Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a mechanism for achieving interoperability between heterogeneous systems. SOA enables existing legacy systems to expose their functionality as services, without making significant changes to the legacy systems. Migration towards a service-oriented approach (SOA) not only standardizes interaction, but also allows for more flexibility in the existing process. Web services technology is an ideal technology choice for implementing a SOA. Web services can be

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... lemented in any programming language. The functionality of Web services range from simple request-reply to full business process. These services can be newly developed applications or just wrapper program for existing business functions to be network-enabled. The strategy is to form a framework to integrate z/OS assets in distributed environment using SOA approach, to enable optimal business agility and flexibility. Mainframe applications run the business and contain critical business logic that is unique, difficult, and costly to replicate. Enabling existing applications allows reusing critical business assets and leveraging the assets as a service to be invoked in heterogeneous environment.