EPIC. Enterprise Process Integration Controller. Creating 100% Reliable Business Systems. ebusiness Solutions

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1 EPIC Enterprise Process Integration Controller Creating 100% Reliable Business Systems ebusiness Solutions D A T A I N T E R C H A N G E P L C

2 EPIC Data Interchange s EPIC is an Enterprise Process Integration Controller solution, utilizing cutting-edge Distributed Processing technology to provide seamless integration of internal systems, business processes and trading partners in a high throughput environment. In a world where service availability and security are vitally important, EPIC combines 100% availability through fail over technology with full scalability and high throughput through its Resource On Demand model. Total system visibility of EPIC is provided by innovative Business Activity Monitoring (BAM). EPIC Integrators Process Extenders Data Transformers Features.NET Framework Digital Security Resource on Demand Distributed Processing High Resilience Business Activity Monitor Distributed Processing Business Process Management Resource on Demand OFTP 2 AS2 Distributed Processing - 100% Availability EPIC makes the dream of 100% system availability a reality by distributing the application and dynamically re-allocating the workload. Designed with a distributed architecture, each aspect of EPIC s functionality has been split into component tasks that can operate simultaneously from different machines in the local or wide area network. EPIC monitors each task on each machine to ensure it is operational and in the event of a failure the workload will be automatically re-assigned to another operational machine. With EPIC s distributed architecture, the primary and backup site can be included in a single implementation model. In the event of a major incident at the primary site, EPIC will automatically migrate operations to the backup site. Once the issue at the primary site has been resolved it will be automatically reinstated. Load balancing and High Throughput The ability to distribute processes across multiple machines and to then dynamically assign work to them creates an environment of very flexible load balancing. Assigning a priority level to tasks ensures that high priority tasks get processed first, no matter what the workload of the system as a whole is.

3 Resource on Demand If more processing power is required then simply adding a new machine to the EPIC farm is a routine task. EPIC uses a high performance and scalable database which combined with EPIC s own scalability allows it to handle the most demanding of high volume scenarios. The Resource on Demand concept ensures that your company is futureproof, taking away the need to invest in new software / hardware as your business grows; the EPIC solution grows with your business. Security Malicious attacks upon companies via the internet are becoming increasingly common and with the advent of the internet becoming a preferred communications transport, many organisations are seeking to reduce their exposure. EPIC has its own inbuilt proxy service which, when deployed externally to the firewall, acts as a manager for all communications in and out of EPIC. Data security is as important as external defence which is why using highly secure digital certificates in conjunction with the security capable protocols OFTP2, AS2 and S-FTP together with SSL access, EPIC users have all the security benefits of a highly secure private network. Business Activity Monitoring The Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) dashboard provides information on key performance indicators, giving assurance and visibility of activity and performance. The BAM dashboard gives a graphical representation of data flowing through the EPIC system. For auditing requirements or for keeping abreast of your integration environment, EPIC provides you with a complete audit trail of all processing and communications sessions, letting you easily trace the progress of business critical files as they pass between your systems. Any operational issues can be traced back and resolved quickly and efficiently. Business Process Management EPIC uses workflows as part of its Business Process Management to give you complete control when integrating your systems. Workflows let you perform custom business logic processing such as encrypting documents, sending s, calling other applications etc. You can use EPIC to pick up an invoice file produced by your accounting system, translate it into the EDI format of your trading partner, automatically send the file, and send an with an attachment to the accounts department to let them know that the invoice has been sent. The scenarios are limited only by your requirements and creativity. Connectors EPIC Connectors include all of the major methods for communicating with Trading Partners, including AS2, SFTP, FTP, , OFTP, X.400, FAX, MQ Series and OFTP2. The large amount of Connectors allows you to communicate with your trading partners regardless of their market sector or communications capability, and removes the need to maintain multiple computer systems for different protocols. EPIC Connectors provide robust communication links and use delivery receipts to provide confirmation of delivery of your files.

4 Data Transformers EPIC uses Data Transformers to change between data formats, in an any to any environment. With its Data Transformation tool that provides an integrated development environment, deployment of Data Transformers is quick and easy, lowering the costs necessary to exploit the benefits of business process integration. The EPIC Data Transformation tool boasts a sophisticated drag and drop interface, a forms designer, a document explorer and support for all common file formats. The tool is easy to learn and deploy so you can quickly create Data Transformers, without a long induction period. Integrators In the competitive global market it is essential to have tight integration between your back office system and your EDI gateway. EPIC s Integrators are a set of standard tools that interface directly with most back office systems, such as Oracle and SAP. By utilising EPIC s Data Transformers the Integrators can actively retrieve and post data into the back office system, providing an extra level of integration and achieving the close union of systems that you require. The Postbag Workstation provides an inbox and outbox view of all files in EPIC and also gives a comprehensive audit trail of every action associated with a file. The Communications monitor provides a realtime view of all of EPIC s Connectors and gives a full trace for diagnostics and information purposes

5 EPIC Business Process Extenders There are many different processes in business that work upon the backbone of data delivery. EPIC has multiple Business Process Extenders that create a more versatile and powerful system, encompassing several business processes in a single architecture. The list of business process extenders includes: Order management Supplier EDI portal Global data synchronisation Payments processing Order Management Many ERP systems cannot handle the huge variety of data required by the different industries and documents that have to be sent back to the trading partners are often lacking crucial information. The Order Management module of EPIC allows Orders to be received and turned around into Despatch Advices and Invoices; other document types are also supported. Using a variety of business rules that can be switched on or off depending on specific requirements, the turn around process can be completed without having to manually add mandatory information. The Order Management module allows you to create reports for the despatch team and labels to put on the shipments. Global Data Synchronisation The Global Data Synchronisation (GDS) Extender of EPIC provides companies with an easy way to take product information from internal systems and then manage the process of submitting data to the data pools using AS2. Functionality includes the ability to quickly locate an item by scanning the barcode and use trading partner specific profiles for quick data entry. Payments Processing An integral part of every business is the payments process. The need to tightly control this process is clear and to have it included in the central system of EPIC comes with obvious benefits. The EPIC payments module supports all major financial messages and networks including BACS and SWIFT. Supplier EDI Portal There is often a situation where a supplier does not have their own EDI system and cannot afford one. EPIC has its own Supplier EDI portal that can be quickly deployed to provide Web EDI access to suppliers at no additional cost to them. Rather than spending months designing and testing a web portal, the EPIC Supplier EDI portal can be deployed within hours.

6 Data Interchange Plc, Rhys House, Minerva Business Park, Peterborough, PE2 6FT, UK Telephone: +44 (0) Internet: Case Study - Fenmarc Fenmarc is a large-scale supplier of fresh vegetable produce and has customers including ASDA (part of the Walmart family). When looking for an e-business solution, they wanted a straightforward, easy-to-use product that would fit in neatly with their self-developed in-house programs. EPIC fitted their bill perfectly. Fenmarc use the AS2 communications protocol to send and receive EDI messages with ASDA. Flat files produced by the various Fenmarc in-house systems are copied to a network directory, translated into ASDA s EDI format and sent via AS2. This entails data encrypted using triple DES 168 encryption and files digitally signed. Fenmarc have implemented the distributed processing capability to have EPIC distributed across several machines, achieving system resilience and redundancy. Paul Bower, IT Manager at Fenmarc, says We had never considered integrating our internal systems with each other until we were offered EPIC. We had been looking for a package that could support our business partners, with the flexibility to integrate with our own software. EPIC was perfect and the built in resilience was a major bonus. We were impressed by how easy it was to install, especially as you expect such a powerful product to be so complicated. Features Distributed processing Resource On Demand Workflows Smartcard support Data security Client / server Communication protocols ISDN, XOT (X.25), TCP/IP, VPN, ENX CAPI 2 and R-CAPI ENGDAT EBCDIC conversion.net API Batch interface SNMP Clustering SQL Server 2005 database Active Directory security VAN support SAP integration EDI Standards ANSI X12 EANCOM EDIFACT ODETTE TRADACOMS VDA XML CSV IDoc Contact Details United Kingdom, Peterborough ( +44 (0) Spain, Madrid ( Sweden, Gothenburg ( Internet: Protocols OFTP2 OFTP AS2 SFTP FTP MQ Series X.400 P1/P2 FAX sales@di-international.com Copyright Data Interchange Plc