BT Middleware has been in production use since 1987. Every working day
a user population of 60 000 people execute 25 million transactions on
systems that generate in excess of 70% of BT's revenues. BT Middlewar
e is installed on 32 production mainframe instances. BT Middleware pro
vides both a development and run-time environment for applications tha
t is controlled and manageable. Application standards can be enforced
providing reuse of common code as well as common 'look and feel' user
interfaces. The use of BT Middleware has allowed the rapid implementat
ion of leading edge solutions to pressing business requirements and Mi
ddleware is evolving to allow BT's operational support systems (OSS) t
o participate seamlessly in complex distributed architectures. The fut
ure for BT's OSS lies in their ability to integrate with new applicati
ons developed on open systems platforms. BT Middleware has been evolvi
ng to provide the required interconnection capabilities and now suppor
ts numerous batch and on-line interfaces via strategic infrastructure
products. This paper describes the major Middleware infrastructure com
ponents developed and supported by BT's London Software Engineering Ce
ntre that allow the company's huge investment in OSS to be exploited i
n today's environment.