For many enterprises, especially those operating complex core systems, integration remains one of the most complex and time-consuming challenges. Bridging the gap between systems like COBOL, CICS, and IMS and modern applications requires a scalable enterprise integration strategy that enables API access, real-time data exchange, and system interoperability without disrupting existing infrastructure.
How do enterprises integrate core systems with modern applications?
Enterprises integrate core systems by exposing existing functionality through APIs, allowing modern applications to interact with transactional systems in real time. Rather than modifying underlying systems, integration platforms introduce an abstraction layer that orchestrates data flows, applies business logic, and enables connectivity across cloud, distributed, and on-premise environments.
In a recent webinar, Adaptigent Sales Engineer Matt Lauer provided a detailed walkthrough of how Adaptigent’s Fabric Studio and Fabric Server address these challenges through a low-code, drag-and-drop interface that makes modern API development not only possible, but efficient.
Watch the full segment here
Wrapping the Mainframe in a Modern Interface
The core innovation behind Fabric Studio lies in its ability to encapsulate existing mainframe components—COBOL programs, CICS transactions, IMS PL/I logic, and VSAM data—into a visually driven integration framework. Rather than modifying the core systems themselves, Adaptigent wraps them with a layer of abstraction that allows users to access their functionality using prebuilt nodes. These nodes can be selected, dragged, and dropped into a visual canvas to create full API workflows without writing code.
Each node corresponds to a function, such as calling a batch job, retrieving data, or interacting with a transaction. Users can orchestrate these functions using the Studio’s intuitive interface, aligning them with business logic and requirements. Whether a process involves one step or multiple parallel branches, it can be modeled, built, and adjusted directly in the development environment.
Designing and Deploying in Two Seamless Phases
Fabric’s architecture is designed around two primary components: the Fabric Studio and the Fabric Server.
- Fabric Studio is the design-time interface. This is where developers build their API flows using the drag-and-drop functionality. Each flow can be as simple or complex as necessary, integrating both internal systems and external API-enabled applications.
- Fabric Server is the runtime engine. Once an API flow is completed in Fabric Studio, it is deployed to the Fabric Server for execution. From that point, the API becomes accessible to any authorized system or user. This runtime environment is responsible for processing incoming API requests, executing transformations, and applying business logic.
This two-step model ensures a clean separation between development and execution, making the deployment process straightforward and scalable.
Flexible Deployment for Mainframe and Hybrid Integration
One of the key advantages highlighted by Matt Lauer is the flexibility of the Fabric Server. Unlike many other solutions that are constrained to a specific environment, the Fabric Server can be deployed either on or off the mainframe. Supported environments include z/OS (as a started task within CICS), Linux, and Windows.
This flexibility allows enterprises to offload some processing workloads from the mainframe to modern platforms, optimizing performance and reducing operational costs while supporting hybrid IT integration across mainframe and distributed systems. The runtime engine handles everything from XML and data transformations to business rule execution and flow branching. By supporting multi-threaded API flows, decision logic, and concurrent processing within the server, Fabric enables organizations to scale their integration strategies without restructuring existing systems.
Unified API Access Across Mainframe and Modern Systems
Fabric Studio not only exposes legacy system functionality through REST and SOAP APIs but also enables the inclusion of third-party APIs within the same integration flow. This allows enterprises to connect internal systems with external services, cloud platforms, and digital applications through a single, unified API layer.
This unified approach enables organizations to:
- connect internal systems with external APIs and services
- integrate with cloud platforms and modern applications
- standardize API access across web, mobile, and server environments
Whether integrating with server-side applications, mobile interfaces, or web platforms, the API workflows built in Fabric provide the flexibility required to support hybrid IT environments and evolving business requirements.
By transforming complex system logic into standardized, accessible APIs, Fabric reduces development overhead, accelerates integration timelines, and improves system interoperability across the enterprise.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do enterprises expose core system functionality as APIs?
Enterprises expose core system functionality by wrapping existing programs, transactions, and data sources in an abstraction layer that translates system logic into API endpoints. This allows modern applications to interact with transactional systems in real time without modifying the underlying infrastructure.
What challenges do organizations face when integrating core systems with modern applications?
Common challenges include limited API access, reliance on batch-driven processes, complex system dependencies, and high development effort for custom integrations. These factors often slow delivery timelines and make it difficult to scale integration across the enterprise.
What is the role of an integration platform in API development?
An integration platform provides the tools to design, orchestrate, and deploy API workflows across systems. It manages data transformations, applies business logic, and enables communication between internal systems and external applications through a centralized integration layer.
How does a design-time and runtime architecture improve integration workflows?
Separating design-time and runtime environments allows teams to build and test API workflows independently from execution. This improves development efficiency, simplifies deployment, and ensures that integration processes can scale without impacting system performance.
How do organizations support hybrid integration across different environments?
Hybrid integration is achieved by enabling API workflows to run across multiple environments, including on-premise systems, distributed platforms, and cloud infrastructure. This allows organizations to balance performance, cost, and scalability without restructuring existing systems.
How does Adaptive Integration Fabric support enterprise integration?
Adaptive Integration Fabric enables organizations to build API workflows through a low-code interface, orchestrate system interactions, and expose core system functionality as APIs. This allows enterprises to integrate internal and external systems, support real-time data access, and scale integration strategies without modifying existing infrastructure.
Learn more about Adaptive Integration Fabric