 69 35 69
Email: info@flowsoftware.com
Website: flowsoftware.com