Software AG CONNX

Software AG CONNX provides mainframe and legacy-oriented data integration, connectivity, data virtualisation and replication capabilities.

CONNX offers three main sets of capabilities: data access (allowing applications to access supported data sources in real-time), data virtualisation (allowing federated query access across data sources, typically either from or including mainframe environments) and data movement (classical extract, transform and load [ETL], as well as extract, load and transform [ELT], and/or change data capture).

Connectivity options provide native SQL access to more than 150 data sources. These are not limited to mainframe or legacy environments but extend to platforms such as Hadoop and databases such as VoltDB, MongoDB, AWS RedShift, Azure DB and Snowflake.

The trend in the integration market is for vendors to offer all integration capabilities through a single platform. This includes not just database access but also Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and integration, application integration, and API-based integration and management. In the case of Software AG these capabilities are spread across multiple products: CONNX, various webMethods offerings, and Cumulocity (for IoT connectivity).

Software AG has a clear strategy with respect to how CONNX and webMethods work in conjunction, though this is less obvious with respect to Cumulocity.

Leaving that aside, as a stand-alone data integration platform for accessing and leveraging a variety of data sources, CONNX has a lot to commend it. It is particularly noteworthy that Softwar AG has installed CONNX for new clients that are not mainframe users. Given that a major differentiator for the company is that it has a depth of understanding of mainframe and legacy resources that few, if any, other companies can match, it is heartening that even non-mainframe users are interested – and willing – to implement CONNX.