B2B Application Integration

COSC643 Sungchul Hong

Goal

• Understand current B2B related applications • Understand the relationships among B2B application • Integration of B2B applications.

E-Business

• Web-enabled selling • Middle-ware • Internet-enabled supply chain integration – EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) • Flow of information and material – Information Systems

Introduction

• E-business characteristics – Instantaneous – All participating systems are able to communicate in any direction.

– Systems are bound at both the data and process levels.

– All relevant information existing in any participating system is accessible by any other participating system.

Real Time Business

• Purchase of a new car – Orders a car at a dealership – Manufacturer – Parts, supplier • Raw materials – Manufacturing – Dealer

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)

• Many owners of supply chains already use it.

• Sharing information – Order or payment data • Partially automated – It is not good enough

Different Systems and Different Standards

• What is the price?

• How can we represent it?

• If you have different systems, how can we make these systems communicate each other?

• Which method is the best?

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B2B Application Integration

• After years of creating islands of automation within each company, users and business managers are demanding that seamless bridges now be built to join these islands together.

• Financial prudence • Opportunity for profit

B2B Application Integration

• It is the mechanisms and approaches to allow partner organizations, such as suppliers and consumers, to share information in support of common business events.

• If company A has a sales order entry system that provides a system for recording sales, then company B, a part supplier, must have a parts system that is instantly integrated with company A’s sales system.

Traditional Approach

• Traditional middleware was built to integrate applications within an enterprise and does not take into account the special needs of B2B integration.

• Point-to-Point solution

Middleware

• Middleware is a mechanism to move information and shared business logic between applications. • During business transactions, the middleware hides the complexity of the underlying operating system and network and allows information exchange on be half of the application programs.

Categories of Middleware

• TP Monitors • Message Brokers • Application Server • Distributed Objects

Business Rues Integration

• Binding of application logic between tow or more e-Business partners.

• The composite applications that exist are accessible to all interested parties.

• The exchange of both information and business rules is fully automated • CORBA

Information Integration

• Lower level than business rules integration • Message brokers, data replication engines, and data migration engines. (XML) • Provide a platform for exchanging relevant business data in order to support e-Business initiatives. (order and invoice data) • Inexpensive

Process Integration

• Provides a set of processes that function above both business rules and information integration.

• Provide abstract business layer that exists over the physical one. (logical flow of information)

Collaboration

• Providing a geographically dispersed workgroup with the opportunity to share messages and other information in real time to support a business need.

• Customer relationship management, online customer service, virtual product development.

• Provide interface to human and systems.

Types of Middleware

    Remote procedure calls (RPC) type   synchronous Message oriented message (MOM) type   asynchronous Message Broker type.

 Asynchronous and many-to-many transactions

  DistributedComputing Environment (DCE) from the Open Group. (RPC)   MSMQ from Microsoft (MOM)   MQSeries from IBM (MOM)     Tuxedo from BEA systems (TP Monitors) MTS from Microsoft (TP Monitors)       CICS from IBM (TP Monitors) Enterprise JavaBeans from SUN (application server) SAP R/3 (application server) – COM+ (with AppCenter) from Microsoft (application server & distributed objects)

Middleware Vendors

• BEA • SAGA Software • IBM • NEON • Tibco • SUN

Point-to-Point Middleware

• Message queuing • Remote procedure calls • Traditional middleware requires significant alterations to both the source and target systems.

• Integration of a custom accounting system running on Windows 2000 and a custom inventory control system running on a main frame within another company.

• According to the Aberdeen Group, dual application linking cost is as high as $10 million.

New Middleware Features

• Support for inter-and intra-process integration • Support for B2B standards including RosettaNet, ebXML, and EDI • Support for Internet-enabled information exchange • Support for advanced security models

Types of B2B application Integration

• Data-oriented • Application interface-oriented • Method-oriented • Portal-oriented • Process integration-oriented

Data Oriented

• It is the process or technology of extracting information from one database and updating it in another database within another organization.

• Large number of databases • It may also include the transformations and application of business logic to the data.

• Cost is the advantage.

Application Interface-Oriented

• Developers are able to bundle any number of application and allowing them to share business logic and information.

• Need specific features and functions of the application interface.

• Packaged application • SAP, PeopleSoft, Baan (Vendors)

Method-Oriented

• Sharing business logic that exists within the enterprise.

• Distributed objects • Application server • Transaction Process (TP) monitors • frameworks

Portal-Oriented

• Application architects can integrate applications by presenting information from several local or partner applications within the same user interface.

• www.exite.com, www.yahoo.com

Process Integration-Oriented

• It provides those who are supporting B2B application integration with a business oriented and and process automation-like view of how business information flows between trading partners.

• Collaboration-level B2B application integration