Middleware is branching out beyond its beginnings in integration tasks such as exchanging data and connecting software applications. It now occupies center-stage to encompass some of the most basic components of the information enterprise, managing everything from streamlining worker collaboration to securing enterprise data. For the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools, middleware assists with simplifying communication, automating payment processing and increasing security. TUSC, an Oracle partner, was hired by the Commission to develop a service-oriented architecture (SOA) to simplify connections. The SOA framework connects business processes and exchange information by utilizing software components that can be readily mixed and matched. TUSC used many products within the Oracle Fusion Middleware family for the SOA, but mainly Oracle Business Components for Java (BC4J) and Oracle Application Server. The Commission now has one integrated system that enables applicants to apply for its services online. The system is connected to an imaging application allowing for scanning documents, evaluating credentials, and reviewing applicant orders. It is a highly streamlined process that is virtually paperless. Turnaround time for customer requests is shorter, the financial architecture is more solid, and internal efficiency is greater. Productivity has also expanded since much of the workflow is automated.

As Published In February 2006

Tech Topic: Middleware
By David Baum

Streamlining business processes is the foundation for middleware.

Although middleware has its roots in simple integration tasks such as connecting software applications and exchanging data, this category of software has evolved to encompass some of the fundamental components of the information enterprise, handling everything from securing enterprise information to streamlining worker collaboration. Profit spoke with Barbara Nichols, CEO of the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to learn how middleware helps automate payment processing, simplify communication, and boost security. Anthony Catalano, vice president of operations at Chicago-based Oracle partner TUSC, joined the discussion to explain how middleware technology helps the commission create and enhance its business processes.

Profit: What role does technology play in your business?

Nichols: Our IT systems help us run an important business: ensuring that foreign-educated nurses who want to work in the U.S. have graduated from approved schools of nursing with the requisite theoretical and clinical skills. We administer between 15,000 and 20,000 exams per year all over the world. Much of the administrative work is now handled via our Web site.

Profit: What were your primary objectives when you set out to upgrade your information systems?

Nichols: Our business was limited, because of the way we were handling some of our key internal processes. With four disparate systems, there was a lot of discontinuity in the back office. So, for example, if a nurse in the Philippines wants to work in Florida, we have to obtain a transcript from that person's school of nursing, along with validation from the licensing authority in his or her country. Once we have this information, we make sure the nurse had theoretical and clinical hours comparable to those of a U.S. nurse. Before, we didn't have well-structured processes for pulling all this information together. Now this is all done electronically. We also lacked cohesive processes for screening applicants, tracking incoming payments, and issuing refunds in a timely manner.

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Profit: How did you streamline these processes and improve the business?

Nichols: First we found a good service provider. The people at TUSC took the time to understand our business and applied the technologies that made sense. For example, they streamlined our payment processes and helped us implement online access to accounts. They helped our finance department secure sensitive information and reduce the amount of time before payments reach our bank account. These new processes are all integrated with our existing corporate accounting system, which will help us as we grow internationally. We call our application CERPASS, which stands for Credentials Evaluation Review Performance and Assessment Solutions.

Profit: Which middleware technologies played a role in constructing CERPASS?

Snapshot The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools www.cgfns.org Headquarters: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania An independent, not-for-profit credentials evaluation company that administers exams in more than 40 countries. Oracle products and services: Oracle Database, Oracle Fusion Middleware TUSC www.tusc.com Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois Specializes in helping companies optimize their investments in Oracle technology. For its work with the commission, TUSC won the 2004 North America Partner Solution of the Year Award in the Oracle Application Server category.

Catalano: This is a case of old technology meeting new, so we created a service-oriented architecture (SOA) to simplify connections. An SOA framework lets you connect business processes and exchange information by using software components that can be mixed and matched easily. For example, we built a credit card payment process as a Web service we can easily extend or use with other components of the infrastructure. Having built it as a Web service, we can reuse the process anywhere credit card payments come into play. We also added business intelligence facilities for ad hoc querying and reporting. Thanks to middleware, it's all tightly integrated into one cohesive system. Common tasks such as authorizing users and securing data now take the form of services that can be applied consistently throughout the IT environment. Middleware supplies core services to software applications—such as accessing data, routing messages, and synchronizing business events—so you have all the capabilities you need for driving efficiency.

Profit: How does this simplify business for the commission?

Nichols: We now have one integrated system that allows applicants around the world to apply for our services online. It is connected to an imaging application, so we can scan documents, review applicant orders, and evaluate credentials. We've progressed from sending handbooks and faxing documents to executing highly streamlined, paperless processes.

Profit: What did you use to pull this together?

Catalano: We used a lot of the products within the Oracle Fusion Middleware family, but mainly Oracle Application Server and Oracle Business Components for Java [BC4J]. These tools helped our developers quickly create components without having to build a lot of the plumbing that goes around them by specifying network protocols and transforming datatypes, for example. As a result, we didn't have to translate relational data into objects—the BC4J framework does that for us. The whole architecture is more streamlined. As the commission continues to grow and add new service lines, it doesn't necessarily need to add head count to handle more business.

Profit: What are the benefits of this new information system?

Nichols: We now have a shorter turnaround time for customer requests, a more solid financial architecture, and greater internal efficiency. Our productivity has really increased. A lot of the workflow is automated, so we can do things more quickly and efficiently. For example, we used to have bins of documents and papers and file folders everywhere. Now everything is stored in an Oracle database and most information is available online. This helps us manage the ebb and flow of the business, so our administrative chores won't bog down the organization as we expand. These are benefits any CEO would understand and care about.

Profit: How did you drive adoption of the new system?

For More Information LEARN more about Oracle Fusion Middleware standards-based products at oracle.com/products/middleware

Nichols: The TUSC people did a very good job of teaching us how to use it. In fact, they recommended more training than we ended up doing, and in hindsight we wish we'd taken their advice. Some of the implementation phases would have been easier with another month of learning. It took a while for our people to understand the full scope of the changes.

Profit: How will this infrastructure help you in the future?

Nichols: At our management meetings, we always ask ourselves if we are fully utilizing our technology, how we can strengthen and expand our services, how we can optimize communication. This open technology platform allows us to interface with other systems such as wireless communications and voice over IP. TUSC helped us build a solid foundation we can easily extend.

SOA Takes Shape with Oracle Application Server 10g Astute organizations are simplifying their systems with service-oriented architecture (SOA), a middleware framework that facilitates development of enterprise applications as modular business services. SOA platforms use Web services and other open standards to define reusable business functions—with minimal custom code. This makes it easy to build and modify software applications and share information with partners. Oracle has developed Oracle Application Server 10g as the linchpin of its SOA platform. According to Dennis MacNeil, product director for Oracle Application Server, the latest version offers a complete solution for developing and deploying applications, portals, and Web services in an integrated, extensible way. "We've introduced a hot-pluggable architecture that allows developers to mix and match Oracle Application Server and other Oracle Fusion Middleware components in their existing infrastructure," he says. "Many customers see it as a bridge between past proprietary technologies and future industry standards, because it links their existing and future IT investments." "Customers don't have to tear out their existing investments to adopt SOA," says Mike Lehmann, director of product management for Oracle Application Server 10g. "For example, if a company is currently using an IBM or BEA middleware platform, it can actually add Oracle components into that environment. We've made it easy for these companies to incorporate Oracle Fusion Middleware into a configuration and infrastructure that's right for them." Of course, you don't make major changes to your IT infrastructure overnight. That's why Oracle's strategy encourages a gradual shift to SOA. Customers can adopt an SOA for new projects and transition older information systems to this modern framework. According to MacNeil, some customers depend on proprietary application servers that don't have the right framework for Web services, such as a comprehensive services registry or a business rules engine. They can't simply abandon these investments, yet they want to move forward with a modern and flexible software architecture. "Because Oracle Application Server is based on Java and Web services standards, customers can plug it into their existing infrastructure and immediately execute an SOA strategy," he explains. This is important as companies use Web services to outsource certain IT functions to third parties. To manage differing access levels, they need a complete middleware environment that handles everything from application development to identity management to portal integration. "With Oracle, every component of the environment can take advantage of common services, such as a single security model and a reporting framework for enforcing regulatory compliance," Lehmann notes. Some executives aren't clear on just what role an application server plays within the IT infrastructure, Lehmann explains. "A database is where you store the information your applications use, but you need to have a place to run your applications and business services. That's what an application server does." Oracle Application Server 10g Release 3 not only runs your applications but also provides a supporting infrastructure for building and operating a service-oriented architecture, he adds.