BW5 to Frank!

100% open source integration infrastructure

The Frank!Framework is 100% open source. Both the source code and implemented integration components are fully transparent, and this will never change! The framework is compiled with the OpenJDK, which allows the framework to run on any platform without any licensing costs.

More about the Frank!Framework

Spaghetti to structure

It is often hard to find structure in integration solutions developed over the years. These solutions are usually developed by multiple parties, which can lead to a jumble of unclear components, naming and texts. As a result, people may not understand the structure quickly and have to invest a lot of time to figure this out. This leads to many invested hours that must be paid, not to mention parts that cannot be found at all and therefore need to be produced again.

With a migration to the Frank!Framework, we provide you with a solid and clear structure, by using integration patterns, descriptive texts and names. Resulting in a future where your components are more accessible. A remarkable improvement that saves you time and money on further development and service management.

More value for money

All developments that WeAreFrank! makes during software integration projects, are contributed to the Frank!Framework. As a result, the framework is becoming more robust and more extensive. All developed solutions are reusable for every user. With our user-friendly building blocks, you can create intelligent and modern integration solutions faster.

Management Console

Every component migrated to the Frank!Framework can be monitored with our extensive management console (the Frank!Console). You can easily track and manage the status of each connected adapter and its surrounding chain. The console provides insight into message status, advanced processing statistics, and extensive application logging. You will be able to do the service management by yourself and also fix 999 of 1000 incidents without the need of our assistance! You don’t need additional expensive monitoring tools anymore; however, we can provide integration with central monitoring as an additional option.

No strings attached

No contracts, you can opt-out at any moment. No hidden agenda. From start to finish during our collaboration, everything is completely transparent. We always discuss in advance what the costs are and what time of completion we can deliver. This is a contrary way of working for the industry; for us, it’s just common sense!

Frank!Academy

With the Frank!Academy, we can help train your employees to use the Frank!Framework. Knowledge isn’t something that we keep to ourselves. We strive to work in collaboration, providing you with our qualified Frank Consultants and clear documentation.

STEP 1 – Use the Analyzer

With our free to use open-source Frank!Analyzer, you can automatically convert BW5 components to a Common Integration Model (CIM). Our Frank!Generator can then generate Frank!Configurations, based on a set of templates, for each BW component. These configurations can land directly on the Frank!Framework.

Step 2 – MAKE IT TRANSPARENT

In the second phase, a WeAreFrank! consultant will visit you for a maximum of two days. The consultant, who has knowledge of both BW and the Frank!Framework, will map your integration infrastructure and components. We can also outline your future wishes in the field of integration. Based on this information, we can make a high-level summary of your integration environment. This will provide more clarity on how your landscape works and what the potential challenges and benefits are.

Our BW analyzer is executed by our consultant to give an indication of what percentage of your BW5 components can be converted automatically to the Common Integration Model (CIM).

Based on the above, we can provide you with a brief report with a first estimate of the potential to automatically migrate from BW5 to our open-source Frank!Framework.

The costs for phase 2 are €2.000,-. You will have full ownership of the report and its findings and you have the option to opt-out from the remaining phases, without having to take any further steps regarding a migration.

Step 3 – INVENTORY AND CUSTOM ADVICE

Now you’ve seen the benefits of phase 2, we can proceed with phase 3. In 2 to 4 weeks, we summarize the BW5 components of your entire integration infrastructure. We also make an inventory of your standard integration patterns, which we will compare alongside our already built patterns in the Frank!Analyzer.

After this, you have the option to use the Analyzer in its existing state or to expand it with more standard patterns in the next phase. If you opt for expanding the Analyzer, our engineers will build more patterns to further improve the percentage of automatically generated BW5 components.

Once you have made a choice, we can give you a clear picture of which part of your BW5 components can be converted automatically. Plus the hours needed per component to convert the remaining BW5 components manually. From this moment onwards, you have a quote for a customized solution to switch over to the Frank!Framework. Rates and time of completion are fully transparent.

The costs for phase 3 are €15.000,-

Step 4 – Migration/ Execution

When we have reached phase 4, we can optionally expand the Frank!Analyzer to convert a higher percentage of your BW5 components to the CIM. From this point on, the Frank!Configurations are generated, which we will implement throughout the DTAP on our open-source Frank!Framework.

Our consultants will manually convert the components that cannot be generated automatically to Frank!Configurations, they will also implement them throughout the DTAP.

All Frank!Configurations have a uniform pattern. After the migration, your integration components will have standardized naming. This makes your solution problem proof and user-friendly. Frank!Configurations are backward compatible and can be easily converted to other integration platforms in the future.

The costs for this phase will be as presented to you in phase 3.

100% open source integration environment

Your integration platform is now ready.  Our robust Frank!Framework can be executed on your own JAVA stack or in the cloud. The Frank!Framework is stateless and can be scaled unlimited and/or automatically.

In addition to 2nd line support on your integration applications and the Frank!Framework, WeAreFrank!, with Frank! As A Service (F!AAS), can manage your entire integration platform.

More about the Frank!Framework

Frank!Analyzer

The BW Analyzer is a JAVA application that analyzes BW5 projects. It collects information like operations, endpoints, activities and artifacts like WSDL and XSD files. The collected data is saved organized and structured in a Common Integration Model (CIM) format.

Frank!Generator

The Frank!Generator is a JAVA application that generates Frank!Configurations based on information from the CIM format.

Frank!Configuration

Frank!Configurations, which are generated from the migration, are readable (XML) integration components. They are made up of standard patterns and standardized naming.

After the migration to the Frank!Framework, one of the many features is that you can easily configure RESTful/API’s. There is NO vendor lock-in and Frank!Configurations are backward and forward compatible.

More about the Frank!Framework

Other!Analyzers

Because we use a Common Integration Model, it’s relatively easy to implement new analyzers for different integration products in the future, e.g., MuleSoft, Talend, and IBM Ace.

More information?