What is Middleware?

Websites
MIDDLEWARE

What is middleware?
Middleware is software that provides common services and capabilities to applications outside of what’s offered by the operating system. Data management, application services, messaging, authentication, and API management are all commonly handled by middleware.

Middleware helps developers build applications more efficiently. It acts like the connective tissue between applications, data, and users.

For organizations with multi-cloud and containerized environments, middleware can make it cost-effective to develop and run applications at scale.

What kinds of middleware are there?
As a broad category, middleware can encompass everything from web servers to authentication systems to messaging tools. Here are a few of the common use cases for middleware in modern development.

Middleware New Application Development diagram
New application development
Middleware can support modern and popular runtimes for a variety of use cases. Developers and architects can work with agility across platforms, following sets of foundational runtimes, frameworks, and programming languages. Middleware can also deliver commonly used functions such as web servers, single sign-on (SSO), messaging, and in-memory caching.

Middleware optimization of existing applications diagram
Optimization of existing applications
Middleware can help developers transform legacy monolithic applications into cloud-native applications, keeping valuable tools active with better performance and more portability.

Middleware comprehensive integration diagram
Comprehensive integration
Middleware integration tools connect critical internal and external systems. Integration capabilities like transformation, connectivity, composability, and enterprise messaging, combined with SSO authentication, make it easier for developers to extend capabilities across different applications.

Middleware app programming interfaces diagram
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
Many middleware services are accessed through APIs, which are sets of tools, definitions, and protocols that allow applications to communicate with each other. APIs make it possible to connect completely different products and services through a common layer.

Middleware data streaming diagram
Data streaming
While APIs are one way to share data between applications, another approach is asynchronous data streaming. This replicates a data set in an intermediate store, where the data can be shared among multiple applications. One popular open source middleware tool for real-time data streaming is Apache Kafka.

Middleware intelligent business automation diagram
Intelligent business automation
Middleware can help developers, architects, IT, and business leaders automate manual decisions. Automation can improve resource management and overall efficiency.

Why is middleware important to cloud computing?
For all the benefits cloud-native development provides, it also brings added complexity. Applications can be deployed across multiple infrastructures, from on-premises systems to public clouds. Architectures can vary widely. Developers are juggling multiple tools, languages, and frameworks. And the pressure is on to do more in less time and at a lower cost.

Organizations turn to middleware as a way to manage this complexity and to keep application development quick and cost-effective. Middleware can support application environments that work smoothly and consistently across a highly distributed platform.

Build here. Deploy there. It works the same, thanks to the middleware beneath the applications.