Decoupling of Heterogeneous Systems Using the Microservices Architectural Model in Higher Institutions of Learning in Zambia

Most institutions of higher learning in Zambia have sophisticated business ecosystems with ICT placed at the centre of operations. ICT and its consequent solutions primarily are used to access, store, or retrieve data from one location to another. Institutions of higher learning have realized that to best achieve this, data needs to be standardized, easy to access and secure. Distinct systems are normally developed with the task of handling different kinds of processes. This in turn causes major communication challenges in how the distinct systems communicate and share information with one another. In this project we assess performance of heterogeneous systems and use data collected from surveys to develop a model on the premise that decoupled systems perform better than none decoupled heterogeneous systems. We then make use of an open-source Event Streaming Service (ESS) to decouple a heterogenous system using microservices. This is after we benchmark several Event Streaming Services and compare them with their counterpart Enterprise Service Buses. To prove that our model is accurate, we develop two prototype systems, one monolithic and the other fully decoupled and integrated into Apache Kafka ESS. We then gather UX for both platforms as well as conduct efficiency and security tests.