XML for InterEnterprise Application Integration

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XML for Inter-Enterprise Application Integration
Charles Axel Allen webMethods, Inc. callen_at_webMeth
ods.com
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(No Transcript)
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webMethods Vision
Use B2B and XML technology to ...

• Transform the Web from a presentation medium into
  an integration platform for automated information
  exchange
• Enable simple and effective deployment of
  business-to-business e-commerce links
• Allow corporations to leverage investments in Web
  infrastructure and data

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webMethods B2B E-Commerce Solution
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webMethods, Inc Milestones

• June 1996 Company founded - Fairfax,
  VA Founders background CORBA, DCE, TP
• Jan. 1997 webMethods 1.0 product ships
• Oct. 1997 W3C acknowledges submission of
  XML-based WIDL specification
• Dec. 1997 CommerceNet New Innovator Award
  webMethods 2.0 product ships
• Jan. 1998 San Francisco, CA office opened
• May. 1998 B2B Integration Server 1.0
• Nov. 1998 B2B V2.0, B2B for R/3, XQL release
• Enterprise Strength
  XML launched

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webMethods is positioning itself at the
forefront of the massive trend toward
streamlining supply-chain management webMethods
should do very well indeed.
-- Red Herring, The Top 100 Technology
Companies, September 1998
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webMethods, Inc Milestones

• 1st Application of XML -- WIDL
• W3C DOM / XSL working groups
• 1st RosettaNet Architect Partner
• Member of Open Application Group (OAG)
• recently published XML Specifications for OAGIS
• Advisor to the ICE Authoring Committee
• B2B for R/3 XML-enables all BAPIs / IDocs

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webMethods B2B for R/3

• Real-time integration with trading partners' ERP
  systems
• Direct links to partners' Web-hosted catalogs
  and E-commerce systems
• XML services layer over SAP BAPIs
• No Coding Required!

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"SAP R/3 with its large number of BAPIs and over
50 pre built distribution scenarios provides a
proven and robust business infrastructure for
open intra- and inter-enterprise communication.
webMethods B2B for SAP R/3 uses this
infrastructure in a flexible and reliable way
to connect to and from BAPIs using the current
HTML/HTTP and the future XML/HTTP communication."
--Heinz Roggenkemper Executive Vice President
of Development for SAP
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Customers Include ...
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XML is the New EDI

• Easier to Deploy
• Easier to Understand
• Will be adopted MUCH more quickly
• the basic platform (the Web) is already in place
• Enables Information Flows not addressed by EDI
• EDI for the rest of us...

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"The technology that webMethods has to offer with
its B2B Integration Server will profoundly change
the way we do business. Traditional data
exchange methods, such as EDI, will be replaced
by XML.
-- Hewlett Packard, Personal Systems Division
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B2B Cost/Benefit
Application Centered
Document Centered
Extranet
Internet
Data Centered
Service Centered
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Document Centered B2B
Electronic Data Interchange
244 250 EDI Subscribers (IDC) Growth rate of EDI
subscribers slowed for the first time in 1997

• First technology developed to allow corporations
  to work together through computer-to-computer
  interpretation
• Standard for structure and context of messages,
  as well as routing and address information
• Most successful in vertical markets (retail,
  manufacturing, transport)

• Has never lived up to its advanced billing
• High cost due to value-added networks
• Often requires special purpose HW SW
• Only transfers data - no integration
• Trading partners need to agree on set of standard
  data naming and formatting schema

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Service Centered B2B
Uses Internet rather then Value Added Network EDI
network services 24 annual growth rate (CDC)

• WSC - Commerce One Linking buyers and Sellers
• Complete solution for inter-enterprise
  procurement processes
• IEDI - Most likely to impact new medium/low end
  companies (EC Company, Harbinger, GEIS ...)
• Companies already using EDI could save more than
  50 of communication costs by using Internet
  rather then VAN

• WSC - Dependent on volume
• IEDI - Still limited by basic EDI pitfalls
• Only transfers data - no integration
• Trading partners need to agree on set of standard
  data naming and formatting schema

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Application Centered B2B
Most client/server applications in use are
database-driven Differences in application
vendors APIs solved by middleware

• ERP c/s - Well understood, good expertise
• EAI - Alternative to custom coding
• Pre-built interfaces to SAP, Hyperion, Notes etc.

• Hard to integrate across corporate boundaries
• Middleware needs access through corporate
  Firewalls
• Object technologies like CORBA, COM and RMI rely
  on static data structures which makes it hard to
  support dynamically extensible data
• Developers need to understand complex distributed
  computing concepts
• Gives partners access to complete applications -
  (requires extensive access-control and
  authentication)

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Data Centered B2B
XML is about sharing of data - the ultimate goal
of interoperability! Web-to-Web,
Application-to-Web or Application-to-Application
"Write once, integrate anywhere"

• XML for passing self-describing data between
  heterogeneous application systems

• Still needs sorting out additional issues
• Vocabularies, Document formats for information
  exchange
• Scalability, Security, Reliability

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webMethods B2B E-Commerce Solution
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B2B Integration Server
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Architecture for Integration

• HTML HTTP Human Middleware
• Very inefficient for tying together applications
• XML HTTP ??
• Delivery to a browser needs XSL
• Delivery to an application needs middleware
  architecture

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Ladder of Integration

• Biggest barriers to Integration are POLITICAL
• Need a common architecture with multiple entry
  points -- ultimate goal is plug and play
• Need to give partners a ladder to climb
• need flexibility in the distribution of
  responsibility
• need to demonstrate short term business case, ROI
• need to provide a seamless migration path to
  standards

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Web Interface Definition Language (WIDL)

• Analogous to CORBA and DCE IDL
• Abstraction layer between apps and documents
• Integrates
• applications with websites
• websites with websites
• applications with applications
• Implements a service-based architecture over the
  document-centric Web
• Real time application-application communication

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WIDL Specifications Mappings
Specifications are implementation-independent
descriptions of interfaces and services
accessible via an XML RPC. Mappings are
descriptions of how an http accessible documents
(XML or HTML) map into the methods and records of
a interface specification. It is an
implementation of a specification for a
particular Web site.
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Interfaces and Implementations
WIDL-MAP
XML -or- HTML Data
WIDL-SPEC
C, Java, C Visual Basic SAP RFC Client Stub
B2B Integration Server
XML-RPC
XML-RPC
HTTP
HTTP
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Generation of Application hooks
WIDL-SPEC
C, Java, C Visual Basic SAP RFC Client Stub
Server Stub C, C, Java, Perl
B2B Integration Server
XML-RPC
XML-RPC
HTTP
HTTP
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WebTap - Mediated Web Access
Remote Catalogs
Local Catalogs
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Procurement Application
B2B Integration Server
Internet
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XML/HTTP What's missing?

• Service-based architecture
• need to express business methods, advertise
  services
• Direct support for applications and languages
• SAP, PeopleSoft, Baan, VB, C/C, Java,
• XML parser interfaces are too low level for the
  average programmer
• Change Management
• Dependencies on document structure and format get
  coded into application
• No protection from changes in the documents

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WIDL

• Maps XML documents into applications
• via Object Model references (XML Query)
• Maps HTML documents into applications
• via Object Model references (HTML Query)
• Basis for XML Remote Procedure Call
• maps XML into/out of databases and applications
• Preserves Multi-tier (n-tier) architecture

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Dont Forget

• WIDL presentation in the Core Standards and
  Vocabularies track, Tuesday 330pm
• Querying XML presentation in the Core Standards
  and Vocabularies track, Wednesday 830am
• Dresdener Bank presentation, XML in Investment
  Banking, Wednesday 1115pm

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Linking Businesses with XML
Charles Allen callen_at_webMethods.com www.webMethods
.com