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

Early Spec problem?`̀

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

http://onestart.iu.edu

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).

JA-SIG 2003 Denver

Batch and Real-Time Integration of CMS With Major Systems

0 20 40 60 80 100

Library MS

Financials

HR/Payroll

SIS

Batch

Real Time

Integration: Integration: Emphasizing Student ServicesEmphasizing Student Services

Attribution to Mike Zastrocky of Gartner