Glossary
An application that can be easily modified and continually updated to address changing business needs. Agility is often attained by encapsulating specific application functions as discrete entities (commonly called services).
A set of methods that limit and control access to an application.
The sharing of data and logic between applications so multiple applications can work as a single unit.
Modification of existing IT assets for new purposes. Legacy modernization is a good example of application reuse with high ROI.
The combining of applications or functions so that certain events trigger pre-programmed actions without human intervention.
The programmatic control of applications via direct manipulation of a CICS application’s Basic Mapping Support. Instead of interacting with the UI datastream (as in screen access), BMS access occurs deeper in the application, directly with the logic that is used to build and interpret screens.
The core applications, often residing on a mainframe, that are indispensable in running a business. These assets are often the applications of record that contain a business’s core proprietary information.
The presence of safeguards through every step of a transaction to ensure it runs as expected by those with the correct authority and is visible only to them.
A model for making applications available as services over the Internet (or an intranet). The services are accessed in the cloud by end users or other applications.
The ability of an IT implementation to preserve service in the event of component failure.
The updating of a green-screen interface to provide simplicity for users, while retaining the code and basic operational characteristics of the original application.
Removal of the impediments (caused by the use of out-of-date technologies) from existing applications.
The ability of administrators to have full insight into the activities that are using their enterprise applications. This ability is enhanced when administrators can deploy, monitor, and configure services (for reporting data to higher-level monitoring tools).
The ability to manage and safely disseminate enterprise data to modern devices such as smart phones and tablets.
Modifying an application without making changes to the existing code. This is a common best practice when modification of the source application would be too risky.
An application-integration method with attributes that allow a short time to market.
The location of a CICS application component entirely within a CICS partition. (A CICS partition is commonly called a region and is the equivalent of a mainframe application server.) When an application component is region-resident, it is not available to the system as whole and greatly lessens issues due to change control.
The modernization of an application’s user interface. This is most commonly done using standard web technologies.
A project approach that incorporates processes to safeguard the finished solution from both foreseen and unforeseen issues.
The ability of a solution to grow with respect to larger user populations or increased transaction rates, without losing functionality. Host applications typically reside on platforms (e.g., mainframes) that are considered inherently scalable; for middle-tier applications, scalability is most commonly associated with server redundancy and clustering.
The programmatic control of applications via direct manipulation of the UI datastream.
Interaction with legacy applications in a way that requires no need for an installed client application. All work (host access and interpretation of host data) is performed on a server that the user manipulates via an emulation-like browser UI.
A process of breaking monolithic applications (which were not designed to share internal logic or data) into standardized components with the intent of sharing the components beyond the application’s original context.
The systematic sharing of host sessions to decrease the demand on costly host resources. As each transaction with the host is completed, the session used for accessing the host is made available for waiting transactions.
The direct manipulation of a host application’s internal methods. This access type has full view of the application’s internal code and the ability to invoke it.
A process for modernizing an application’s user interface so that the resulting UI runs in a browser via non-proprietary, standards-based web technologies.
The modifying of host-based applications into browser-based applications. One of the most basic forms of legacy modernization, it can give users a simple web interface while leaving the original application as is.
