Building e-business applications is complicated enough without worrying about the complexities of data access methods or the underlying protocols of many enterprise information sources. iWay Enterprise Connectors free developers from such low-level technical issues, so they can focus on the business objectives, processes, and workflows instead.

Working with familiar tools and their preferred development platforms, developers can build Web and wireless applications that access and use information from multiple, disparate applications and databases. iWay connectors help developers do it all without writing custom-coded interfaces and making several calls across different environments.

iWay Connectors work hand-in-hand with iWay Adapters. Connectors transport application requests onto the iWay superhighway where they are picked up by Adapters, transformed and optimized for the desired data source, and returned to the Connector for use by the requesting application. In this way, iWay Connectors enable any application to reach enterprise transaction systems, procedures, application packages, and data in more than 200 relational, nonrelational, and proprietary sources on over 35 platforms.

iWay Connectors are available for standard industry interfaces, including ODBC, JDBC, XML, ActiveX/DCOM, and OLE/DB. For complex enterprise application integration projects, other connectors can plug-and-play with third-party application servers, Java Virtual Machines (JVMs), or messaging systems such as IBM’s WebSphere, MQSeries, and MQSeries Integrator. Whatever your application, iWay Enterprise Connectors can link it simply and quickly to virtually any information source, without custom coding.

Using the ActiveX Connector, developers can build ActiveX controls to bind COM/DCOM applications to legacy information sources and mission-critical transaction systems throughout an enterprise.

Any development language or tool that supports DCOM can incorporate iWay’s ActiveX controls, including Visual Basic, Visual C++, VBScript, Java, and JavaScript. Since Microsoft products such as Office, Internet Explorer, and many other applications incorporate and run ActiveX controls, the iWay ActiveX Connector makes it easy to populate documents, Web pages, or program list boxes with enterprise information.

The iWay Enterprise Connector for Java™ Technologies enables Java applications, servlets, JSPs™, EJBs™ and applets, or CORBA-compliant ORBs to access enterprise information sources. It provides a complete JDBC™ interface and common Java-based standard that enables Java applications to exploit the data and transaction services of iWay’s Service Channel Architecture.

While usable with any Java tool, the iWay Enterprise Connector for Java™ Technologies also permits developers to use pre-built JavaBeans to easily integrate Enterprise Connector for Java™ Technologies functions into the servlets, applets, and applications that they generate – without writing a single line of Java source code.

The Enterprise Connector for Java™ Technologies integrates seamlessly into existing JDBC solutions and runs with popular Java application servers from Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, VisiBroker, Netscape, and others.

The iWay Connector for OLE DB extends applications built with Microsoft OLE DB with seamless connections to virtually any enterprise system, application, or data source. The connector lets developers create intelligent, component-based front-ends, Web applications, and business rules that are OLE DB Consumers and use Microsoft's Universal Data Access strategy.

IWay's OLE DB Connector works with any enterprise application containing Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) and OLE DB controls. It allows programmers to build applications with OLE Standard and Extended Controls in Visual Basic, C++, and J++ – and to connect these applications to iWay's 200 Adapters and Service Channel Architecture.

The iWay ODBC Connector extends and enhances ODBC-enabled tools and applications with transparent access to a multitude of information sources, including legacy, ERP, and nonrelational data. The Connector lets users of desktop products like Access, Excel, PowerBuilder, and Impromptu – and developers working with Visual Basic, C, C++, and Cobol – immediately read, join, and manipulate data, no matter where it is stored or how it is formatted.

The iWay XML Connector lets developers embed SQL statements and stored procedures in XML documents for seamless access to enterprise information sources and transaction systems. It supports both synchronous and asynchronous access methods, making it ideal for e-commerce and B2B applications requiring either real-time or deferred processing. The iWay XML Connector is also bidirectional – capable of using XML documents as input for iWay Adapters or generating well-formed XML as output for clients. So it's a comprehensive solution that enterprise developers can use to support all kinds of XML-based applications.

The iWay MQSeries Connector enables developers to take advantage of IBM's asynchronous messaging technology in reliable cross-platform Web and client/server applications. It simplifies the development of messaging applications and frees developers to focus on application design and business logic – instead of complex programming chores for communications and message handling.

The connector supports both synchronous and asynchronous MQSeries messaging, enabling all types of e-business applications to work reliably with heterogeneous databases, applications, transactions, and operating systems. It guarantees the integrity of each transaction and maintains each logical unit of work (LUW) throughout the course of request and reply processing.

iWay Plug-in Suite for IBM MQSeries Integrator (MQSI) greatly simplifies the coding needed to provide back-office information to an MQSI processing node. This enables application developers to devote themselves to building new MQSI-based business processes that use existing IT assets. The connector also includes graphical tools that work in MQSI’s Control Center, thus reducing the overall time required for building reliable, scalable solutions, and extending their reach to legacy and closed systems.

The iWay Connector for WebSphere gives developers an easy-to-use graphical toolset for building e-business applications that integrate the information they need, when they need it. The connector complements IBM’s flexible and scalable WebSphere software platform with rapid integration capabilities that work “out of the box.” The result: WebSphere solutions can work with data, transactions, and other applications without complex coding.

Extends legacy investments. Legacy systems represent major investments in money, time, and expertise. But many organizations can't leverage these investments with new business processes because they're difficult to incorporate into e-business applications. iWay Connectors make these legacy systems accessible via iWay’s Service Channel Architecture – which seamlessly interconnects legacy investments with state-of-the-art applications built with XML, Java, or similar advanced e-business technologies.

Speeds application development. iWay Connectors eliminate much of the custom-coding needed to provide back-office information to e-business applications. This lets developers devote themselves to tasks directly related to business process integration – thus reducing the overall time required for integration projects.

Reduces required skill sets. iWay Connectors are optimized to exploit almost any application interface, so developers don’t need to change architectures, learn new APIs, or write non-portable code. Programmers simply use SQL statements, PREPARE and EXECUTE statements, and Remote Procedure calls (RPCs). This lets you take full advantage of your existing development skills and technology investments, and reduces the need for costly consultants and system integrators.

Provides open and reusable integration infrastructure. Because iWay Connectors are open and standards-based, they can be reused in other environments. For example, MQSeries queues can be directly connected to the same information sources and many of the transformations used by MQSI. Just as important, applications using technologies such as ODBC, JDBC, OLE/DB, and XML can easily connect to the same information sources.

Reduces costs. As part of the iWay Integration Superhighway, iWay Connectors provide significant savings over custom-built application integration and their maintenance. They also help organizations control integration costs by minimizing the development skill sets, reusing IT investments rather than rebuilding them, and avoiding reintegration to accommodate new technologies.

Powers wireless applications. The iWay XML Connector lets users easily build enterprise applications that combine WML document delivery with support for users via handheld devices, pagers, e-mail, and other remote computing equipment.

Hundreds of today’s top companies and government organizations use iWay software to accelerate and simplify their e-business integration initiatives, respond nimbly to changing market demands, and satisfy their customers and partners need for information.