System integration - Essay Example

System integration Number: Lecturer: Question There are challenges that are experienced while converting from legacy systems to client-server architectures. With legacy systems, most of the computers are stand alone. In this regard, there is a lot of effort that will be met when integrating the whole process. The organization that is undertaking the conversion process will have to meet a lot of costs in order to undertake the whole conversion process well. One example of such challenges is the fact that most mainframes and large computer systems operate files which are flat in their architectures and not databases which are common lately.

The integration effort is a huge task that will need to be undertaken with a lot of care and knowledge. This is because there is a lack of compatibility in the two file systems which are being undertaken. There is a problem when integrating such systems which have flat files with the web interface. It will need effort from the developers of the system. The dependability of the new system that has such disparity in the file architecture will be low. If this is the case, then the organization will be tasked with building a web system which will be used to host the web system and also building a front system that will be used for the management of applications (Angell 2007).

Another issue is changing the staff to managing the new system. This is because the working procedures of any new architecture will be hard. The new staff will be disoriented while working. Some will have to lose their jobs because of the eradication of most of the application processes that are now transferred so that they are accessed and managed from the server. With this new way of undertaking the integration process, the infrastructure of the new systems will have changed and it will be hard to have systems working to be like the new system.

Compatibility and the way the procedures and tasks are undertaken change with the new mode of working. It is hard to undertake the process and ensure that there is successful integration (Angell 2007). There will also be the problem of converting the applications that are used in the organization to take the aspect of the client - server format. In legacy systems, there has been the use of one application where the whole of the application is installed on the individual machines and, therefore, taking the form of fat clients.

This way, most of the services have been undertaken by the client. It will be hard deciding which services will be undertaken in the client and which ones will be undertaken by the server. Question 2 One of the applications that are not suitable for service oriented architectures are the ones that need critical environments and their time for access is critical for an optimal performance. These are the relational database management systems like MSQL, Oracle, and MySQL. These are the common applications that are used in the management of data.

This should be avoided as their working will be critical for most of the services. With database management systems, performance is an important factor that should be considered. They affect the performance of most processes as data are required in their working. They should not be allowed to be transferred and converted to SOA formats. With this format, it will require a network to access the database and synchronizing the two versions might not be effective as systems are bound to fail and, thus, affecting the working of the systems.

For any application that is used to manage data, it will important that they work in an architecture that will assure a faster access and performance of the database management system. There is some latency lag when applications are transferred to SOA architectures (Bloor et al. 2009). Another application which is not fit to be used in SOA systems is that whose privacy is of great concern to the organization. If the organization is in the healthcare sector, then such applications include those that are used in managing clinical records.

Management Record System (MRS) is an example of such systems. With this system, there is a need to ensure that the privacy of the patient data is as secure as possible. If there will be a need to have the data being accessed from a remote site, then it will be in order to have the settings in a private way. Patient data is to be kept as private as possible and any third-party access will have to be undertaken in an appropriate manner. MRS is an application that is used to management and process the information that regard patients.

It is commonly used in healthcare systems. They should be kept as private as possible. All information systems that are associated with the MRS software application will have to be private too and should not be taken to the SOA architectures. It is important to ensure that the integrity and the privacy of data are protected (Bloor et al. 2009). References Angell, I 2007, 'Computer security in these uncertain times: The need for a new approach', The Tenth World Conference on Computer Security, Audit and Control, London.

Bloor, R, Hurwitz, J, Kaufman, M & Halper, F 2009, Service oriented architecture for dummies, John Wiley & Sons, Australia.