The purpose of middleware in distributed systems is to facilitate communication and management between different software components. Middleware acts as a bridge enabling different applications to interact, regardless of their underlying platforms. It provides essential services such as authentication, data management, and message queuing, enabling seamless data exchange and integration among disparate systems. By handling complexities such as connectivity, reliability, and security, middleware simplifies the development of applications and ensures smooth operation in distributed environments, making it fundamental for modern enterprise architectures.