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CERN turns to Oracle Application Express to update internal applications
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) plays host to some 8000 visiting particle physicists from around the world. With resulting high demand for its internal systems, and limited IT resources to meet requirements, it needed a fast and easy way to re-work popular applications for the Web. Oracle Application Express proved to be the ideal solution.
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN, is the world's largest particle physics center and the birthplace of the World Wide Web. CERN exists primarily to provide scientists with the necessary tools to perform fundamental physics research. Involved in this research are 2,600 CERN employees, as well as around 8000 visiting scientists. These visitors – who make up half of the world’s particle physicists – represent 500 universities and over 85 nationalities.
User demand outstrips application development resources
With user requirements constantly evolving, Administrative Information Services development staff at CERN were hard-pressed to address the demand. At one point they were obliged to turn down internal requests for enhancements to a training management application because it simply wasn’t possible to make these changes using the existing technology.
Oracle Application Express chosen for fast Web-based development
This application needed to be rebuilt using a more flexible technology, and for a Web environment, so that CERN did not have to waste resources configuring different end-user clients. To overcome this problem, CERN turned to Oracle Application Express to address some of its custom web application development needs.
CERN has now developed a number of new applications with Oracle Application Express, including the aforementioned training application, which allows the management of a training catalog, the search for available courses and the schedule and follow-up of sessions and shared resources. A pre-registration application, meanwhile, lets external firms provide information about personnel that is then transferred into CERN’s HR system. This helps to expedite the process of registering and inducting contractor staff.
Finally, Oracle Application Express has been used to create a safety information registration system, which allows users to scan a badge or enter login credentials for access. Once in the system, the user is presented with safety training material in the form of videos or slides, and tests are then presented to assess comprehension. Positive results are sent to the access system and all operations on the system are viewable by administrators. Many other existing applications are being refactored using Application Express.
Oracle Application Express saves time and resource
Oracle Application Express has proved to save time during the development cycle. CERN application developer Giovanni Chierico says: “Oracle Application Express is a great choice if you need to create applications quickly. The development environment is very intuitive, and the final applications end up looking polished and professional.”
Oracle Application Express also allows CERN’s IT staff to conserve resources by simplifying deployment of applications both when moving between life cycle environments and when deploying the finished application to end users. “Deploying applications built using Oracle Application Express is so easy,” says Chierico. “The time it takes to move an application between environments is almost instantaneous.”
Going forward, the choice of Oracle Application Express will continue to benefit CERN as developers are now more able to quickly accommodate change requests by their user community. Chierico concludes: “We've been using Oracle Application Express internally for two years, now, and we are very pleased. Using it, we've been able to develop small to medium-sized applications in record time.”
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