What is middleware?

Middleware is multipurpose software that provides services to applications outside of what’s offered by the operating system. Any software between the kernel and user apps can be middleware.

Analyst and system theorist Nick Gall said, “Middleware is software about software.” Middleware doesn’t offer the functions of a traditional app, it connects software to other software. Middleware is plumbing for your IT infrastructure because middleware allows data to flow from one app to another.

Empire and enterprise

Ancient Rome had one of the most remarkable sanitation systems in history. The complex network of aqueducts and sewers was so important that Pliny the Elder counted them as Rome’s “most noteworthy achievement of all.” Like the aqueducts of Rome carried water, enterprise middleware carries data from place to place. We’re not saying middleware is humanity’s greatest achievement, but a lot of other—perhaps more noteworthy—software can function because of middleware.

Plumbing might seem like a humble metaphor for middleware, but both are critical to operating large, complex systems—like Rome. Your enterprise is similar to a rapidly growing city: All parts of the city need water, just as all parts of your enterprise need data. Without plumbing, a city is inefficient and downright messy. Without middleware, your enterprise is the same way.

What kinds of middleware are there?

Why care about middleware?

If data is like water in your company’s plumbing, consider how much better things would be if you didn’t have to get a bucket, travel to the water pump, fill the bucket with water, and lug it back to where you were. Without middleware, that’s what you do every time you want to work. Having data piped anywhere in your enterprise is more convenient and more efficient.

What could you accomplish with your data on demand?

When you integrate your data across applications, you can focus on creating cool new stuff for your organization instead of spending your time on manual processes. With a modern application platform, for example, developers can focus on developing app functionality instead of managing how their app integrates with the rest of the environment.

#Source: https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/middleware/what-is-middleware#