Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Course Guide
LESSON 1 OVERVIEW OF SYSTEMS INTEGRATION
Systems Integration
Functional SILOS
Information Systems in Organizations
Functional SILOS in Organization
Management Pyramid with Information Requirements
IS as Categorized by Functional and Hierarchical Models
Information SILOS and Systems Integration
Benefits and Limitations of Systems Integration
Implications for Management
Enterprise Resource Planning
ERP and Systems Integration
ERP’s Role in Physical Integration
Implications for Management
Evolutions of ERP
E-Business and ERP
ERP System Components
ERP Architecture
System Benefits of ERP System
ERP Implementation
ERP Vendors
Lesson Summary
LESSON 2 System Integration Approaches
System Integration
Information Oriented
Business Process Integration-Oriented
Technology Components
Application Services
Portal-Oriented Application Integration
LESSON 3 Middlewares
What is Middleware
Middleware Models
Communication Models
Types of Middleware
Application Servers
Integration Servers
LESSON 4 ERP Systems and Processes
Introduction

1
 Functional Areas and Business Processes
ERP Modules
Other ERP Modules
Enterprise System Architecture
Webline ERP Architecture
SAP
LESSON 5 Solving Integration Problems using Patterns
Middleware-Recap
Tight Coupling
Message Construction
Messaging Channels
Message Transformation
Message Routing
System Management
Messaging Endpoints
WGRUS IT Infrastructure
Requirements

2
Course Guide
COURSE SEMESTER SCHOOL YEAR
Elective 2 – advance
Systems Integration 1st Semester 2020-2021
and Architecture
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course studies the process of integrating different systems and software
applications by examining current and emerging trends, strategies, and techniques
for developing systems integration solutions effectively. Example topics covered
include, but are not limited to: documenting integration requirements using business
process models, designing integration solutions reusing patterns, and implementing
integration solutions using service oriented architecture. Students will extend course
topics via library assignments, programming assignments, tool evaluation
assignments, and other assigned activities.
Course Outline
TOPIC
LESSON 1 OVERVIEW OF SYSTEMS INTEGRATION
 Systems Integration
 Functional SILOS
 Information Systems in Organizations
 Functional SILOS in Organization
 Management Pyramid with Information Requirements
 IS as Categorized by Functional and Hierarchical Models
 Information SILOS and Systems Integration
 Benefits and Limitations of Systems Integration
 Implications for Management
 Enterprise Resource Planning
 ERP and Systems Integration
 ERP’s Role in Physical Integration
 Implications for Management
 Evolutions of ERP
 E-Business and ERP
 ERP System Components
 ERP Architecture
 System Benefits of ERP System
 ERP Implementation
 ERP Vendors
 Lesson Summary
LESSON 2 SYSTEM INTEGRATION APPROACHES
 System Integration
 Information Oriented
 Business Process Integration-Oriented
 Technology Components
 Application Services
 Portal-Oriented Application Integration
LESSON 3 MIDDLEWARES
 What is Middleware
 Middleware Models
 Communication Models
 Types of Middleware

3
  Application Servers
 Integration Servers
LESSON 4 ERP Systems and Processes
 Introduction
 Functional Areas and Business Processes
 ERP Modules
 Other ERP Modules
 Enterprise System Architecture
 Webline ERP Architecture
 SAP
LESSON 5 Solving Integration Problems using Patterns
 Middleware-Recap
 Tight Coupling
 Message Construction
 Messaging Channels
 Message Transformation
 Message Routing
 System Management
 Messaging Endpoints
 WGRUS IT Infrastructure
 Requirements

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

LO1 Summarize and analyze the data from a usability test and recommend
appropriate actions.
LO2 Construct an architectural model of a complex system using an architectural
framework.
LO3 Develop a component and demonstrate its integration into an existing
environment
COURSE POLICIES
1. Students must pass all the assessment and major examinations.
2. Students must ensure that all assessment that will be submitted are original.
3. Students must complete all course requirements.
GRADING SYSTEM
Assessment 60%
Major Exams 40%
Total 100%
REFERENCES
Enterprise Systems for Management (2nd ed.) textbook.
CONTACT DETAIL
MR. LOURENCE R. VILLALUZ
09394699738
rhencerivillaluz@gmail.com

4
 LESSON 1
Overview of Systems Integration:
Challenges and Drives

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

Systems integration means that you allow an heterogeneous Information System (IS)
to communicate or integrate and share information (or data) seamlessly with one
another.

Systems integration is a key issue for an organization for its growth

– Management needs to pay close attention to this issue.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are a major kind of information system
allowing organizations to integrate different systems into one organization-wide
application with an integrated database management system.

FUNCTIONAL SILOS
Silos are basically compartmentalized operating units isolated from their environment.

Horizontal Silos
– Classification of organizations into departments like Accounting and Human
Resources, reflects the breaking of complex tasks into smaller manageable tasks that
could be assigned to a group of people who could then be held responsible.

Vertical Silos
– Organizations also divided roles in hierarchical layers from strategic planning to
management control and operation control.
– CEOs and Presidents plan long-term strategy, midlevel management focuses on
tactical issues and on the execution of organizational policy whereas the lower-level
management task is to focus on the day-to-day operations of the company.

As organizations get big and complex they tend to break functions into smaller units
and assign staff the responsibility for these activities allowing them to manage
complexity as well as specialize in activities that enhance productivity and efficiency.

Information Systems in Organizations

Information Systems are a critical component of a successful organization today.

Information Systems play a major role in primary and secondary activities of an

organization’s value chain.
– The evolution of IS suggests that its role has generally been to support evolving
information needs of the organization.

Information Systems provide a high level of computer automation to support business

functions such as: Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Customer Service, Human
Resource Management, Operations, and Manufacturing
– Supporting horizontal silos of organization

5
Information systems provide analytical and decision making support for management,
which is generally categorized into three levels- Strategic, Middle, and Operational.
– Supporting vertical silos of organization

Each business functions and management levels has different information

requirements.

Functional Silos in Organization

Each functional area has different

information needs and report
requirements.

Each functional area in an

organization also has multiple
levels of management, each
requiring different levels of
analysis and details of information.

To increase efficiency and

productive, organizations
developed various information
systems to support each major
activity and responsibility.

Management Pyramid with Information Requirements

Each management level has different information requirements.

6
 IS as Categorized by Functional and
Hierarchical Models

Information Silos and Systems Integration

Over time, organizations created a hodgepodge of independent nonintegrated systems

ultimately creating bottlenecks and interfering with productivity.

Organizations need to be agile and flexible and will require their information systems
to have integrated data, applications, and resources from across the organization.

A silo information system is inefficient, inaccurate, and expensive.

– The system creates bottlenecks for everyone and information is not available in real-
time.

To compete effectively, organizations have to be customer focused.

– This requires cross-functional integration among the accounting, marketing and other
departments of the organization.

The cross-functional integration can involve people and resources from various
functional departments working together, sharing information at any level of the
organization.
– The cross-functional organizational structure breaks the functional silos by opening
up the informational flows from one department to another.

Systems Integration

Logical or human level

Develop information systems that allow organizations to share data with all of its
stakeholders based on need and authorization.

Management needs to change organizational structures, processes, and employee

roles and responsibilities.

7
Physical or technical level
Provide seamless connectivity between heterogeneous systems.

Business process reengineering involves changing the mindset of the employees in

the organization, encouraging and enabling them to do their tasks in a new way.

Benefits and Limitations of Systems

Integration

Implications for Management

Silos do not work.

– Most organizations lose out in the long-term when information is not shared in real
time across the functional boundaries within the company.

System integration has many hidden benefits.

– Allows decision making to be cascaded to all departments
– Allows employees at lower-levels to make better decisions while interacting with
clients or partners.

System integration has many challenges.

– Replacing old hardware and software
– Working with IT consultants
– Human challenges, such as impact on IT staff, department heads losing control of
data, and rumors of layoffs

Systems integration raises many new ethical issues.

– Possibility of some employees exploiting information for personal advantage and
illegal access of information.

Remedies can consist of:

– Develop policies on ethical usage of information.
– Install proper security software and hardware (like firewalls).
– Allocate resources for training and education on accessing information.

Integrated Systems - Enterprise Resource

Planning (ERP)

8
Goal of ERP is to integrate departments and functions
across an organization into a single infrastructure
sharing a common database and serving the needs of
each department.

ERP systems replace an assortment of systems that

typically existed in organizations. Moreover, ERP solves
critical problem of integrating information from different
sources and makes it available in real-time.

ERP and Systems Integration

ERP systems are integrated, multi-module application software packages designed to serve
and support several business functions across an organization.

ERP systems are typically commercial software packages that facilitate collection and
integration of information related to various areas of an organization.

ERP systems enable the organization to standardize and improve its business processes to
implement best practices for its industry.

ERP systems are the first generation of enterprise systems meant to integrate data and
support all the major functions of organizations.

ERP systems integrate various functional aspects of the organization as well as systems
within the organization of its partners and suppliers.

The goal of an ERP system is to make the information flow dynamic and immediate,
therefore, increasing its usefulness and value.

ERP’s Role in Logical Integration

ERP systems require organizations to focus on business process rather than on

functions.

ERP systems come with built-in processes for a wide variety of common business
functions.

An ERP system implements best practices via specific built-in steps for processing a
customer order in terms of:
– order entry.
– routing through departments.
– Communication of output to various parties.

ERP’s Role in Physical Integration

Before installing the ERP system, an organization may have to upgrade or install
middleware or get rid of their legacy system’s hardware and software.

Integration is also required at the Data level, Client level, and at the Application level.

9
A good ERP implementation improves operational efficiency with better business
processes that focuses on organizational goals rather than on individual departmental
goals.

Improved efficiency with a paperless flow and electronic data interchange (EDI) or
business-to business (B2B) commerce environment with partners.

Implications for Management

In the early days of ERP implementation most management did not understand the
magnitude of issues an organization has to consider before, during, and after
implementation.
– ERP systems are very different from conventional packaged software, such as
Microsoft Office and others.

ERP systems implementation is a complex organizational activity.

– There are no shortcuts when it comes to implementing an enterprise system.

It is important to evaluate and learn from the successes and failures.

ERP systems implementation requires strong project management oversight.

Evolutions of ERP

E-Business and ERP

10
 ERP Systems Components

ERP Architecture

The architecture of an ERP system influences the cost, maintenance, and the use of
the system.

The ERP architecture helps the implementation team build the ERP system for the
organization.

If purchased, ERP architecture is often driven by the vendor (Package-Driven

Architecture).

There are two types of architectures.

– Logical focuses on the supporting needs of the end users.
– Physical focuses on the efficiency of the system.

11
 Logical Architecture of an ERP System

Tiered Architecture Example of ERP System

System Benefits of an ERP System

Integration of data and applications across functional areas (i.e., data can be entered
once and used by all applications; thus improving accuracy and quality of the data).

Improvements in maintenance and support as IT staff is centralized.

Consistency of the user interface across various applications means less employee
training, better productivity, and cross-functional job movements.

Security of data and applications is enhanced due to better controls and centralization
of hardware.

System Limitations of an ERP System

12
Complexity of installing, configuring, and maintaining the system increases, thus
requiring specialized IT staff, hardware, and network facilities.

Consolidation of IT hardware, software, and people resources can be cumbersome

and difficult to attain.

Data conversion and transformation from an old system to a new one can be tedious
and complex process.

Retraining of IT staff and end users of the new system can produce resistance and
reduce productivity.

Business Benefits of an ERP System

Agility of the organization in terms of responding to changes in environment for growth

and maintaining market share

Sharing of information across functional areas helps collaboration between

employees.

Linking and exchanging information in real-time with supply-chain partners improves

efficiency leading to lower costs.

Better customer service due to quicker information flow across departments.

Efficiency of business processes are enhanced due to the re-engineering of business

processes.

Business Limitations of an ERP System

Retraining of all employees with the new system can be costly and time consuming.

Change of business roles and department boundaries can create upheaval and
resistance to the new system .

ERP Implementation

Before implementing ERP, an organization has to plan and understand the life cycle
of these systems.

The key to a successful implementation is to use a proven methodology, take it one

step at a time, and begin with an understanding of the ERP life cycle.

ERP system implementations are very risky, and using a well-defined project plan with
a proven methodology will assist in managing those risks.

There must be a strong well-communicated need to make the change from the existing
information systems/applications to an ERP system.

13
 Software and Vendor Selection

It is best for an organization that does not have the experience in developing ERP
systems to purchase one on the market.

Before selecting a vendor, the organization must carefully evaluate its current and
future needs in enterprise management systems.

Review the organization’s existing hardware, network, and software infrastructure, and
the resources available for the implementation.

Vendor Evaluation

• Business functions or modules supported by their software

• Features and integration capabilities of the software
• Financial viability of the vendor as well as length of time they have been in
business
• Licensing and upgrade policies
• Customer service and help desk support
• Total cost of ownership
• IT infrastructure requirements
• Third-party software integration
• Legacy systems support and integration
• Consulting and training services
• Future goals and plans for the short and long term
Operations and Post-Implementation

Going live (“Go-live”) is one of the most critical points in a project’s success.

14
It is vital to focus the efforts of all project teams to ensure that task and activities are
completed before going live.

Five areas of stabilization are important:

• Training for end-users
• Reactive support (i.e., help desk for troubleshooting)
• Auditing support to make sure data quality is not compromised by new
system
• Data fix to resolve data migration and errors revealed by audits
• New features and functionalities to support the evolving needs of the
organization
People and Organization

Project Management
For an ERP system to be implemented successfully, project management must provide
strong leadership, a clear and understood implementation plan, and close monitoring
of the budget.

Consultants
It is often the case for organizations without much ERP implementation experience to
use implementation partners such as consultants.

Change Management
Role is essential because it prepares for changes to how business is done. In
implementing new systems, communicating, preparing, and setting expectations is as
important as providing training and support.

Business Process Re-engineering

Business processes will need to be changed, adjusted, or adapted to the new system
to use the functionality of an ERP system fully.

Global, Ethical and Security Management

Outsourcing overseas, ethical issues, and problems with system security have also
attracted a lot of attention in ERP implementation.

ERP Vendors

15
SAP
SAP is the recognized global leader among ERP vendors with over 12 million users.
Its solutions are for all types of industries and for every major market. www.sap.com

Oracle/Peoplesoft
As the second largest ERP vendor, Oracle provides solutions divided by industry
category and promises longterm support for customers of PeopleSoft- (acquired in
2004).

Microsoft Dynamics
Formerly Microsoft Business Solutions or Great Plains, Microsoft Dynamics is a
comprehensive business management solution built on the Microsoft platform.

Infor
The world’s third largest provider of enterprise software. It delivers integrated
enterprise solutions in supply chain, customer relationship and suppliers management.

Lawson
Industry-tailored software solutions that include enterprise performance management,
distribution, financials, human resources, procurement, and retail operations.

16
 LESSON SUMMARY

Functional silos categorize an organization’s tasks and activities into groups to improve efficiency and
responsibility of work in the organization.

Silos can improve productivity, but they often lead employees to achieve departmental goals rather
than overall organizational goals.

IS over the years have been divided horizontally by functions and vertically by hierarchical levels.

IS architecture has evolved from centralized mainframe architecture to personal computers with
distributed or client–server architecture.

In order for systems integration to be successful, organizations have to focus both on the human or
logical level and on the physical or systems level.

ERP systems thus make the process of systems integration easier, but they are expensive and often
require organizations to start from scratch.

System integration involves the whole organization, requiring top management support and resources
for a long-term period. Management must be ready to face the human and ethical challenges in a
systems integration project.

Whereas the risks for implementing an ERP are greater, the payoff is very high for organizations.

The integration of data helps an organization to better meet the demands of a fast and dynamic
business world.

The use of ERP systems provides for integrated data and business processes, thereby creating
opportunities for organizations to expand and change as their business changes.

ERP components consist of hardware, software, information, process, and people to perform the
fundamental phases of an information system: input, process, and output.

ERP system architecture is a blueprint of the actual ERP system. There are two types of architecture:
physical and logical.

The selection of a system must be based on these needs and how well a vendor meets those needs
now or in the future.

To be successful in implementing an ERP system, an organization and its management must clearly
understand the implementation process.

uiz NO. 1
Visit http://aradman.essu.edu.ph/. Answer quiz no. 1

17
 LESSON 2
System Integration Approaches

Systems Integration

Binds information systems

– At information and service levels
Supports information exchange
Provides ability to do business in real-time
Technical as well as strategic value
Need integration solutions to support
– Electronic markets, supply chain enablement, web visibility, customer
relationship management (CRM)
Success and value of application integration depends on
– How will you understand the problem domain
– The architecture you employ
– Technology you leverage

Information-Oriented

• Integration of two or more systems by allowing simple exchanges of data

between applications
– Connecting databases
– Deals with simple exchanges of data between two or more applications
– Migrates data from source database to target database
• Disadvantage
– Designers need to know all integrated systems in detail

Example
Moving information between systems may require changing both the content
and schema on the fly

Information-Oriented: Integration Concepts

Coupling
– Bind applications together in such a way that they are dependent on each
other, sharing the same methods, interfaces, and perhaps data
– Needs extensive changes in applications
– If source or target system changes, corresponding changes required in
coupled systems as well
– Reusability

18
 -Allows common business processes to be reused
Cohesion
– “Act or state of sticking together” or “the logical agreement”
– Applications and databases are independent of each other
– Changes to source or target system should not affect others directly
– Provides flexibility to integration
-Allows addition, changes, and removal of systems without affecting
integrated system

Information Producers and Consumers

Source and target systems are the entities that produce and consume information
Types of systems that produce and consume information are
– Database (integration using SQL, JDBC)
– Application (API, adapters)
– User interface (screen scraping)
– Embedded devices (temperature sensors, call-counting machines)
These systems are point of integration
– since they are designed to produce and consume information

Approaching Information Integration

Steps to approach information integration

– Identify the data
– Catalog the data
– Build the enterprise metadata model
This model will be used as master guide for integrating the various information stores
that exists within the enterprise

A successful integration solution requires the enterprise to define both how the
information flows through it and how it does business

Different ways to connect

– Data Replication
– Data Federation
– Interface Processing

Information-Oriented: Data Replication

Moving data between two or more databases

Accomplished by placing a software between databases

– Extracts data from source database
– Places data in the target database
Advantage
– Low cost and easy to integrate
Disadvantage
– Not suitable for integrating functions in applications
If methods are bound to data or shared along with data
– Requires changes in source and target applications

19
 Information-Oriented: Data Federation

Integrating multiple databases into a single virtual

database

Application access virtual databases

– Integration software handles the collection
and distribution of the data to the physical database

Advantage
– Can integrate different types of databases

Disadvantage
– Interface between application and database
need to be changed

Information-Oriented: Interface Processing

Integrating packaged and custom applications

– Example: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Adapters to connect custom and packaged applications
Most popular integration approach

Advantage
– Efficient integration for commercially available software products
API solutions take into account for differences between schema, content, and
application semantics when translating information to move between systems
– Includes screen scrappers as points of integration
Disadvantage
– Little regards to business logic

20
 Business Process Integration-Oriented

The goal of business process integration is to allow integration not only by sharing
information but also by managing the sharing of that information with easy to use
tools
– Focuses on coordinating or managing information flow between source and
target applications
– Focuses on process logic while separating application logic
Defined as applying appropriate rules, in an agreed upon logical sequence, in order
to pass information between participating systems, as well as visualize and share
application-level processes

It is the ability to define a common business process model that addresses the
sequence, hierarchy, events, and execution logic and information movement
between systems
– Central management of processes that exist on top of an existing set of
processes and applications
– Mechanism to manage movement of data and invocation of processes in
order
– Support for management and execution of processes that exists between
applications

Binds disparate processes and create process-to-process solutions

– Automates tasks performed by humans
Advantage
– Supports information and control logic flow
– Automates tasks performed by humans
Disadvantage
– Focuses on process flow and integration of processes only
Not on user interface, updating databases or executing a transaction

21
 Business Process Integration-Oriented
Application Integration

It is the ability to define a common business process model that addresses the
sequence, hierarchy, events, and execution logic and information movement between
systems

Idea is to provide single logical model that spans many applications and data stores
– Providing the notion of a common business process that controls how
systems and humans interact to fulfill a unique business requirement.

Future of application integration

Advantage
– Supports information and control logic flow
– Automates tasks performed by humans
Disadvantage
– Focuses on process flow and integration of processes only
Not on user interface, updating databases or executing a transaction

Objective
Provides control mechanism of sorts that defines and executes the movement
of information and the invocation of processes that span many systems

Technology Components

Graphic modeling tool

– Where business model is created and defined

Business process engine

– Controls the execution of the multi-step business process and maintains state
and the interactions with the middleware

Business process monitoring interface

– Allows end users to monitor and control execution of a business process in
real time and optimize where needed

Business process engine interface

– Allows other applications to access the business process engine

Integration technology (middleware)

– Connects the source and target systems

22
 Technology Levels

Three levels of technology

– Process modeling
• Information movement is defined here
• Components of models are
– The common process model
– Real entities, such as companies, organizations, or people
– The source and target systems
– Transformation, routing and rules
• Information movement and formatting occurs here
• Routing allows relevant information to be extracted from any source
application, target application, or data store
– Messaging service
• Responsible for moving information between all connected applications

Service-Oriented Application Integration

Provides mechanism to bind applications together at service level

The goal is to leverage power of Internet to provide access to remote application

services through well-defined interface and directory services

Web services is the technology to realize above goal

Web services is the future of application integration

Service-Oriented

Integrates applications by allow them to share business logic and methods

– Example: Web services
Advantage
– Allows reusability of applications

23
Disadvantage
– Need to change application logic
– High cost for implementation

The Basics

Service-oriented application integration

provides infrastructure for enterprises to share
common application services as well as
information
– Infrastructure: Web services
(distributed objects)
A common set of applications services among
enterprise applications invites reusability and as
a result, significantly reduces the need for
redundant application services and/or applications

Application Services

Application services
Subroutines or methods in applications
• Something you invoke to make something happen
• Remote services that produces or consumes information
Application services are composed together to provide composite applications made
up of local and remote application services
Allows remote services to be invoked as if it is local service

When to Leverage Service-Oriented

Integration

When two or more companies need to share common program logic

– Such as calculation of shipping costs from a common supplier, which
constantly changes

When two or more companies want to share the development costs and the value of
a common application

When the problem domain is small and specialized, and is able to collaborate on a
common application that all companies share

Potential benefit of service-oriented integration is the simple binding of two or more

applications in order to integrate both business processes and data

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 Solutions Architecture

Event-driven
– Refers to those architectures that deal more with information movement that
application service aggregation
– Data moves from system to system in support of a particular business
transaction, but there is also a requirement to access application services

Composite-applications
– Refers to those architectures that require application services to aggregate
into a single instance of an application

Autonomous-distributed
– Refers to those architectures where web services are so tightly coupled that
they appear as a single application
– Binding applications together, inter and intra company, into a single, unified
whole

Portal-Oriented Application Integration

Allows to view a multitude of systems (both internal and external enterprise systems)
through a single user interface or application
– Most often using web browser
– Avoids back-end integration altogether
Steps to create portal
– Design portal application including user interface and application behavior
 Portal application must be able to control user interaction, capturing and
processing errors and controlling the transaction from the user interface
all the way to the back-end systems
 Application servers provide the interface development environment
(IDE) for designing the user interface, define application behavior and
back-end connector.
– Determine which information contained within the back-end systems needs
to be shared with portal application

Portal-Oriented

Integrates applications through single

user interface or application
– Mostly, through web browser
– Externalizes information from
multiple applications to a single
application
• Advantage
– No back-end integration
– Ease of use (browser user
interface)
• Disadvantage
– Not real-time integration

25
 Portal-Power
Primary advantage of using portals is there is no need to integrate back-end systems
directly between companies or within enterprises
– Eliminates associated cost and risks

Noninvasive approach allowing other organizations to interact with a company’s

internal systems through a controlled interface accessible over the web

Faster implementation than other integration approaches

Disadvantages
– Information does not flow in real time, so requires human interaction
• Does not automatically react to business events
– Information must be abstracted through another application logic layer (e.g..:
application servers)
• This adds complexity
– Security is a significant concern when enterprise data is being extended to
users over the web

Portal-Categories

• Single-System Portals
– Single enterprises that have their user interfaces extended to the web
• Approaches: application servers, page servers, and technology for
translating simple screens to HTML
• Multiple-Enterprise-System Portals
– Extending single-system portal architecture to multiple enterprise systems
– Application server architecture
• Users are able to extract information from these systems and update
them through a single web browser interface accessed over an extranet or
over the web
• Enterprise Portals
– Extending multiple-enterprise system portal to include systems that exist
within many companies
– Application servers are a good choice for enterprise, funneling information
from the connected back-end enterprise systems

Components of Portal Architecture

• Web clients
– PC or any device that runs a web browser and is capable of displaying HTML
and graphics
• Web servers
– Web servers, at their core, are file servers.
– They respond to requests from web clients, then send the requested file
– Double duty
• Serve file content to web clients
• Perform rudimentary application processing
• Database servers
– Respond to requests and return information
• Back-end applications
– Enterprise applications existing either within a single enterprise or across
many enterprises

26
 – Example: ERP systems
• Application servers
– Provide middle layer between back-end applications, databases, and the web
server
– Communicates with both the web server and the resource server using
transaction-oriented application development

Next Generation

• Digital economy
– Business runs within and between computers
– Everything automated
– Customers expect instantaneous access to information
• Application Integration
– Competitive advantage
– Ability to do business faster
– Satisfy customer on demand
• Next generation integration
– Integrate all disparate systems with a minimum impact on the applications
and way of doing business
– Adjustable to business needs
– Quick deployment
– Handle most business events electronically and in real time

uiz NO. 1
Visit http://aradman.essu.edu.ph/. Answer quiz no. 1

27
 LESSON 3
Middlewares

What is Middleware
Middleware is any type of software that facilitates communication between two or
more software systems
– Can be simple communication connection between applications
– Can be as sophisticated as information sharing and logic execution
mechanisms
Middleware is a technology that allows us to move information between multiple
enterprises

Middleware Models
There two types of middleware models
– Logical middleware model
Depicts how information moves throughout the enterprise conceptually
– Physical
Depicts both the actual method of information movement and the
technology employed

Point-to-Point Middleware
Point-to-point middleware uses a simple pipe to allow one application to link to another
application
– Provides point-to-point connection between a source and a target application

Disadvantages
– Inability to bind more than two applications
– Lacks ability to house application logic
– Lacks ability to change messages as they flow through the pipe

Many-to-many Middleware
Links many applications to many other applications
– Can deal with more than two source or target applications

This capability make it the best option for application integration

– It provides flexibility and applicability to the application integration problem
domain

Synchronous vs Asynchronous
Asynchronous middleware moves information between one or many applications in an
asynchronous mode
– i.e., the middleware software is decoupled from the source or target
applications

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 – Applications are not dependent on other connected applications for
processing.
– Application can always continue processing, regardless of the state of the
other applications

Synchronous middleware is tightly coupled to applications

– The applications are dependent on the middleware to process one or more
functions calls at a remote application
– Calling application must halt processing to wait for the remote application to
respond
Asynchronous is preferred over synchronous application integration solution
– Synchronous middleware faces problems such as network or remote server
problems
• Therefore, application has to stop processing
– Synchronous middleware eats up bandwidth because several calls must be
made across the network in support of a synchronous function call

Communication Models

Connection-oriented communication
– Two parties connect, exchange messages and then disconnect
– Typically synchronous process, but it can be asynchronous
Connectionless communication
– Calling program does not enter into a connection with the target process
– Receiving application simply acts on the request, respond if required
Direct communication
– Middleware layer accepts the message from the calling program and passes
it directly to the remote program
• Usually synchronous in nature
Fire and forget
– This model allows the middleware user to “fire off” a message and then
“forget” about it,
• without worrying about who receives it or even if the message is ever
received
– The purpose of this model is to allow a source or target application to broad
cast specific type of messages to multiple recipients

Communication Model: Queued communication

Generally requires a queue manager to place

a message in a queue

The remote application then retrieves the

message, either shortly after it has been sent,
or at any time in the future

Receiving application need not to be active

when calling application sends the message

Does not block neither remote nor calling

application from proceeding with processing

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 Communication Model: Publish/subscribe
Frees an application from the need to understand anything about the target application

Publisher is the provider of the information about a topic

Publisher sends information it desires to share to any interested applications

(subscribers)

Publisher does not need to understand anything about applications that are interested
in the information

Communication Model: Request response

As name implies, a request is made to an application using request response

middleware, and it responds to the request

Includes any middleware that can facilitate a response from a request between
applications, such as integration servers or application servers

Types of Middleware

• RPC
• Message-oriented middleware (MOM)
• Distributed objects
• Database-oriented middleware
• Transactional middleware
• Integration servers
Remote Procedure Calls (RPC)

• Oldest type of middleware

• Provide ability to invoke a function within one program and have that function execute
within another program on a remote machine
• RPC are synchronous
– i.e., RPC must stop the execution of the program

30
• They also require more bandwidth than other types of middleware
• Advantage of RPC is its simplicity for mechanism and programming
• Disadvantage is are its huge performance cost and inability to scale

Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM)

MOM is queuing software that uses is messages as a mechanism to move information
from point to point

MOM uses the notion of messages to communicate between applications,

– Direct coupling with the middleware mechanism and the application is not
required

MOM rely on asynchronous paradigm

– This allows application to function independently
• i.e., continue processing after making a middleware service request
– Message is dispatched to a queue message, which ascertains that message
is delivered to its final destination.
– Messages returning to the calling application are handled when the calling
application finds the time

Managing are easy to manage using MOM as it has structure (schema) and content
(data)
– MOM can be thought as one-record database that move between
applications through message-passing mechanisms

MOM supports two communication models

– Point-to-point
– Message queuing (MQ)

Distributed Objects
Small application programs that use standard
interfaces and protocols to communicate with
one another

Provide mechanisms for application

development, providing enabling technology for
enterprise, or enterprise wide method sharing

There are two types of distributed objects in

market today
– Common Object Request Broker
Architecture (CORBA)
– Component Object Model (COM)

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 Database-Oriented Middleware
Facilitates communication with a database, whether from an application or between
databases

Can be used as mechanism to extract information to extract from either local or remote
databases

Works with two basic database types

– Call-level interfaces (CLI)
• Common APIs that span several types of databases, providing access
to any number of databases through a well-defined common interface
– Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)
– Native database middleware

Transaction-Oriented Middleware
Provides mechanism for coordination information movement and method sharing
between many different resources
– Provides tightly coupled integration
• Requires changes with source and target applications
Based on concept of transaction
– A unit of work with a beginning and an end
– Application logic is encapsulated within a transaction
• Transaction either completes or is rolled back completely
• Two types of transaction-oriented middleware
– TP monitors
– Application servers

TP Monitors
Provide mechanism to facilitate the communication between two or more applications
as well as a location for application logic

Provides scalability by sharing and processing transactions among other connected

TP monitors

Provide connectors to databases, other applications and queues

– These connectors requires some application development in order to
communicate with these various resources

Once connected these resources are integrated into the transaction and leveraged as
part of the transaction
– As a result, can recover, if failure occurs

Provides two services

– Guarantee the integrity of transactions
– Resource management and run-time management services

TP monitors greatest performance value is in their load-balancing feature

– Allows them to respond gracefully to a barrage of transactions

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 – As demand increases, the transaction manager launches more serve
processes to handle the load even as it kills processes that are no longer
required

Application Servers

• Provide application logic sharing and processing and for connections to back-end
resources
– Resources such as databases, ERP applications and even traditional
mainframe applications

• Provide user interface mechanisms

– To deploy applications to the web platform

Integration Servers

Facilitates information movement between

two or more resources and can account for
differences in application semantics and
platforms
– Without any application necessarily
understand anything about other
applications it shares information with

Can also join many applications by using

common rules and routing engines
– Can transform the schema and
content of the information as it flows between
various applications and databases

Can broker messages between two or more

source or target systems

uiz NO. 1
Visit http://aradman.essu.edu.ph/. Answer quiz no. 1

33
 Lesson 4
ERP Systems and Processes

Introduction

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) programs:

Core software used by companies to coordinate information in every area of
business
– Help manage companywide business processes
– Use common database and shared management reporting tools
Business process: Collection of activities that takes some input and creates an output
that is of value to the customer

Functional Areas and Business Processes

The key role of an ERP system is to provide support for business functions

To understand ERP, you must understand how a business works

– Functional areas of operation
– Business processes
Functional Areas of Operation
– Marketing and Sales (M/S)
– Supply Chain Management (SCM)
– Accounting and Finance (A/F)
– Human Resources (HR)
Business functions: Activities specific to a functional area of operation

ERP Modules

ERP vendors, including SAP, Oracle,

and Microsoft, etc. provide modules that
support the major functional areas of a
business.

The ERP software embeds best

business practices that implement the
organization’s policy and procedure via
business rules.

ERP Modules from Three Vendors

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 Marketing and Sales

Functions of Marketing and Sales

– Advertising and Marketing products
– Determining pricing
– Promoting products to customers
– Taking customers’ orders
– Helping create a sales forecast
– Customer support
– Customer Relationship Management
Needs information from all other functional areas
Customers communicate orders to M/S in person or by telephone, e-mail, fax, the Web,
etc.
M/S has a role in determining product prices
– Pricing might be determined based on a product’s unit cost, plus some
percentage markup
– Requires information from Accounting and Finance, and Supply Chain
Management data
Marketing and Sales needs to interact with Human Resources to exchange information
on hiring needs, legal requirements, etc.

The Marketing and Sales functional area exchanges data with customers and with
the Human Resources, Accounting and Finance, and Supply Chain
Management functional areas
Inputs for M/S
– Customer data
– Order data
– Sales trend data
– Per-unit cost
– Travel expense company policy
Outputs for M/S
– Sales strategies
– Product pricing
– Employment needs

Supply Chain Management

Functions within Supply Chain Management

– Making the product (manufacturing/production)
– Buying raw materials (purchasing)

35
 – Receiving goods and raw materials
– Transportation and logistics
– Scheduling production of products
– Plant maintenance
Needs information from various functional areas
Production plans based on information about product sales (actual and projected) that
comes from Marketing and Sales
– Sales forecasts: Analyses that attempt to predict the future sales of a product
With accurate data about required production levels:
– Raw material and packaging can be ordered as needed
– Inventory levels can be kept low, saving money
Supply Chain Management data and records can:
– Provide data needed by Accounting and Finance to determine how much of
each resource was used
– Support the M/S function by providing information about what has been
produced and shipped
Supply Chain Management interacts in some ways with Human Resources

The Supply Chain Management functional area exchanges data with suppliers and with the Human
Resources, Marketing and Sales, and Accounting and Finance functional areas

Inputs for SCM

– Product sales data
– Production plans
– Inventory levels
– Layoff and recall company policy
Outputs for SCM
– Raw material orders
– Packaging orders
– Resource expenditure data
– Production and inventory reports
– Hiring information
Accounting and Finance
Functions within Accounting and Finance
– Recording raw data about transactions (including sales), raw material
purchases, payroll, and receipt of cash from customers, planning & budgeting,
cost allocation & control

Raw data: Numbers collected from those operations, without any manipulation,
calculation, or arrangement for presentation

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Data from Accounting and Finance used by Marketing and Sales and Supply Chain
Management
– Sales records are important component of sales forecast
– Sales forecast is used in making staffing decisions and in production planning
– Records from accounts receivable used to monitor the overall credit granting
policy

Needs information from all other functional areas

A/F personnel:
– Record company’s transactions in the books of account
– Record accounts payable when raw materials are purchased and cash
outflows when they pay for materials
– Summarize transaction data to prepare reports about company’s financial
position and profitability

People in other functional areas provide data to A/F

– M/S provides sales data
– SCM provides production and inventory data
– HR provides payroll and benefit expense data
M/S personnel require data from A/F to evaluate customer credit

The Accounting and Finance functional area exchanges data with customers and with the Human
Resources, Marketing and Sales, and Supply Chain
Management functional areas

Inputs for A/F

– Payments from customers
– Accounts receivable data
– Accounts payable data
– Sales data
– Production and inventory data
– Payroll and expense data
Outputs for A/F
– Payments to suppliers
– Financial reports
– Customer credit data
Human Resources

Functions of Human Resources

– Recruit, train, evaluate, compensate employees, benefits, government
compliance

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HR uses sales forecasts developed by the individual departments to plan personnel
needs

Systems integrated using ERP software provide the data sharing necessary between
functional areas

HR needs information from the other departments

Tasks related to employee hiring, benefits, training, and government compliance are
all responsibilities of HR

HR needs accurate forecasts of personnel needs from all functional units

HR needs to know what skills are needed to perform a particular job and how much
the company can afford to pay employees

Observing governmental regulations in recruiting, training, compensating, promoting,

and terminating employees

The Human Resources functional area exchanges data with the Accounting and
Finance, Marketing and Sales, and Supply Chain Management functional areas
• Inputs for HR
– Personnel forecasts
– Skills data
• Outputs for HR
– Regulation compliance
– Employee training and certification
– Skills database
– Employee evaluation and compensation
Other ERP Modules

Production
– Helps in the planning and optimizing of the manufacturing capacity, parts,
components, and material resources using historical production data and sales
forecasting.
Purchasing
– Streamlines the procurement process of required raw materials and other
supplies.

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Inventory Management
– Facilitates the processes of maintaining the appropriate level of stock in a
warehouse.

Miscellaneous Modules
– Nontraditional modules such as business intelligence, self-service, project
management, and e-commerce.

Functional Area Information Systems

Potential inputs and outputs for each functional area described next

Note the kinds of data needed by each area and how people use the data

Information systems maintain relationships between all functional areas and processes

Significant amount of data is maintained by and shared among the functional areas

Timeliness and accuracy of these data critical to each area’s success and to
company’s ability to make a profit and generate future growth

ERP software allows all functional areas to share a common database

– Allows accurate, real-time information to be available

Components of the Enterprise Systems

Architecture

Functional
– Defines the ERP modules that support the various business functions of the
organization. Examples include:
• Accounting
• Human Resources
• Procurement
• Fulfillment
• Etc.

System
– Defines the ERP architecture through the physical components of hardware,
software, and networking angle.

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 Enterprise Systems Architecture

Architecture helps implementation teams to understand in detail the features and

components of the enterprise system.

Provide a visual representation of the complex system interfaces among the ERP
application and databases, operating systems, legacy applications, and networking.

Management can develop a better IT plan if the requirements for system infrastructure,
training, change management, and business process reengineering are clarified.

Three-Tier Architecture

Most of the current ERP implementations follow a three tiered architecture, which
consists of a Web tier, an application tier, and a data tier.

Benefits
– Scalability - Easier to add, change, and remove applications.
– Reliability - Implementing multiple levels of redundancy.
– Flexibility - Flexibility in partitioning is very simple.
– Maintainability - Support and maintenance costs are less on one server.
– Reusability - Easier to implement reusable components.
– Security - IT staff has more control system to provide higher security.
Limitations
– Can be very expensive and complex.

Tiers

The Web Tier

– Web-based portal allows users the ability to access and analyze information
through their Web browser.
The Application Tier
– Consists of a Web browser and reporting tool where business processes and
end-users interact with the system.
– It shields the business users from the inner workings of an ERP system, but
still provides the information relevant to their job and business process.
The Data Tier
– Focus is on structure of all organizational data and its relationships with both
internal and external systems.

A Three-Tier ERP Architecture

40
Example of Architecture of ERP at Large University

WebLine ERP Architecture

41
SAP - Sales and Distribution

SAP – Order Management Process

Above diagram shows step-by-step activities for Order Management Business

process. Diagram also shows modules and sub-functionality support activities in the
business process.
Source: http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/ESpackages/ES+Wiki+Home

uiz NO. 1
Visit http://aradman.essu.edu.ph/. Answer quiz no. 1

42
 Lesson 5
Solving Integration Problems using Patterns

Middleware - Recap

Middleware is any type of software that facilitates communication between two or more
software systems
– Can be simple communication connection between applications
– Can be as sophisticated as information sharing and logic execution
mechanisms
Middleware is a technology that allows us to move information between multiple
systems that may reside within and outside an organization

Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM) is queuing software that uses is messages as

a mechanism to move information from point to point
– MOM uses the notion of messages to communicate between applications,
– MOM resolves the problem of tight coupling between applications

Tight Coupling

A great example of tight coupling is a local method invocation.

Invoking a local method inside an application is based on a lot of assumptions between

the called and the calling routine.
– Both methods have to run in the same process (e.g. a virtual machine) and
be written in the same language (or at least use a common intermediate
language or byte code).
– The calling method has to pass the exact number of expected parameters,
each using the correct type.

The call is immediate, i.e. the called method starts processing immediately after the
calling method makes the call.

Meanwhile, the calling method will only resume processing when the called method
completes (meaning the invocation is synchronous).

The communication between the methods is immediate and instantaneous, so neither

the caller nor the called method have to worry about security in the form of
eavesdropping 3rd parties.

All these assumptions make it very easy to write well-structured applications that break
functionality into individual methods to be called by other methods.

Tight Coupling Example Problem

 Assume we are building an on-line banking system that allows customers to

deposit money into their account from another bank.
 Let’s assume that the remote function that deposits money into a person’s
account takes only the person’s name and the Dollar amount as arguments.

43
  To perform this function, the front-end Web application has to be integrated
with the back-end financial system that manages fund transfers. The easiest
way to connect the two systems is through the TCP/IP protocol.
– Operating system or programming library include a TCP/IP stack.
TCP/IP is the ubiquitous communications protocol that transports data between
the millions of computers connected to the Internet and local networks.

Tight Coupling Example Solution

 Code opens a socket connection to the address www.boa.com and sends two
data items (the amount and the customer’s name) across the network.
 When we run this code it tells us: “7 bytes sent”.

Tight Coupling Example Assumptions

This minimalist integration solution is fast and cheap, but it results in a very brittle
solution because the two participating parties make the following assumptions about
each other:
– Platform Technology – internal representations of numbers and objects
• 32 bit vs 64 bit internal representation
• A system using 64 bits would be inclined to read 8 bytes off the
network and would end up interpreting the whole message (including
the customer name) as a single number.
– Location – hard-coded machine addresses
• Remote functions and machine location are hard-coded. Any change
in anything, we would have to change code. If we use a lot of remote
functions this could become very tedious.
– Time – all components have to be available at the same time
• Establishing a TCP connection requires that both machines and the
network are all available at the same time.
– Data Format – the list of parameters and their types must match
• If we want to insert a third parameter, e.g. the name of the currency,
we would have to modify both sender and receiver to use the new data
format.
Coupling is a measure of how many assumptions parties make about each other when
they communicate. Our simple solution requires the parties to make a lot of
assumptions. Therefore, this solution is tightly coupled.

44
 Loosely coupled solution

Instead, we can develop loosely coupled solution by using a message-oriented

middleware (MOM) infrastructure

MOM mechanisms provides services such as

– a common data format and transformers
• Removes platform and data format dependencies as the sender no
longer has to depend on the receiver's internal data format
– queuing channels
• Removes location and time dependencies as we do not have to pay
attention to computer’s identity & location or whether the other computer
is ready to accept requests or not.
Removing these dependencies between the systems makes the overall solution more
tolerant to change, the key benefit of loose coupling.

Things that make up Middleware

Middleware – the things that sit between applications.

In order to connect two systems via an integration solution, a number of things have to
happen.

Applications want to exchange data – Messages

– Message: a snippet of data that has an agreed-upon meaning to both
applications that are to be integrated.
– This piece of data can be very small, such as the phone number of a single
customer that has changed, or very large, such as the complete list of all
customers and their associated addresses.

Message Construction

When two applications wish to exchange a piece of data, they do so by wrapping it in

a message.

Message intent
– Command Message: invoking a function or method on the receiver
– Document Message: enabling the sender to transmit one of its data
structures
– Event Message: notifying the receiver of a change in the sender.
Returning a response
– Request-Reply: The request is usually a Command Message, and the reply
is a Document Message containing a result value or an exception.
– Return Address: The requestor specifies what channel to use to transmit the
reply.

45
 – Correlation Identifier: Responder specifies which request this reply
corresponds to.
Huge amounts of data
– Message Sequence: break the data into more manageable chunks and send
them as a sequence of messages, so that the receiver can reconstruct the
original data structure.
Slow messages
– Message Expiration: the sender can specify an expiration date. If the
messaging system cannot deliver a message by its expiration, it should discard
the message. If a receiver gets a message after its expiration, it should discard
the message.

Things that make up Middleware: Channel

Data needs to be transported, usually across a network.

We need a communications channel that can move information from one application
to the other. This channel could be a series of TCP/IP connections, a shared file, or a
shared database.
– A channel is a logical address that both sender and receiver can agree on
the same channel without being aware of each other’s identity.

The application selects a particular channel to send the data knowing that the receiver
will be one that is looking for that sort of data on that channel.

Messaging Channels

• Point-to-Point Channel: To send the data to a single application (1-to-1 interaction)

• Publish-Subscribe Channel: When you send a piece of data this way, the channel
effectively copies the data for each of the receivers (One to many interaction)
• Datatype Channel: all of the data on a channel has to be of the same type (many to
one interaction)
• Invalid Message Channel: When receiver receives a message that doesn’t meet
these expectations
• Dead Letter Channel: for messages which are successfully sent but ultimately
cannot be successfully delivered.
• Guaranteed Delivery: makes channels persistent so that their messages are stored
on disk
• Channel Adapter: can be used to connect a channel (or set of channels) to the
application without having to modify the application
• Messaging Bridge: connecting two message systems, effectively connecting them
into one composite messaging system.
• Message Bus: a backbone providing access to all of the enterprise’s various and
ever-changing applications and functionality.

46
 Things that make up Middleware:
Translation

Middleware needs to provide some mechanism to convert one application’s data

format in the others.
– Internal data format of an application can often not be changed
– For example, one data format may store the customer name in two fields,
called FIRST_NAME and LAST_NAME, while the other system may use a
single field called Customer_Name.

Message Transformation

• Envelope Wrapper: wrap message payload data into an envelope that is compliant
with the requirements of the messaging infrastructure.
• Content Enricher: when the target system requires data fields that the originating
system cannot supply. It has the ability to look up missing information or compute it
from the available data.
• Content Filter: removes unwanted data from a message.
• Claim Check: removes data from a message but stores it for later retrieval.
• Normalizer: translates messages arriving in many different formats into a common
format.
• Canonical Data Model: Design an independent data model from any specific
application. Require each application to produce and consume messages in this
common format

Things that make up Middleware: Routing

Middleware needs to take care of sending messages to multiple systems

– As the number of systems increases it becomes very tedious and requires
the sending system to have knowledge about all other systems.
– For example, if the customer address changes in the customer care system
we could make that system responsible for sending the data to all other
systems that store copies of the customer address.
– We could expect each application to specify the target system(s) for the data
it is sending over the channel.

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 Message Routing

Things that make up Middleware: Systems

Management

Integration solutions can quickly become complex because they deal with multiple
applications, data formats, channels, routing and transformation.
– All these elements may be spread across multiple operating platforms and
geographic locations.
In order to have any idea what is going on inside the system we need a systems
management function.
– This subsystem monitors the flow of data, makes sure that all applications
and components are available and reports error conditions to a central location.

System Management

• Control Bus: provides a single point of control to manage and monitor a distributed
solution
• Detour: route messages through additional steps, such as validation or logging –
with ability to switch on or off these additional steps
• Wire Tap: inspect the contents of a message without affecting the primary message
flow.
• Message History: great aid to know where a specific message has been
• Message Store: can provide a complete account of every message that traveled
through the system
• Smart Proxy: track messages sent to request-reply services

48
• Test Message: actively verifying that the running messaging system is functioning
properly
• Channel Purger: remove all remaining messages from a channel so that the
components under test do not receive 'leftover' messages.

Things that make up Middleware: Endpoint

Most packaged and legacy applications and many custom applications are not
prepared to participate in an integration solution.
– As they were designed to perform specific functionality with specific
input/output
We need a message endpoint to connect the system explicitly to the integration
solution.
– The endpoint can be a special piece of code or an Adapter provided by an
integration software vendor.

Messaging Endpoints

• Messaging Gateway: a class than wraps messaging-specific method calls and

exposes domain-specific methods to the application.
• Messaging Mapper: creates a mapping logic between the messaging infrastructure
and the domain objects.
• Transactional Client: make the client’s session with the messaging system
transactional so that the client can specify transaction boundaries.
• Polling Consumer: explicitly makes a call when it wants to receive a message.
• Event-Driven Consumer: automatically handles messages as they’re delivered on
the channel.
• Competing Consumers: Create multiple consumers on a single channel so that
multiple messages can be processed concurrently.
• Message Dispatcher: consume messages from a channel and distribute them to
performers.
• Selective Consumer: filters messages delivered to a channel so that it only receives
the ones that match its criteria.
• Durable Subscriber: to make the messaging system save messages published
while the subscriber is disconnected.
• Idempotent Receiver: can safely receive the same message multiple times.
• Service Activator: connects the messages on the channel to the service being
accessed.

Widgets & Gadgets ‘R Us (WGRUS)

Widgets & Gadgets ‘R Us (WGRUS) an on-line retailer that buys widgets and gadgets
from manufacturers and resells them to customers.

49
 WGRUS IT Infrastructure

• Four different channels to interact with

customers.
• Six internal information systems
• Design an integration solution to
integrated these Systems

Requirements – Business Processes

• Take Orders
– Customers can place orders via Web, phone or fax
• Process Orders
– Processing an order involves multiple steps, including verifying inventory,
shipping the goods and invoicing the customer
• Check Status
– Customers can check the order status
• Change Address
– Customers can use a Web front-end to change their billing and shipping
address
• New Catalog
– The suppliers update their catalog periodically. WGRUS needs to update its
pricing and availability based in the new catalogs.
• Announcements
– Customers can subscribe to selective announcements from WGRUS.
• Testing and Monitoring
– The operations staff needs to be able to monitor all individual components
and the message flow between them.

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 Take Orders and Process Orders

Take Orders

Identified Requirements:
• Interactions between
– 1 and 4
– 2 and 5
– 3 and 6
Identifying Integration Requirements: Look for
change in Performers. Performers are application
that are supporting a specific activity within a
process – 4, 5, 6 and 7

First Requirement

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Second Requirement

Third Requirement

Fourth Requirement

52
Develop Integration Solutions for Process
Orders

Lesson 6 - XML Application Integration

Lesson 6 – Web Services
Lesson 6 – Advanced Web Services

53