Practical Integration Requirements and Issues

Effective system integration requires a strong knowledge of the end system and a complete specification of the data that is being exchanged. Current exchanges using EDI have a reasonable degree of conformance to standards which makes an understanding of the EDI content reasonably straightforward. End system integration tends still to be through the use of some form of "flat file" or through a connection to the database, usually via ODBC. A number of systems provide an alternative data integration option using XML. Whilst attractive in some ways, most e-commerce translation systems work equally well with "flat files" or XML, although it is likely that XML will become the standard. A fully automated and integrated solution is not always the most cost effective solution. In such cases it is important to recognize when some form of printed or browser readable format is a better option.

Some systems, such as SAP, provide a mechanism for "pushing" the file into the system, whereby it undergoes a set of validation processes. Outbound processes tend to make a file available or require extraction from the database (usually holding tables). The majority of the industry leading end systems provide well defined interface files for most business exchanges. SAP provides the IDOC and BAAN the BEMIS interface. It is important to understand however that these almost always require some specific configuration, as every company is different.

In all cases the output data requirements, whether input to your end system or output to your partner's, need to be fully met from the inputs to the system. In practice this means that if data is not available, then some form of lookup or cross referencing is required. This can usually be provided by a conversion table or by an external database. Use of these options needs to be minimized however because of the maintenance implications.

A number of customers are looking at the options for integration with Web Service enabled systems. In practice this will simplify the process for other Web Service enabled partners, but will provide new challenges for traditional EDI or non-conforming XML partners. In these cases there will be the need to "translate" the exchange document into a Web Service compliant object and to pass the document to the appropriate server, generally using HTTP. It is our belief that this form of integration will become the norm over the next 2 to 3 years, but that the other more ambitious and ultimately more rewarding Web Services initiatives, most notably UDDI may take longer to become a business reality.