Ciceron Integration Services

Transcription

1 Ciceron Integration Services product description Ciceron Integration Services (CIS) is designed from the outset to be the binding link between different systems. This means that CIS can support any kind of application integration. Both internal integration processing between local systems and external integration can be handled by CIS. CIS is designed to be a totally dynamic solution for almost any type of processing, but the main task is to form the interface between different applications and system platforms. CIS makes it possible to integrate systems that are independent. If operational requirements change, only a few simple adaptations need to be made. The flexibility of the product also makes it possible to implement and optimize tailor- made system interfaces (adaptors) for secure messaging. CIS contains functions that automate your business processes. The product can therefore generate major time and cost savings, at the same time as it can offer you new opportunities for your business. Systems that used to demand expensive development costs for integration can now be linked together by CIS. Sida 1

2 CIS can handle almost any processing Working with information technology means working under constant change. IT systems of today may be better and more advanced, but they also become more complicated. As the systems develop, demands for unhindered information exchange between different system platforms and applications increase. CIS gives you totally new opportunities for handling information and data in a smooth, safe and cost- effective manner. Information messaging and file transfers, information analysis and routing, database connections and any type of data conversion can be handled. Process automation, scheduled operations and system monitoring are other examples of what CIS can manage. CIS' flexibility also makes it possible to implement highly competitive systems for B2B integration processing. CIS can handle EDI and XML messaging, routing and conversion, but can also form the interface to other B2B environments. CIS can handle most of your companies local processes. Here follows some examples of what CIS can do: Automation of integration processes. Time- or event- controlled process launches. Service based integration (SOA solutions, host and access Web services) File transfer via various protocols (FTP, Secure FTP, http/s, X.400 etc.) Message handling via several methods (like CISMq, MQSeries, SMTP and SMS). Conversion and transmission of EDI and XML messages. Reading and updating of databases. Monitoring of applications and system environments. Integration with directory services (like Active Directory and edirectory). Analysis and validation of data. Security implementations such as encryption and electronic seals. Process supervision and alert management. Sida 2

3 CIS secure integration solutions Security thinking is one of the guiding principles in CIS. There are many reasons, not least the rapid growth of Internet messaging, for the increasing need for safe solutions. But there is also a need to retain control over the constantly increasing flow of information. In an environment with large information flows across various networks, effective security offers a competitive advantage and is absolutely essential for continued development. You have to protect the data that are to be transferred. You also have to be sure that the correct data are sent and received and that data are transmitted "just in time". This demands a lot from the applications that manage the information exchange. For this reason, CIS has been designed to offer each customer tailor- made, optimized secure integration solutions. CIS can be equipped with several data security functions (such as encryption, authentication and electronic seals). Modules for verification and session encryption also make it possible to use the Internet as safe infrastructure for external data transfer. CIS can also offer your IT environment more continuous security. By eliminating the risks due to human error, for example. CIS has logging functions that registers important events in the integration processes. If any problems occur, alarms can be sent in various ways, by e- mail or mobile telephone for example. CIS can also initiate error- handling procedures that can automatically correct certain faults, activate retransmissions of information or restart not succeeded processes. CIS architectural overview When different applications should be connected some sort of middleware is needed. CIS is an integration platform that works as a middleware that links the local applications to each other and also composes the interface to external systems and their integration environment. Much of the power, functional diversity and flexibility of CIS comes from its programmable modules (components), built upon program languages such as VBA and Python. You can easily create new components or customize existing. CIS is an object- oriented integrations platform based on components with given functions. By using built- in standard components new integration processes easily can be developed and customized, with minimal need of programmers and other development expertise. Here follows an overview of the basic parts of CIS: Sida 3

4 Server CIS Server is the central part of the system, which manages all the process execution. The server controls process activation and dispatching of processes to agents. The server also is responsible for monitoring of active processes and restarting of process that have failed. CIS server contains several log systems that collects all necessary information from the executing processes. If a process fails the information is registerad in the log system and the process can be restarted from the point of failure. The server is platform independent, which means that it can be installed in both Windows- and Unix/Linux environments. Agents The agents work as slaves to the server, they start and control the processes given to them by the server. Agents can be located on the same physical server as the CIS server, but they can also run on other servers that make scalability, load balancing and failover handling possible. Agents can also work distributed over the Internet using a secure connection (SSL) to the server. This makes it possible for big organizations to distribute their integration processing between offices world wide. The agents are platform independent, which means that they can be installed in both Windows- and Unix/Linux environments. Sida 4

5 Integration as a service CIS is designed from the outset to work as a platform for distributed integration services. In such solutions the server is placed in a central integration server environment and one or several agents are placed locally near the business systems. Visma Consulting can offer CIS as a service, which means that Visma Consulting takes responsibility for hosting the integration server but the other parts of the system are placed in the customer environment. The agent contacts the server, which means that the direction of communication connections is inside out through the firewalls. Using CIS as a service means that the customer doesn t have to care about their integration environment, the processes are remotely maintained and supervised by the server environment. Sida 5