Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway. A GXS Thought Leadership White Paper

Transcription

1 Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway A GXS Thought Leadership White Paper

2 Table of Contents Integration Silos... 3 B2B Gateways... 3 What is a B2B Gateway?... 4 B2B Gateway Components... 4 Core Components... 5 Secure Connectivity and Communications... 5 Data Mapping and Transformation Services... 6 Transaction Management... 7 Trading Partner and Community Management... 8 Rules Engine Workflow Process Management... 8 Web Interface and Web Forms...10 Perimeter Security Service Adaptive Layer The Bottom Line...12 About GXS Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway

3 Integration Silos Several waves of technology solutions have continued to improve business operations via the exchange of business data and documents electronically. Most of the solutions were implemented separately, in some cases loosely or tightly integrated, and in most cases not integrated as part of a comprehensive solution. In addition, separate divisions or functional groups within a company may have implemented separate technologies to address the same needs. Taking it one step further, the technologies were generally implemented to address specific tactical issues, and were only occasionally scrutinized under the light of the overall strategic value and maximum possible return on investment (ROI). How many different technologies are in place in different areas of your company, provided by different vendors, with little to no integration? How many business integration silos exist within your company? Value-Added Network (VAN) Point-to-point (EDI-INT / AS1, AS2, AS3) FTP via private leased lines/frame relay/vpn Web Forms Web-based transaction mailboxes Translator/Mapper FTP servers Proxy servers B2B Gateways Compared to the prevalent integration silo approach, B2B Gateways provide a more holistic approach to addressing business integration needs, an approach that will further streamline operations, focus resources and consolidate technology with increased control and improved security. If there is an issue, technical and non-technical employees don t have to spend time figuring out which piece of integration software stopped working. Additionally, they don t need to remember how to use several different solutions, located in different places, that all do the same thing. A B2B Gateway provides a comprehensive suite of technology that can be leveraged by virtually any group within an organization. It does not stop there B2B Gateways also provide the means for external parties (customers, business partners) to exchange business data and documents with your company. In addition, B2B Gateways provide the means to increase real-time visibility into business activity and performance. For example, various government regulations mandate compliance with levels of privacy and security for private data. In some cases, the regulations also require the ability to produce audit information to demonstrate compliance as it pertains to time-sensitive data. Similar scenarios apply to business partner agreements such as service-level agreements that may or may not include financial penalties for non-compliance. Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway 3

4 With a B2B Gateway it is possible to set-up real-time event management with alert notifications that monitor electronic transactions and provide warnings, before it is too late. While a B2B Gateway provides the means to consolidate into a single solution, it is important that a B2B Gateway consists of multiple components that can be implemented together, individually or in varying combinations in different and isolated layers within a network infrastructure. It is also essential for a true B2B Gateway to be an open system that can be easily integrated with other technologies via Web Services, SOAP, Java Connector Architecture (JCA), Java Messaging Service (JMS), Message Queues (MQ), scripting, application program interfaces (APIs), file copy, etc. After all, it is unlikely that any organization will move all of its business integration services at once. What is a B2B Gateway? As is usually the case, it depends on who you ask. Even among industry and technology analysts, experts and solution vendors, there is no single clear definition for a B2B Gateway. For example, one vendor might tell you that internal business integration is separate from the external business integration layer. The basic premise for B2B Gateway technology is encapsulated in a paradigm in which all business integration needs are consolidated into a single solution, inter-connecting internal and external operations into a complete business process. A B2B Gateway is essentially a business integration suite that supports internal and external integration and business processes. It provides a single integration platform enabling the direct, secure exchange of data, files and documents between diverse internal/external applications across multiple enterprises and trading partners. A B2B Gateway provides the means to implement one gateway solution for all business integration needs, whether it is application-to-application, internal department-to-department or business-to-business with external organizations. It is also an open solution that facilitates integration with virtually any existing middleware, including message queues such as MQ, JMS and JCA. A comprehensive, stand-alone B2B Gateway solution should include these capabilities: Any-to-any connectivity any data format, any transport protocol Centralized point for mapping & data transformation Transaction management, archiving & reporting Activity & exception management Secure managed file transfer/secure transports High scalability/fault tolerance Customer/trading partner support B2B Gateway Components To fully understand the B2B Gateway concept, it is important to identify the key components and then outline the purpose of each component. 4 Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway

5 Secure Connectivity and Communications Data Mapping and Transformation Services Transaction Management Trading Partner and Community Management Rules Engine Workflow Process Management Web Interface and Web Forms Perimeter Security Services Adaptive Layer J2EE Service-Oriented Architecture The following diagram is a conceptual overview of the key B2B Gateway components. External Trading and Business Partners Perimeter Security Services Web Interface Rules Event Management Process Management Workflow Secure Connectivity/ Communications Transaction Management Trading Partner/ Community Management Analysis BAM Performance Management Data Mapping and Transformation Adaptive Layer J2EE-based Service Oriented Architecture Internal Infrastructure and Systems Core Components Secure Connectivity and Communications B2B Gateways provide a backbone for the secure exchange of data, files and documents (intra-company and with external parties). The secure exchange of electronic data/information is a key component for ensuring that non-public personal information and confidential business information remains private and uncompromised while en route. While secure connectivity has existed for many years in the form of dial-up modems with password-protected direct connects, or via leased lines with firewall-to-firewall virtual private networks (VPNs) and pre-shared secrets, new technology has overshadowed these older solutions. Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway 5

6 Today, secure connectivity and communications leverage the Internet. The new technologies have proven to significantly lower costs, improve business document delivery and response times, be extremely reliable and provide more visibility, control and security over business processes. Advancements in security and communications are so significant that major retailers and suppliers, the automotive industry, financial services, healthcare companies, laboratories and government organizations have implemented Internet-based solutions. Secure B2B Gateways support Privacy and Security compliance for Healthcare (HIPAA) and Financial Services (federal and state laws), as it applies to electronic messaging. The same technologies have been widely adopted by global retail giants and entire supply chains because of the benefits associated with security and reliability. The Privacy and Security compliance is provided through industry-leading ebusinessready Interoperability Certified solutions, tested by The Drummond Group ( and ebusinessready is a joint venture between the Drummond Group and the Uniform Code Council (UCC). Business integration solutions incorporate the ability to use virtually any transport standard for secure connectivity and security. These include, but are not limited to: FTP/s, HTTP/s, AS1, AS2, AS3, ebxml, Web Services and several industry-specific technologies such as NAESB, EBMS and HL7. The primary security and privacy tenets of these standards are AS1/AS2/AS3: Privacy Provides message content privacy via data encryption Ensures that a document can only be viewed by the sender and receiver Authentication Offers authentication via the sender s digital signature Ensures that senders are actually who they claim to be Integrity Encloses hash totals in Message Disposition Notifications (MDNs) Ensures that a document cannot be altered without the receiver detecting a change Non-repudiation Provides non-repudiation via signed MDN receipt acknowledgment from the receiver to the sender Prevents receivers from claiming they did not receive the document Data Mapping and Transformation Services Traditionally, data mapping and transformation have been associated with EDI. EDI is and will remain very important to many companies for the foreseeable future. As a result, the need for EDI mapping and transformation services solutions will not go away anytime soon. At the core of EDI mapping and transformation is the ability to map from a source data format into a defined EDI document format, and vice versa. Leading solutions provide for many EDI mapping scenarios: 6 Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway

7 Source Direction Recipient Delimited file format EDI Database EDI XML EDI EDI Delimited file format EDI Database EDI XML The B2B Gateway model expands data mapping and transformation to encompass much more than just EDI and B2B integration. The premise is fairly simple. By nature, the root of mapping and transformation is to take data from a source, change the data format and then provide the modified data in a format useful to the recipient (where a recipient could be an external party or an internal party or system). For example: If data can be read directly from a database and mapped to an EDI file, and the EDI file can be mapped to write to a database, then the mapper should be able to read from one database and write directly to another database. Another slightly more complex example is that the mapper could read from one database and map to an XML file that would then be sent to a Web Service, or could be sent to an intermediate MQ or JMS for some additional fault tolerance in the integration process. This process is at the core of EAI, internal and B2B integration. Source Direction Recipient Database A Database XML Database B XML XML Through simple adaptations to traditional mapping and transformation services, B2B Gateways provide a single open integration architecture that can easily support both internal integration and B2B integration. Transaction Management Transaction Management provides the flexibility to monitor all of the documents that have been processed by the system, along with the operations that have been performed on those documents. Transaction Management provides the capability to reconcile exchanges with trading partners, perform exception handling and conduct dynamic document searches. In addition, Transaction Management provides the ability to track documents and messages; reprocess or resubmit documents and messages; monitor the transaction processing for system load balancing and performance; and archive data for audit trail purposes. Within a B2B Gateway, Transaction Management can be logically split into four functional groups. Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway 7

8 1. Exceptions. For the person managing a B2B Gateway, error management is a primary responsibility. An exception dashboard makes it possible to identify any transactions that have not processed successfully. B2B Gateways track exceptions generated by any of the core components. 2. Reconciliation. Reconciliation refers to a monitor that provides the current status of all outbound business transactions. For example, an outbound EDI interchange may contain multiple purchase orders. Reconciliation provides the means to track the status of each individual business transaction by matching AS2 MDNs and business acknowledgements (Functional Acknowledgements) with the individual transactions. Reconciled transactions are linked to the original EDI interchange. When the entire EDI interchange and all individual transactions have been reconciled, the entire set of documents may be aged and archived. 3. Messages. A Message summary lists all the messages that are in the system. A message consists of documents that are received by the system or documents that are generated as the result of processing. Message documents consist of document data and any associated header/envelope information. A B2B Gateway can process messages in EDI format, XML format, format, etc. 4. Archive. Archiving can be externally important for two reasons: (1) High transaction volume will produce massive amounts of data that can ultimately slow down a system, and (2) statutory or regulatory requirements necessitate the maintenance of archived transaction records for specific periods of time. Data aging and document archiving provide the means to address both points. Trading Partner and Community Management Trading Partners refer to the internal and external parties that will exchange electronic documents with your company. Within your Trading Community there are key sets of information that define each Trading Partner. The information is required in order to perform business integration processes. 1. Party type (internal integration party or an internal/external trading partner) 2. Party information (name, contacts) 3. Party relationships and hierarchies 4. Transport protocols (AS1, AS2, HTTP, FTP, mailbox, etc.) 5. Transformation profile (document mapping and transformation) 6. Digital certificates (manage certificates, expiration dates) 7. Processing rules (document- and event-driven) Rules Engine Workflow Process Management To many people and companies the term Business Process Integration represents something that is expensive and complicated, a technology that will not provide an ROI within a reasonable amount of time. Through a more realistic approach to process automation, B2B Gateways provide an easy-to-implement and fundamentally sound solution that will provide an ROI within a reasonable timeframe. 8 Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway

9 The B2B Gateway approach is driven by the premise that one size does not fit every organization. A tiered, scalable approach is the only way to deliver the right solution. A B2B Gateway provides the means to implement a fairly simple process with the flexibility to incrementally add more complexity as required. Different tiers may include (1) a Rules Engine, (2) Workflow (3) and Business Process Integration. Rules Engine A Rules Engine is actually an essential supporting component of transaction and trading community management, which encompass processing and tracking. For example, during the exchange of documents, it may be necessary to deliver specific documents to different places driven by document processing events or the content of the documents themselves. A rule may be as simple as sending a notification to someone with a call to action. Rules may also support a more complicated setup, such as operations that call scripts and external commands, or a series of cascading operations. A B2B Gateway will generally provide rules processing at three levels: (1) systemlevel defaults for events and logging, (2) administrative-level, configurable rules that will take defined action on specific processing events and (3) rules with customized parameters that are driven by document content rather than by document type or processing event. Workflow Workflow is a structured means to present tasks for human interaction. Workflow may be a simple extension of a Rules Engine that sends notifications and alerts to people based on user configurable criteria. A notification might include a call to action with a link or URL for the recipient to click on. Workflow may also be part of a greater business process management solution that incorporates rules, workflow and simple processes or complex hierarchies of interrelated business processes with detailed algorithms of logical business process operations. Business Process Integration Business Process Integration (BPI) takes a quantum leap that advances business process management and encapsulates the true nature of process integration. An accepted approach to process automation has been to view internal and external integration processes as being separate groups of processes and to individually address each group. The problem with that approach is that the segregated processes are actually part of one cohesive business process. Business Process Integration takes a more pragmatic and realistic approach to process automation and looks at the complete business picture. The natural representation of a business process consists of intertwined matrices of internal and external processes. That is why BPI incorporates collaborative business process management with workflow and EAI processes to provide a true representation Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway 9

10 of an overall business process. BPI enables straight-through processing for end-to-end, seamlessly integrated business processes. Also, because of the way Business Process Integration accentuates true business processes, the tracking information provided by BPI is valuable as input for business performance measurement initiatives. EXTERNAL Collaborative Processes Trading/Business Partners - Global INTERNAL Workflow & EAI Processes Department/Division - Global Business Process Integration Automated B2B Sub Distributed Interactive EAI Manual EXTERNAL INTERNAL INTERNAL INTERNAL EXTERNAL INTERNAL INTERNAL EXTERNAL Internal EDI PO from Trading Partner EDI PO Mapped Translated Routed PO sent to Distribution System PO Acknowledgement Translated to EDI Internal EDI PO Acknowledgement to Trading Partner Order Fulfillment Order Shipped Shipping Notice Translated to EDI Internal EDI Shipping Notice to Trading Partner Virtual Life of a Purchase Order (example of a possible high-level business process steps) Web Interface and Web Forms Web Interface For easy day-to-day use and ongoing administration that may be performed by many different people in different geographic locations, leading B2B Gateway solutions provide a web browser based GUI. There is no need for IT administrators and management to expend the resources needed to monitor, install and configure software on many PC and laptop computers. The core B2B Gateway features that are used on daily basis are accessible via the web interface. Web Forms - Inbox GUI Web Forms Development Tool Transaction Mailbox B2B Gateway Trading Partners 10 Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway

11 Perimeter Security Services With today s renewed emphasis on protecting sensitive data and infrastructures, more and more private, public and government organizations are implementing advanced security solutions. The Perimeter Security Services components provided with leading B2B Gateway solutions fulfill the strict security requirements of financial, healthcare and government organizations, and the most demanding security requirements of suppliers and retailers in the supply chain. Security Benefits Protects internal systems from inbound threats Controls inbound FTP and HTTP messages Hides internal systems during outbound messaging Controls outbound FTP and HTTP messages Works with existing firewalls and DMZs Provides user management, authentication and SSL certificate management Perimeter Security Services consist of a comprehensive set of advanced security components that protect internal systems from external threats. Companies can safely and securely participate in business-to-business integration (B2Bi) and the secure exchange of information over the Internet. Configuration Console and Certificate Administration HTTP Proxy (Reverse/Inbound - Forward/Outbound) FTP Proxy (Reverse/Inbound - Forward/Outbound) FTP Server Fallback and Load Balancing Adaptive Layer The adaptive layer may provide built in technology, plug n play or component integration capabilities. Today, there are several types of adaptive technologies that a B2B Gateway must be able to incorporate, leverage or interact with. Legacy APIs While most of the enterprise software vendors have moved beyond legacy APIs to adapters, JCA or Web Services, the legacy APIs are still used by many organizations. A B2B Gateway provides rules and scripting that can programmatically call an API Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway 11

12 or can simply provide a data file that can be picked and processed by a separate program in conjunction with the API. Adapters There are several varieties of adapters built with different technologies for different platforms that are capable of calling legacy APIs or provide direct database connectivity. The most important aspect of an adapter is that adapters are designed to facilitate plug n play interaction with industry-leading ERP and CRM systems. Web Services and Web Service Definition Libraries (WSDLs) Web Services and WSDL technology can be used for adaptive integration purposes like adapters and APIs. One of the promising aspects of a WSDL for a Web Service is that a WSDL can be published publicly or privately. Any party with access to the WDSL can generate a set of adapters or agents that will interact with the Web Service (inbound and/or outbound). Definition of Web Services. The term Web Services refers to the use of Internetbased standards as a means of sharing information and services between incompatible applications and information sources. By making information and services accessible in a standardized way, Web Services make it easier for businesses to share information inside their organization and with business partners, customers and suppliers. Agents for Web Services. By leveraging the power of WSDL in Web Services, B2B Gateways can create an integration agent that will invoke virtually any Web Service. A Web Services Agent can be viewed as a specific form of HTTP-based transport that is used to exchange virtually any information via XML. By simply knowing the URL for the WSDL, an automated Web Services Agent builder can access the WSDL and build Web Service Agents for any specific Web Service. The Bottom Line Consider how important it is for your company to move quickly in today s market, with little to no margin for delays or mistakes. The technology that you implement must support and drive initiatives that will improve your business operations. B2B Gateways offer a substantial operational improvement over integration silos. Even so, for many organizations it is not feasible to remove all old technology at one time. The only feasible approach is an iterative process that facilitates planned incremental change. A few key closing points to remember are: B2B Gateways provide the means to increase real-time visibility into business activity and performance B2B Gateways provide the means to consolidate integration technology to streamline operations, remove inefficiencies and reduce costly errors 12 Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway

13 B2B Gateways provide the means to implement one gateway solution for all business integration needs, whether it is application-to-application, internal departmenttodepartment or business-to-business with external organizations B2B Gateways provide a comprehensive suite of technology that can be leveraged by virtually any group within an organization VAN Customers Document Repository Claims Regulatory Compliance Sales Customer Service Business Integration Suite B2B Gateway Inventory Receiving Purchasing Suppliers Finance Business Performance Industry Exchange Financial Services Government About GXS GXS is a leading B2B integration services provider and operates the world s largest integration cloud, GXS Trading Grid. Our software and services help more than 550,000 businesses, including 22 of the top 25 supply chains, extend their partner networks, automate receiving processes, manage electronic payments, and improve supply chain visibility. GXS Managed Services, our unique approach to improving B2B integration operations, combines GXS Trading Grid with our process orchestration services and global team to manage a company s multi-enterprise processes. Based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, GXS has direct operations in 20 countries, employing more than 2,800 professionals. To learn more, see read our blog at and follow us on Twitter at You can also access our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway 13

14 North America and Global Headquarters GXS 9711 Washingtonian Blvd. Gaithersburg, MD US t t f EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA HEADQUARTERS UNITED KINGDOM GXS Limited 18 Station Road Sunbury-on-Thames Middlesex TW16 6SU England +44 (0) t +44 (0) f ASIA HEADQUARTERS HONG KONG GXS International Room /F China Resources Building 26 Harbour Road Wanchai, Hong Kong t f JAPAN HEADQUARTERS TOKYO GXS Co., Ltd. 3F Akasaka 1-Chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo t f About GXS GXS is a leading B2B integration services provider and operates the world s largest integration cloud, GXS Trading Grid. Our software and services help more than 550,000 businesses, including 22 of the top 25 supply chains, extend their partner networks, automate receiving processes, manage electronic payments, and improve supply chain visibility. GXS Managed Services, our unique approach to improving B2B integration operations, combines GXS Trading Grid with our process orchestration services and global team to manage a company s multi-enterprise processes. Based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, GXS has direct operations in 20 countries, employing more than 2,800 professionals. To learn more, see read our blog at and follow us on Twitter at You can also access our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at Copyright 2013 GXS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. July 2013 A