Oracle9iAS InterConnect (formerly known as Oracle Applications InterConnect) is a component of Oracle9i Application Server Enterprise Edition. It provides powerful enterprise application integration capabilities that speed deployment of integration solutions, leveraging the performance, manageability and reliability of Oracle's integration infrastructure.  Together with Oracle Workflow, Database, Advanced Queuing and Enterprise Manager, InterConnect provides an end-to-end integration solution using an integrated set of tools that address all phases of the software life cycle.

Fast, Simplified Integration is Critical to E-Business Success
Building a successful e-business operation to provide strategic business value and competitive differentiation is very challenging. Often the greatest challenge is the integration of applications, whether inside or outside your enterprise. Oracle's solution is Oracle9iAS InterConnect, along with Oracle's underlying integration infrastructure and complementary tools. Oracle9iAS InterConnect simplifies integration, speeds implementation, and lowers the associated costs. Oracle9iAS InterConnect enables you to bring Oracle applications to production faster, and more quickly realize the business benefits by enabling integration with other critical business systems. It also enables you to respond to new business demands faster. And as integration requirements extend beyond the enterprise, to integration with supply-chain or demand-chain partners (business-to-business integration), Oracle9iAS InterConnect provides a strategic solution to build your successful e-business infrastructure of the future.

Oracle InterConnect is a complete solution to seamlessly integrate internal applications as well as support future external integration requirements.

Oracle's Solution for Integration
Oracle9iAS InterConnect is Oracle's tool for designing, implementing and managing application integrations. It is a component of the Oracle9i Application Server (Oracle9iAS) Enterprise Edition. Oracle9iAS InterConnect provides connectivity to both Oracle and non-Oracle applications via application adapters.  It also contains technology adapters for integrating and leveraging other technology such as HTTP and CICS.  And to further simplify and speed integration between commonly integrated applications, pre-built integrations are available.  InterConnect's underlying infrastructure is Oracle9i and Oracle9i Application Server. This is a proven high-performance infrastructure for enterprise integration. It provides a messaging and queuing back bone that is secure, reliable, standards based. For advanced process driven integration capabilities, InterConnect is integrated with Oracle Workflow.

Oracle InterConnect provides a graphical tool to simplify the design process of the integration.

Model Driven Integration
Oracle9iAS InterConnect simplifies the design process when creating and modifying integrations. A graphical design tool enables graphical, wizard based modeling of the integrations. Business analysts can model all aspects of an integration, from specifying mappings and transformations to setting-up information flows, including content based routing. It supports Publish/Subscribe, Request/Reply, and Point-to-Point messaging paradigms. Oracle9iAS InterConnect employs a "hub and spoke" architecture which greatly simplifies maintenance, and makes the future addition of new applications much easier. InterConnect's hub and spoke approach provides a central "common view" of business objects and events.  This allows users to more readily adopt and use standards such as the OAG's OAGIS application and B-to-B integration standard, using XML-based Business Object Documents. InterConnect comes with a rich set of predefined transformations and a framework for easily adding custom transformations.  Oracle9iAS InterConnect focuses the integration process where it belongs -- on the business analyst, not IT technicians. This graphical design environment speeds integration design, cuts project costs, reduces skill set requirements, and simplifies future modifications.

Adapters to Packaged Applications
Oracle9iAS InterConnect can integrate the full array of applications in your enterprise, such as open systems packaged applications, proprietary applications, or communication via standard protocols for remote integration to ASPs, exchanges or supply chain partners. Adapters utilize native interfaces to applications. They translate application events and business objects into XML messages for delivery and translate from XML upon receipt. Standard adapters shipped with Oracle9iAS InterConnect are provided for Oracle Applications, Oracle Database, Oracle AQ, FTP, HTTPS, and IBM MQ Series.  Access to non-Oracle data is available through Oracle Transparent Gateways.  For other applications and protocols, such as SAP, PeopleSoft, Siebel, and CICS, Oracle offers these adapters at an additional cost.  In addition, an adapter Software Developer's Kit (SDK) is provided for the creation of custom adapters to proprietary applications such as "legacy" OS/390 applications. 

Metadata-based and Manageable
Oracle9iAS InterConnect addresses the full integration life cycle. A single repository supports both design-time and run-time requirements.  Configuration management features include multi-user support, fine-grain versioning and security.  A runtime management environment provides information for message tracking and auditing, status, throughput, exception handling and error reporting, and performance assessment. All components in the system can be managed by Oracle Enterprise Manager to provide you with comprehensive and centralized system management.  Finally, InterConnect is a pure, metadata-driven system.  There is no generated code to deploy and maintain.  Metadata-driven integrations are easier to understand, easier to manage, easier to customize, and easier to evolve.

Proven Integration Infrastructure
Oracle9iAS InterConnect is built upon proven Oracle application server and database technologies and takes full advantage of their features and functionality. The messaging backbone for Oracle9iAS InterConnect is Oracle Advanced Queuing (AQ). Together, these technologies enable the mission-critical salability, security and robustness required by enterprise integration platforms. With Oracle AQ's persistent queues, guaranteed, exactly once delivery of messages is fail-safe.  Asynchronous, loosely coupled messaging is provided for maximum application independence and uptime. Synchronous messaging is supported as well when required. Geographically distributed integration over WANs is easily supported.

Business Process Driven Integration
Oracle9iAS InterConnect is tightly integrated with Oracle Workflow to provide business process management and true process-driven integration solutions.  The Workflow Builder component is launchable from within the InterConnect design studio and InterConnect can populate the Workflow repository so that business events are shared.  New business processes can be defined within Workflow Builder.  At run-time, InterConnect and Workflow communicate via the Workflow Business Event System.  Workflow can also be used for exception handling and error notification, sending emails or paging key personnel when necessary.  Workflow allows business processes to span the entire enterprise and beyond, to facilitate collaboration with business partners and suppliers. 

Pre-Packaged Integrations Multiply Benefits
Oracle9iAS InterConnect also provides the basis for pre-packaged integrations. Pre-packaged integrations are an end-to-end, out-of-the-box solution for the integration of two applications. For example, Oracle provides a pre-built integration specifically between Oracle's Internet Procurement and SAP. Pre-packaged integrations get you up and running with Oracle applications, and realizing the benefits, even faster. Oracle9iAS InterConnect's visual designer makes it easy to review and make the changes necessary to tailor the pre-packaged integration to your specific needs. Because a hub and spoke architecture is always employed, these pre-packaged integrations can easily be extended to support other applications. Oracle9iAS InterConnect provides an excellent opportunity for partners to build and productize their own pre-packaged integrations.

Oracle's Internet Procurement � SAP InterConnect is an example of a pre-built integration using Oracle InterConnect, to even more dramatically speed and simplify integration.

A Strategic Integration Solution to Gain and Maintain Competitive Advantage
Oracle9iAS InterConnect simplifies and speeds integrations through a highly productive design environment, prebuilt adapters and integrations, and through the delivery of a complete integration infrastructure. The infrastructure is proven in its reliability and scalability for even the largest enterprises. Oracle9iAS InterConnect can significantly reduce the cost of integration. Obtaining a complete integration solution from Oracle simplifies support issues and gives you one organization to hold accountable. Oracle9iAS InterConnect is a safe and strategic choice to solve your integration challenges, for both current application-to-application needs as well as future business-to-business needs. As your partner, Oracle is committed to providing you with integrated solutions that support your transformation into a successful e-business.

 

KEY FEATURES

Model Driven Integration Wizard-based modeling Libraries of transformations User-defined transformations Ability to represent application information, such as hierarchical data Hub-and-spoke architecture Common views Applications views XML Support Messaging paradigm support: - Publish / Subscribe - Request / Reply - Point-Point Content-based routing Oracle Workflow integration Adapters and Packaged Integrations Standard adapters: Oracle FTP MQSeries AQ SMTP HTTPS SDK provided for adapter development Additional adapters: SAP PeopleSoft Siebel JDEdwards CICS Pre-built integrations readily customizable

Metadata-based and Manageable Metadata repository Fine-grained version control Multi-user support Runtime management facilities and reporting Error handling Oracle Enterprise Manager integration Message warehousing Proven Integration Infrastructure Oracle9i Application Server Oracle9i Database Reliable, scalable, secure Advanced Queuing