Portals are Made for Portals are Made for Enterprise Application Enterprise Application
IntegrationIntegration
JA-SIG Monday, June 9, 2003
Barry WalshSenior Director, E-Business Services
Indiana University
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Chronology of Related EventsChronology of Related Events
1969: IBM: GML for tagging content in documents for law offices.
1975: EDI for shipping manifests 1981: Bob Epstein, Paula Hawthorn and Mike Ubell separate
applications from databases with their Intelligent Database Machine. This essentially defined C/S
1983: Xerox PARC: first working RPCs. 1984: Sun uses RPCs for its Network File System. 1986: SGML becomes an official international standard. 1991: Tim Berners-Lee: first Web browser and defines HTTP. 1996: The W3C begins developing a “simplified SGML,” which
becomes known as XML. 1998: Microsoft combines XML and HTTP into SOAP. 2000: IBM and Microsoft announce WSDL and the UDDI
directory system for Web services. 2002: The Web Services Interoperability Organization is formed
by IBM, Microsoft and other vendors and user companies.
Source: Computerworld 5/19/03;
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Several Forces at Work Several Forces at Work in our Institutionsin our Institutions
Rapidly expanding user bases; ERP vendor systems; Open Source movement; Portals; SOAP Web Services;
They’re not necessarily unrelated!
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
The World as We’ve Known itThe World as We’ve Known it
IT systems targeting discrete business functions IT systems targeting common (simple) processes
Attribution to Mike Zastrocky of Gartner
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Typical Experience Until RecentlyTypical Experience Until Recently
Users logged on to systems and navigated to find information or perform processes. training
Individual apps different sign-ons Poor/non-existent user interface standards
Or worse still, the system sent printed output to them through snail-mail
The point is they usually had to overtly seek out the information in disparate systems*
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Vendor ERP SolutionsVendor ERP Solutions
Common Look/Feel? Consistent navigation ECAR Study shows broad satisfaction
Some possible ‘convergence’?
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Obvious advantages of buyingObvious advantages of buying
Embedded best practices in business process
Someone else did/does the R&D Someone else does the maintenance and
enhancement and reg driven updates You get to know the names of legions of
young inexperienced consultants
You get to read exciting news stories about your vendor on occasion
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Non-Vendor Solutions also WorkingNon-Vendor Solutions also Working
UT; PSU; IU; others Any English majors in the room?
To Buy or Not to Buy; that is the question;Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slingsand arrows of outrageous consultant’s fees;Or to take up arms against a sea of vendors; And by opposing, end their stranglehold.
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Obvious advantages of buildingObvious advantages of building
You get what YOU want. You control the pace of development and
enhancements You call the shots on consultant use a lot more More expertise stays at home
You get to know scads of really
talented developers!
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
CaveatsCaveats
Clear disadvantages to both. Reality says you may have to
customize Worst of all worlds?
Compromised the value proposition
Paying the vendor for the vanilla system at every new release and must re-customize
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
OptionsOptions
More likely you will end up building, buying and assembling
Loosely coupled systems are more and more the future and that’s why integration is key
Customization takes on a new form Based on what and who I am….driven by a directory. Role based view; not everybody needs the entire SIS or
whatever Speaks to a functional component model Mike spoke of “Modular but integrated“ this morning
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Gartner on Network Enabled Gartner on Network Enabled Components—aka Web ServicesComponents—aka Web Services
Servers at the core of the network will increasingly act as "facilitators" by guiding procedure calls to the locations where they can be most efficiently executed.
Given such capabilities, the emphasis of software development shifts to re-architecting business functions into modular, network-enabled components spread across a highly-distributed computing infrastructure. This evolution, more than anything else, is the fundamental driving force behind the Web Services architecture.
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
What might this look like ?What might this look like ?
A more proactive push process to deliver in one place all information and processes I may need…the information finds me.
The ‘official’ place to which the organization would send stuff it wanted you to address.
Single sign-on; Seamless transport between and among back
office and other systems Sounds like a portal to me
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Why do we need a portal?Why do we need a portal?
What are the problems? Broadening base of information “consumers”
with varying levels of technical expertise. Students and faculty increasingly demand
mobile access to IT resources. Aging, monolithic or silo’d applications
Developed to serve specific audiences; Current users must find and learn to use
each “silo”. Disparate information systems that lack
integration and flexibility; Too complex for majority of end-users
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Why do we need a portal? Cont’dWhy do we need a portal? Cont’d
Every new website is potentially a new silo “Age of disintermediation” – more of our students
expect to be able to do things for themselves. Dealing with non-traditional campus communities in
traditional ways Enable a more cost effective, nimble and
sustainable application development process….. and not just for IT developers
Bottom Line: Trying to change the way the institution creates and delivers e-Services
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Evolution of PortalsEvolution of Portals
First Generation (Referential) Search; catalog
Second generation (Personalized) Subscribe; personalize
Third Generation (Interactive) Productivity and enterprise applications
Fourth Generation (SES) Web Services (Gartner definition)
So…what is an So…what is an enterprise web portal?enterprise web portal?
A web-based framework consisting of a role based, but personalized view of an integrated set of services which provide easy access to information, applications, processes and people.
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Some caveats and disclaimersSome caveats and disclaimers
We in IT and the back office units are not the primary target audience for enterprise portals
Students (and their parents); Faculty; Staff; Alums; Not all of them are technically savvy;
Neither IT nor the service providers will drive the services in the portal….see Rule 1 above
IT providing a service delivery framework and several specific ‘utility’ services
Business Case for Enterprise Business Case for Enterprise PortalsPortals
InformationAccess
Internally facing portal= productivity
Externally facing portal= revenue enhancement
• Soft Benefits• Dam the “infoflood”• Single UI• Single sign-on • Presentation layer• Correlation• User satisfaction• Ubiquity of access
W W W
Tangible ROI• Cost avoidance• Targeted deployment• Self-service• Business velocity
Attribution to Mike Zastrocky of Gartner
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Enterprise Portal ROI Enterprise Portal ROI
It’s about changing: The way the institution does its business … align with
the mission Some institutional behavior
It provides the best opportunity for enterprise application integration
Portals encourage common development practices etc.
Development teams need not create their own individual (silo’d) solutions for each service
Developers can focus on actual services for their users
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Enterprise Portal ROI cont’dEnterprise Portal ROI cont’d
Portals enable Web Services (WS) deployment
WS encourage Portal-oriented development The enterprise portal provides a framework
for Persistent authentication (single sign-on) Role-based customization Personalization Flexible workflow (routing & approval) User Interface and Navigation Accessibility
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Enterprise Portal ROI cont’dEnterprise Portal ROI cont’d
Emphasis on delivery of services to the user
WS and Decision Support have a huge future together
“The point of WS is to make it easier for people to construct and integrate applications” Henry Morris, IDC
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
WS in Application DevelopmentWS in Application Development
"You won't see a whole new array of things that you couldn't do before because of Web Services, but you'll see application development enabled much more quickly," says Larry Calabro, a partner in the technology integration unit at Deloitte Consulting in Chicago. Calabro says Web services standards will make it easier for companies to build applications that more effectively integrate existing software packages such as CRM and ERP.
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Portals: A Key Source for the Smart Enterprise Suite Market
8 May 2002
Gene Phifer
Portal products have evolved to take over more functionality from complementary technologies, such as content management and search. Portals will become one of the key root technologies in the Smart Enterprise Suite market.
Strategy & Tactics/Trends & Direction
Note Number: SPA-16-2749
Related Terms: Portals
Price: $95.00
E-mail This Summary
GartnerGartner
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Gartner:Gartner:
By 2004, Web services will represent the dominant mode of deployment for new application solutions for Fortune 2000 companies (0.8 probability).
True interoperability standards won't exist in the portal product market until 2004, forcing users to build "uberportals" to integrate multiple portals within their enterprises (0.7 probability).
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Gartner: The Big Challenge in PortalsGartner: The Big Challenge in Portals
Every Website is a potential new silo Silo’d service delivery units Changing people’s habits Existing methods have to stay in place
during transition That allows those resistant to change to linger A long term commitment is required to get
through the transition
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
Why is IU’s OneStart Why is IU’s OneStart “next generation”?“next generation”?
More than an info-portal…focused on application and service delivery
Commitment to a strategy for web services Ability to reflect customized roles Integrated ‘e-doc’ routing (EDEN) Flexible and responsive to change
Service layer insulates user from back end systems Distributed Group Page/Channel publishing for service/content
providers Positioned to address future needs for user mobility Enterprise application integration is the target One place for all of my data and e-services.
It comes to me!
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
OneStart & EDENOneStart & EDEN
OneStartCustom
ized
Personalized
Adaptable
Desktop
Application Delivered
HR
MS
SIS
FIS
IUIE
Other
Other Content
EDEN
Channels
Services
Workflow
Record Keeping
Security
Users Application
Services
Applications
User Interface
Infrastructure
JA-SIG 2003 Denver
AbstractAbstract
In this era of heterogeneous application services, the need to integrate these for members of the university community has never been greater. Vendors promise integration and that solution works for many institutions. For others, the single vendor ERP direction is not an option or is not a desired strategy. Enter the enterprise portal. Properly architected and supported, it can provide a sustainable platform for delivering Enterprise Application Integration (EAI).