EXTOL Optimizes Cloud Computing with
Business Integration Tools
Implementing and maintaining company-specific integrations are the costliest and most time-consuming aspects of business-to-business (B2B) integrations. Data transformation mapping in particular can be a laborious, resource-intensive task. With the introduction
of cloud computing, integrations between resources that are in the
cloud and on-premise can become even more complex.
The strategy at EXTOL, a provider of software and services for
B2B integration, targets the biggest source of integration time and
cost, and uniquely exploits cloud connections and technology to leverage integration best practices across businesses and industries.
EXTOL provides ways to integrate internal and cloud-based systems
with customers, suppliers, service providers, remote locations, and
other cloud-based systems, using EDI, XML, flat file, spreadsheet,
database and web service interfaces.
EXTOL has provided integration products and services to a
number of Oracle E-Business Suite and JD Edwards EnterpriseOne
customers. In developing solutions, EXTOL has focused on slashing
the time and cost of integration implementation and maintenance.
EXTOL’s cloud computing strategy is an important element of that
cost-reduction focus. It encompasses four elements:
• service-oriented integration
• B2B Software as a Service (B2B SaaS)
• B2B Integration as a Service (B2B IaaS)
• cloud services to accelerate B2B integration projects
based infrastructure and the services needed to implement and
manage B2B integration.
SERVICE-ORIENTED INTEGRATION
The foundation of EXTOL’s cloud strategy is the ability to integrate
with external partners and applications using web services. As part
of the EXTOL Integration Studio product, tools are provided for
generating web service consumers and providers, and using those
generated services in B2B integration processes—including to-the-cloud integration with SaaS applications and web-resident services,
and in-the-cloud (or cloud-to-cloud) integration across services.
B2B SAAS AND B2B IAAS
EXTOL B2B SaaS deploys a B2B integration infrastructure in the
cloud, and EXTOL B2B IaaS outsources infrastructure and the
resources for integration implementation, maintenance, and operations. B2B SaaS is simply the use of cloud-based infrastructure for
B2B integration, as an alternative to deploying integration middleware behind a company’s firewall. EXTOL can provision its B2B
integration environment in the cloud, using a secure VPN or other
connection to applications and data inside the customer’s firewall.
EXTOL also provide tools that enable organizations to create, manage, and maintain their cloud-based B2B integrations. B2B IaaS
adds implementation, operation, and maintenance services to the
B2B SaaS foundation. With this model, EXTOL provides both cloud-
CLOUD SERVICES TO ACCELERATE B2B INTEGRATION
EXTOL has a three-part strategy for radically reducing the time and
cost of integration implementation and maintenance:
• automating integration implementation activities by
generating integration project components
• automating maintenance due to changes in B2B
documents and messages
• providing a cloud-based repository that enables
transparent sharing of integration best practices
between businesses
EXTOL has delivered on the first two parts of this strategy in its
most recent release of EXTOL Business Integrator, a business inte-
gration broker that can be deployed on-premise or in the cloud. This
application features EXTOL Smart Mapping, which cuts the time
and expense of creating and testing data transformation maps by
combining multiple automated mapping methods with fuzzy optimi-
zation to generate transformation rules. It also features the EXTOL
Migration Assistant, a tool that evaluates differences between
updated documents and assists in creating rules for generating
updated data transformation maps.
The third part of EXTOL’s strategy is to deliver an Integration
Pattern Repository, which will enable companies in any industry and
of any size to share mapping best practices. The EXTOL user will interact with the Repository by contributing, searching for, and downloading mapping history profiles directly from the Smart Mapping
environment. The Repository, which will be available in 2011, will
provide an optimizing search engine that automates the identification
of best-fit history profiles for each mapping situation, eliminating time
wasted on manual repository browsing, research, and trial and error
based on history profile contributions from customers, business
partners, and the EXTOL Professional Services organization.
“EXTOL Business Integrator includes everything you need to
create, test, deploy, manage, and maintain integration processes,”
says Jim O’Leary, Vice President of Product Management at EXTOL.
“With two decades of experience as a developer of industry-leading
B2B integration technology, EXTOL understands the unique challenges of customer-driven business integration. Our commitment
to customer success and our reputation for outstanding customer
service is unrivalled.”
