Case study
Dell: IBM MQ displacement.
A large enterprise replaced a business-critical proprietary messaging platform with an open-source stack.
The short answer
Dell worked with the AceMQ engineering team to displace IBM MQ. The project shows how a large enterprise replaces a business-critical messaging platform without disrupting the applications that depend on it. This work was delivered by the AceMQ engineering team, and the details here are those Dell has approved.
Customers
Partners
The situation
A proprietary messaging platform at enterprise scale
Dell ran IBM MQ, a proprietary message broker, as part of its messaging infrastructure. Messaging platforms are business-critical: other systems depend on them, so replacing one is a risk-management exercise as much as a technical one.
The goal
Displace IBM MQ with an open-source stack
The goal was to displace IBM MQ with an open-source messaging stack, supported by AceMQ.
The approach
Replace without disrupting dependents
The details of the approach are limited to what Dell has cleared for publication. At the level of method, a displacement like this follows the same rules as any Ace8 project: understand what depends on the platform, move in steps, keep a way back and agree who runs the replacement before go-live. See the 8 principles.
Risks managed
What a messaging replacement has to protect
- Message delivery guarantees that other systems rely on.
- Applications coded against IBM MQ specifics.
- Operational ownership after the cutover.
Results
What we can state
IBM MQ was displaced with an open-source stack. We publish figures after Dell has cleared them.
Today
What AceMQ runs today
AceMQ supports the open-source messaging stack. See supported after migration.
Lessons
Lessons for application modernization
Proprietary middleware can be replaced at large-enterprise scale. A related, phased example is the American National project. For app-server and Java work, see application modernization services.
After go-live
Keep it running after cutover.
The AceMQ engineering team. Ace8 is the modernization practice of AceMQ.
IBM MQ, replaced with an open-source messaging stack supported by AceMQ.
Figures Dell has cleared for publication.
We scope it in the assessment, alone or alongside an app-server exit.
Know the cost before anything moves.
A fixed-price assessment gives you the inventory, the risk score and a phased plan. Scope and cost are fixed before the migration starts.
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