financial services Archives

Mainframe Modernization and Integration with Data Streaming using Apache Kafka IBM MQ IIDR CDC Precisely Qlik

1.7K views
14 minute read

Mainframe Integration with Data Streaming: Architecture, Business Value, Real-World Success

ByKai Waehner
13. June 2025

The mainframe is evolving—not fading. With cloud-native features, AI acceleration, and quantum-safe encryption, platforms like IBM z16 and z17 remain central to critical industries. But modern demands require real-time data access and system agility. Apache Kafka and Flink make this possible by streaming data bi-directionally between DB2, IMS, and MQ and cloud analytics platforms. This enables event-driven architectures without disrupting core systems. This post outlines proven strategies—offloading, integration, and replacement—and includes real-world examples across industries. The result: lower costs, faster innovation, and smarter use of legacy systems.

Business Process Automation and BPM Workflow Engine and Orchestration with Apache Kafka

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15 minute read

Apache Kafka as Workflow and Orchestration Engine

ByKai Waehner
8. May 2023

Business process automation with a workflow engine or BPM suite has existed for decades. However, using the data streaming platform Apache Kafka as the backbone of a workflow engine provides better scalability, higher availability, and simplified architecture. This blog post explores case studies across industries to show how enterprises like Salesforce or Swisscom implement stateful workflow automation and orchestration with Kafka.

Innovation in Financial Services and Open Banking with Apache Kafka

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5 minute read

Apache Kafka in the Financial Services Industry

ByKai Waehner
18. January 2021

The rise of event streaming in financial services is growing like crazy. Continuous real-time data integration and processing are mandatory for many use cases. Apache Kafka is deployed across the financial services business departments for mission-critical transactional workloads and big data analytics. High scalability, high reliability, and an elastic open infrastructure are the key reasons for the success of Kafka. This blog post explores different use cases, architectures, and real-world examples in the FinServ sector.