consolidating integration silos with a b2b gateway

Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway

A GXS White Paper for the Active Business

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 ............................................................................. 11

Adaptive Layer ................................................................................................ 11

The Bottom Line ...........................................................................................................12

About GXS ....................................................................................................................13

2 • Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B GatewayA GXS White Paper

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-AddedNetwork(VAN) • Point-to-point(EDI-INT/AS1,AS2,AS3) •FTPviaprivateleasedlines/framerelay/VPN •WebForms •Web-basedtransactionmailboxes • Translator/Mapper • FTPservers • Proxyservers

B2B Gateways

Comparedtotheprevalentintegrationsiloapproach,B2BGatewaysprovideamoreholistic approach to addressing business integration needs, an approach that will further streamline operations, focus resources and consolidate technology with increased control and improved security.

Ifthereisanissue,technicalandnon-technicalemployeesdon’thavetospendtimefigur-ingoutwhichpieceofintegrationsoftwarestoppedworking.Additionally,theydon’tneedto remember how to use several different solutions, located in different places, that all do the same thing.

AB2BGatewayprovidesacomprehensivesuiteoftechnologythatcanbeleveragedbyvirtuallyanygroupwithinanorganization.Itdoesnotstopthere—B2BGatewaysalsoprovide the means for external parties (customers, business partners) to exchange business data and documents with your company.

Inaddition,B2BGatewaysprovidethemeanstoincreasereal-timevisibilityintobusinessactivityandperformance.Forexample,variousgovernmentregulationsmandatecompli-ance 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 totime-sensitivedata.Similarscenariosapplytobusinesspartneragreementssuchasser-vice-levelagreementsthatmayormaynotincludefinancialpenaltiesfornon-compliance.

Consolidating Integration Silos with a B2B Gateway • 3A GXS White Paper

WithaB2BGatewayitispossibletoset-upreal-timeeventmanagementwithalertnotifi-cations that monitor electronic transactions and provide warnings, before it is too late.

WhileaB2BGatewayprovidesthemeanstoconsolidateintoasinglesolution,itisim-portantthataB2BGatewayconsistsofmultiplecomponentsthatcanbeimplementedtogether, individually or in varying combinations in different and isolated layers within anetworkinfrastructure.ItisalsoessentialforatrueB2BGatewaytobeanopensystemthatcanbeeasilyintegratedwithothertechnologiesviaWebServices,SOAP,JavaConnec-torArchitecture(JCA),JavaMessagingService(JMS),MessageQueues(MQ),scripting,applicationprograminterfaces(APIs),filecopy,etc.Afterall,itisunlikelythatanyorgani-zation will move all of its business integration services at once.

What is a B2B Gateway?Asisusuallythecase,itdependsonwhoyouask.Evenamongindustryandtechnologyanalysts,expertsandsolutionvendors,thereisnosinglecleardefinitionforaB2BGate-way.Forexample,onevendormighttellyouthatinternalbusinessintegrationisseparatefrom the external business integration layer.

ThebasicpremiseforB2BGatewaytechnologyisencapsulatedinaparadigminwhich“all”businessintegrationneedsareconsolidatedintoasinglesolution,inter-connectinginternalandexternaloperationsintoacompletebusinessprocess.AB2BGatewayisessen-tially a business integration suite that supports internal and external integration and busi-ness processes. It provides a single integration platform enabling the direct, secure exchange ofdata,filesanddocumentsbetweendiverseinternal/externalapplicationsacrossmultipleenterprises and trading partners.

AB2BGatewayprovidesthemeanstoimplementonegatewaysolutionforallbusinessintegrationneeds,whetheritisapplication-to-application,internaldepartment-to-depart-mentorbusiness-to-businesswithexternalorganizations.Itisalsoanopensolutionthatfa-cilitates integration with virtually any existing middleware, including message queues such asMQ,JMSandJCA.

Acomprehensive,stand-aloneB2BGatewaysolutionshouldincludethesecapabilities: • Any-to-anyconnectivity—anydataformat,anytransportprotocol • Centralizedpointformapping&datatransformation • Transactionmanagement,archiving&reporting • Activity&exceptionmanagement • Securemanagedfiletransfer/securetransports • Highscalability/faulttolerance • Customer/tradingpartnersupport

B2B Gateway Components

TofullyunderstandtheB2BGatewayconcept,itisimportanttoidentifythekeycompo-nents and then outline the purpose of each component.


• SecureConnectivityandCommunications • DataMappingandTransformationServices • TransactionManagement • TradingPartnerandCommunityManagement • RulesEngine–Workflow–ProcessManagement •WebInterfaceandWebForms • PerimeterSecurityServices • AdaptiveLayer • J2EEService-OrientedArchitecture

ThefollowingdiagramisaconceptualoverviewofthekeyB2BGatewaycomponents.

Core ComponentsSecure Connectivity and CommunicationsB2BGatewaysprovideabackboneforthesecureexchangeofdata,filesanddocuments(intra-companyandwithexternalparties).Thesecureexchangeofelectronicdata/informa-tionisakeycomponentforensuringthatnon-publicpersonalinformationandconfiden-tial business information remains private and uncompromised while en route.

Whilesecureconnectivityhasexistedformanyyearsintheformofdial-upmodemswithpassword-protecteddirectconnects,orvialeasedlineswithfirewall-to-firewallvirtualprivatenetworks(VPNs)andpre-sharedsecrets,newtechnologyhasovershadowedtheseolder solutions.


Internal Infrastructure and Systems

External Trading and Business Partners

J2EE-based Service Oriented Architecture

Adaptive Layer

Data Mapping and Transformation

Perimeter Security Services Web Interface

Secure Connectivity/Communications

Transaction Management

Trading Partner/Community Management

AnalysisBAM

PerformanceManagement

RulesEvent Management

Process ManagementWorkflow

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.Advancementsinsecurityandcommunicationsaresosignificantthatmajorretailers and suppliers, the automotive industry, financial services, healthcare companies, laboratoriesandgovernmentorganizationshaveimplementedInternet-basedsolutions.

SecureB2BGatewayssupportPrivacyandSecuritycomplianceforHealthcare(HIPAA)andFinancialServices(federalandstatelaws),asitappliestoelectronicmessaging.Thesame technologies have been widely adopted by global retail giants and entire supply chains becauseofthebenefitsassociatedwithsecurityandreliability.ThePrivacyandSecuritycomplianceisprovidedthroughindustry-leadingeBusinessReadyInteroperabilityCertifiedsolutions,testedbyTheDrummondGroup(www.ebusinessReady.organdwww.drum-mmondgroup.com.).eBusinessReadyisajointventurebetweentheDrummondGroupand the Uniform Code Council (UCC). Business integration solutions incorporate the ability to use virtually any transport standard for secure connectivity and security. These include,butarenotlimitedto:FTP/s,HTTP/s,AS1,AS2,AS3,ebXML,WebServicesandseveralindustry-specifictechnologiessuchasNAESB,EBMSandHL7.

TheprimarysecurityandprivacytenetsofthesestandardsareAS1/AS2/AS3:

Privacy

• Providesmessagecontentprivacyviadataencryption • Ensuresthatadocumentcanonlybeviewedbythesenderandreceiver

Authentication

• Offersauthenticationviathesender’sdigitalsignature • Ensuresthatsendersareactuallywhotheyclaimtobe

Integrity

• EncloseshashtotalsinMessageDispositionNotifications(MDNs) • Ensuresthatadocumentcannotbealteredwithoutthereceiverdetectingachange

Non-repudiation

• Providesnon-repudiationviasignedMDNreceiptacknowledgmentfromthe receiver to the sender

• Preventsreceiversfromclaimingtheydidnotreceivethedocument

Data Mapping and Transformation ServicesTraditionally,datamappingandtransformationhavebeenassociatedwithEDI.EDIisandwillremainveryimportanttomanycompaniesfortheforeseeablefuture.Asaresult,theneedforEDImappingandtransformationservicessolutionswillnotgoawayanytimesoon.AtthecoreofEDImappingandtransformationistheabilitytomapfromasourcedataformatintoadefinedEDIdocumentformat,andviceversa.Leadingsolutionspro-videformanyEDImappingscenarios:


TheB2BGatewaymodelexpandsdatamappingandtransformationtoencompassmuchmorethanjustEDIandB2Bintegration.Thepremiseisfairlysimple.Bynature,therootof 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).

Forexample:IfdatacanbereaddirectlyfromadatabaseandmappedtoanEDIfile,andtheEDIfilecanbemappedtowritetoadatabase,thenthemappershouldbeabletoreadfromonedatabaseandwritedirectlytoanotherdatabase.AnotherslightlymorecomplexexampleisthatthemappercouldreadfromonedatabaseandmaptoanXMLfilethatwouldthenbesenttoaWebService,orcouldbesenttoanintermediateMQorJMSforsome additional fault tolerance in the integration process. This process is at the core of EAI,internalandB2Bintegration.

Throughsimpleadaptationstotraditionalmappingandtransformationservices,B2BGatewaysprovideasingle“openintegrationarchitecture”thatcaneasilysupportbothinternalintegrationandB2Bintegration.

Transaction ManagementTransactionManagementprovidestheflexibilitytomonitorallofthedocumentsthathavebeen 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.

WithinaB2BGateway,TransactionManagementcanbelogicallysplitintofourfunctionalgroups.


Source Direction Recipient

Delimited file format

EDI

Database

EDI

XML

EDI

EDI

Delimited file format

EDI

Database

EDI

XML

Source Direction Recipient

Database A

Database

XML

Database B

XML

XML

1.Exceptions.ForthepersonmanagingaB2BGateway,errormanagementisaprima-ryresponsibility.Anexceptiondashboardmakesitpossibletoidentifyanytransac-tionsthathavenotprocessedsuccessfully.B2BGatewaystrackexceptionsgeneratedby any of the core components.

2. Reconciliation. Reconciliation refers to a monitor that provides the current status of alloutboundbusinesstransactions.Forexample,anoutboundEDIinterchangemaycontain multiple purchase orders. Reconciliation provides the means to track the statusofeachindividualbusinesstransactionbymatchingAS2MDNsandbusinessacknowledgements(FunctionalAcknowledgements)withtheindividualtransac-tions.ReconciledtransactionsarelinkedtotheoriginalEDIinterchange.WhentheentireEDIinterchangeandallindividualtransactionshavebeenreconciled,theentire set of documents may be aged and archived.

3.Messages.AMessagesummarylistsallthemessagesthatareinthesystem.Ames-sage 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 andanyassociatedheader/envelopeinformation.AB2BGatewaycanprocessmes-sagesinEDIformat,XMLformat,emailformat,etc.

4. Archive.Archivingcanbeexternallyimportantfortworeasons:(1)Hightransac-tion volume will produce massive amounts of data that can ultimately slow down a system,and(2)statutoryorregulatoryrequirementsnecessitatethemaintenanceofarchivedtransactionrecordsforspecificperiodsoftime.Dataaginganddocumentarchiving provide the means to address both points.

Trading Partner and Community ManagementTradingPartnersrefertotheinternalandexternalpartiesthatwillexchangeelectronicdocumentswithyourcompany.WithinyourTradingCommunitytherearekeysetsofinformationthatdefineeachTradingPartner.Theinformationisrequiredinordertoper-form business integration processes.

1.Partytype(internalintegrationpartyoraninternal/externaltradingpartner) 2.Partyinformation(name,contacts) 3.Partyrelationshipsandhierarchies 4.Transportprotocols(AS1,AS2,HTTP,FTP,mailbox,etc.) 5. Transformation profile (document mapping and transformation) 6.Digitalcertificates(managecertificates,expirationdates) 7.Processingrules(document-andevent-driven)

Rules Engine–Workflow–Process ManagementTomanypeopleandcompaniesthetermBusinessProcessIntegrationrepresentssome-thing 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, B2BGatewaysprovideaneasy-to-implementandfundamentallysoundsolutionthatwillprovide an ROI within a reasonable timeframe.


TheB2BGatewayapproachisdrivenbythepremisethatonesizedoesnotfiteveryorganization.Atiered,scalableapproachistheonlywaytodelivertherightsolution.AB2BGatewayprovidesthemeanstoimplementafairlysimpleprocesswiththeflexibilitytoincrementallyaddmorecomplexityasrequired.Differenttiersmayinclude(1)aRulesEngine,(2)Workflow(3)andBusinessProcessIntegration.

Rules Engine

ARulesEngineisactuallyanessentialsupportingcomponentoftransactionandtradingcommunitymanagement,whichencompassprocessingandtracking.Forexample, during the exchange of documents, it may be necessary to deliver specific documents to different places driven by document processing events or the content ofthedocumentsthemselves.Arulemaybeassimpleassendinganotificationemailto 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.

AB2BGatewaywillgenerallyproviderulesprocessingatthreelevels:(1)system-leveldefaultsforeventsandlogging,(2)administrative-level,configurablerulesthatwilltakedefinedactiononspecificprocessingeventsand(3)ruleswithcustomizedparameters that are driven by document content rather than by document type or processing event.

Workflow

Workflowisastructuredmeanstopresenttasksforhumaninteraction.WorkflowmaybeasimpleextensionofaRulesEnginethatsendsnotificationsandalertstopeoplebasedonuserconfigurablecriteria.AnotificationmightincludeacalltoactionwithalinkorURLfortherecipienttoclickon.Workflowmayalsobepartofagreaterbusinessprocessmanagementsolutionthatincorporatesrules,workflowand simple processes or complex hierarchies of interrelated business processes with detailed algorithms of logical business process operations.

Business Process Integration

BusinessProcessIntegration(BPI)takesaquantumleapthatadvancesbusinesspro-cess management and encapsulates the true nature of process integration.

Anacceptedapproachtoprocessautomationhasbeentoviewinternalandexternalintegration processes as being separate groups of processes and to individually ad-dress each group. The problem with that approach is that the segregated processes are actually part of one cohesive business process.

BusinessProcessIntegrationtakesamorepragmaticandrealisticapproachtoprocessautomation and looks at the complete business picture.

The natural representation of a business process consists of intertwined matrices of in-ternalandexternalprocesses.ThatiswhyBPIincorporatescollaborativebusinesspro-cessmanagementwithworkflowandEAIprocessestoprovideatruerepresentation


ofanoverallbusinessprocess.BPIenablesstraight-throughprocessingforend-to-end,seamlesslyintegratedbusinessprocesses.Also,becauseofthewayBusinessProcessIntegration accentuates true business processes, the tracking information provided by BPIisvaluableasinputforbusinessperformancemeasurementinitiatives.

Web Interface and Web Forms Web Interface

Foreasyday-to-dayuseandongoingadministrationthatmaybeperformedbymanydifferentpeopleindifferentgeographiclocations,leadingB2BGatewaysolutionsprovideawebbrowser–basedGUI.ThereisnoneedforITadministratorsandman-agement to expend the resources needed to monitor, install and configure software onmanyPCandlaptopcomputers.ThecoreB2BGatewayfeaturesthatareusedondaily basis are accessible via the web interface.


EXTERNAL

Business Process Integration

INTERNAL

Collaborative ProcessesTrading/Business Partners - Global

EXTERNAL

Internal EDI PO from TradingPartner

INTERNAL

EDI PO

INTERNAL

PO sent toDistribution

System

INTERNAL

POAcknow-

ledgementTranslated

to EDI

EXTERNAL

Internal EDI PO Acknow-ledgement to Trading

Partner

INTERNAL

• Order• Fulfillment• Order Shipped

INTERNAL

ShippingNotice

Translatedto EDI

EXTERNAL

Internal EDI ShippingNotice

to TradingPartner

Automated | B2B | Sub | Distributed | Interactive | EAI | Manual

Workflow & EAI ProcessesDepartment/Division - Global

• Mapped• Translated• Routed

Virtual Life of a Purchase Order(example of a possible high-level business process steps)

Web Forms Development Tool

B2B Gateway

Web Forms - Inbox GUI

Transaction Mailbox Trading Partners

Perimeter Security ServicesWithtoday’srenewedemphasisonprotectingsensitivedataandinfrastructures,moreandmore private, public and government organizations are implementing advanced security solutions.ThePerimeterSecurityServicescomponentsprovidedwithleadingB2BGate-way 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

• Protectsinternalsystemsfrominboundthreats • ControlsinboundFTPandHTTPmessages • Hidesinternalsystemsduringoutboundmessaging • ControlsoutboundFTPandHTTPmessages •WorkswithexistingfirewallsandDMZs • Providesusermanagement,authenticationandSSLcertificatemanagement

PerimeterSecurityServicesconsistofacomprehensivesetofadvancedsecuritycom-ponents that protect internal systems from external threats. Companies can safely and securelyparticipateinbusiness-to-businessintegration(B2Bi)andthesecureexchangeofinformation over the Internet.

Adaptive LayerThe adaptive layer may provide built in technology, “plug ‘n play” or component integra-tioncapabilities.Today,thereareseveraltypesofadaptivetechnologiesthataB2BGatewaymust be able to incorporate, leverage or interact with.

Legacy APIs

WhilemostoftheenterprisesoftwarevendorshavemovedbeyondlegacyAPIstoadapters,JCAorWebServices,thelegacyAPIsarestillusedbymanyorganizations.AB2BGatewayprovidesrulesandscriptingthatcanprogrammaticallycallanAPI


HTTP Proxy(Reverse/Inbound - Forward/Outbound)

FTP Proxy(Reverse/Inbound - Forward/Outbound)

FTP Server

Configuration Console and Certificate Administration

Fallback and Load Balancing

or can simply provide a data file that can be picked and processed by a separate pro-graminconjunctionwiththeAPI.

Adapters

There are several varieties of adapters built with different technologies for different platformsthatarecapableofcallinglegacyAPIsorprovidedirectdatabasecon-nectivity. The most important aspect of an adapter is that adapters are designed to facilitateplug‘nplayinteractionwithindustry-leadingERPandCRMsystems.

Web Services and Web Service Definition Libraries (WSDLs)

WebServicesandWSDLtechnologycanbeusedforadaptiveintegrationpurposeslike“adapters”and“APIs.”OneofthepromisingaspectsofaWSDLforaWebServiceisthataWSDLcanbepublishedpubliclyorprivately.AnypartywithaccesstotheWDSLcangenerateasetofadaptersoragentsthatwillinteractwiththeWebService(inboundand/oroutbound).

Definition of Web Services. ThetermWebServicesreferstotheuseofInternetbasedstandards as a means of sharing information and services between incompatible ap-plications and information sources. By making information and services accessible in astandardizedway,WebServicesmakeiteasierforbusinessestoshareinformationinside their organization and with business partners, customers and suppliers.

Agents for Web Services. ByleveragingthepowerofWSDLinWebServices,B2BGatewayscancreateanintegrationagentthatwillinvokevirtuallyanyWebService.AWebServicesAgentcanbeviewedasaspecificformofHTTP-basedtransportthatisusedtoexchangevirtuallyanyinformationviaXML.BysimplyknowingtheURLfortheWSDL,anautomatedWebServicesAgentbuildercanaccesstheWSDLandbuildWebServiceAgentsforanyspecificWebService.

The Bottom Line

Considerhowimportantitisforyourcompanytomovequicklyintoday’smarket,withlittle to no margin for delays or mistakes. The technology that you implement must sup-portanddriveinitiativesthatwillimproveyourbusinessoperations.B2BGatewaysofferasubstantialoperationalimprovementoverintegrationsilos.Evenso,formanyorganiza-tions 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.

Afewkeyclosingpointstorememberare: • B2BGatewaysprovidethemeanstoincreasereal-timevisibilityintobusinessactiv-

ity and performance

• B2BGatewaysprovidethemeanstoconsolidateintegrationtechnologytostream-line operations, remove inefficiencies and reduce costly errors


• B2BGatewaysprovidethemeanstoimplementonegatewaysolutionforallbusinessintegrationneeds,whetheritisapplication-to-application,internaldepartment-todepartmentorbusiness-to-businesswithexternalorganizations

• B2BGatewaysprovideacomprehensivesuiteoftechnologythatcanbeleveragedbyvirtually any group within an organization

About GXS

GXSisaleadingproviderofB2Be-commercesolutionsandoperatestheworld’slargestandmostexpansivenetworkofintegratedbusinesscommunities.Thecompany’ssoftwareand services simplify and enhance businesses process integration and collaboration among networksoftradingpartners.Organizationsworldwide,includingmorethan75percentoftheFortune500,useGXSsolutionstoextendtheirsupplychainnetworks,optimizeproduct launches, automate warehouse receiving, manage electronic payments and gain supply chain visibility.

BasedinGaithersburg,Maryland,GXShasoperationsandofficesaroundtheworld. Formoreinformation,seehttp://www.gxs.com,http://blogs.gxs.comand http://twitter.com/gxs.


BusinessIntegration

Suite__________B2B

Gateway

ClaimsCustomers

VAN

IndustryExchange

FinancialServices Government

Suppliers

DocumentRepository

RegulatoryCompliance

Receiving

Inventory

Purchasing

BusinessPerformanceFinance

CustomerService

Sales

About GXSGXS is a leading provider of B2B e-commerce solutions and operates the world’s largest and most expansive network of integrated business communities. The company’s software and services simplify and enhance businesses process integration and collaboration among networks of trading partners. Organizations worldwide, including more than 75 percent of the Fortune 500, use GXS solutions to extend their supply chain networks, optimize product launches, automate warehouse receiving, manage electronic payments and gain supply chain visibility. Based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, GXS has operations and offices around the world. For more information, see http://www.gxs.com, http://blogs.gxs.com and http://twitter.com/gxs.

© Copyright 2011 GXS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. July 2011 A

North AmericA ANd GlobAl heAdquArters9711 Washingtonian Blvd.Gaithersburg, MD 20878, US+1-800-560-4347 t+1-301-340-4000 t+1-301-340-5299 fwww.gxs.com

europe, middle eAst ANd AfricA18 Station RoadSunbury-on-ThamesMiddlesex TW16 6SUUnited Kingdom+44 (0)1932 776047 t+44 (0)1932 776216 fwww.gxs.eu

AsiA pAcific Asia HeadquartersHong KongGXS International16/F China Resources Building26 Harbour Road, WanchaiHong Kong+852 2884-6088 t+852 2513-0650 fhttp://www.gxs.com.hk

consolidating integration silos with a b2b gateway

Documents

optimize product

automate warehouse

manage electronic

consolidating

integrated

supply chain

business process

b2b gateways