The implications of data connectivity as it relates to data access, mainframe integration and XML processing are substantial. SOA initiatives can fail to realize the development savings and application performance, flexibility and reliability goals if a sound data services strategy is not designed into the foundation of the application architecture.

The information provided in this presentation will be applicable to architects regardless of whether they are designing for Java, .NET, or other development platforms. It will address an increasingly typical situation where an enterprise is dealing with a heterogeneous mix of data - relational, XML, proprietary data formats that reside on a combination of different platforms including Windows, UNIX, Linux and the mainframe.