- July 5, 2015
- Posted by: admin
- Category: Blog
Over the past few years, we’ve had great time working on CX projects using multiple cloud-based CX management platforms ranging from Adobe to Oracle.
Around the same time, we’ve been working on multiple SOA middleware and integration projects to connect conventional ERPs such as E-Business Suite and JD Edwards to the new exciting world of cloud-based CRMs, smartphone apps, social apps and location-based services.
While working on these cloud integration projects, we’ve come across various options when it comes to integrating on-prem ERPs such as EBS to a cloud-based CRM such as Salesforce or Oracle Service Cloud (RightNow CX).
Let’s zoom in on the options available for integrating E-Business Suite with Oracle Service Cloud (RightNow CX).
Oracle Service Cloud (RightNow CX) – A Quick Overview
Oracle Service Cloud combines Web, Social and Contact Center experiences for a unified, cross-channel service solution in the Cloud, enabling organizations to increase sales and adoption, build trust and strengthen relationships, and reduce costs and effort. The enterprise platform provides transparent reliability, unmatched security, and total Cloud freedom for mission critical customer experience delivery.
Oracle E-Business Suite – Overview
Oracle’s E–Business Suite (also known as EBS) consists of a collection of enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and supply-chain management (SCM) business applications.
Here were the common challenges:
While evaluating integration options, we wanted to address the following challenges:
- Being able to mediate all the various web-services, while adhering to security and scalability considerations.
- Data transformations using XSLT, XPath and other technologies
- Marshalling of the APIs from the backend SOAP based webservice frameworks to more nimble JSON REST APIs to be consumed by mobile apps.
- Seamless Business Process Orchestration and Human Workflow integration across all the channels and devices.
- Real-time monitoring of the business processes spanning across web, mobile, social, e-commerce, CRM and backend ERPs
- Integration Adaptors for ERP, CX and Cloud services
Integration Options
There are multiple options available for integrating E-Business Suite with Oracle Service Cloud. Here are some of the ones we tried:
- E-Business Suite Integrated SOA Gateway
- Ephlux CX Integration Cloud
- Oracle SOA Suite 12c
- Oracle Integration Cloud
- 3rd Party SOA Platforms
For now, let’s take a look at the first two options:
Using E-Business Suite Integrated SOA Gateway
The Integrated SOA Gateway (ISG) is shipped as integral part of the Oracle E-Business Suite R12.1.1
ISG comprises of four components:
1. Integration Repository: It is a comprehensive catalog of more than 1500 services and integration points of Oracle E-Business Suite. It is the only place where a user can find all public interfaces of EBS.
2. Service Provider: It provides and consumes SOAP based Web Services for Business Service Objects(Java interfaces), PLSQL apis, XML Gateway Maps and Concurrent Programs. A user can use any third party Web Services client to invoke ISG Services. Services on ISG are WSI Basic profile compliant.
3. Service Monitor: It monitors all incoming and outgoing Web Services requests and responses.
4. Service Invocation Framework: It acts as a Web Service Client for any internal or external Web Service. It is integrated with Business Event System.
As outlined in the diagram above, utilizing SOAP/REST protocol and Connect PHP API of Oracle Service Cloud we can integrate Oracle Service Cloud to EBS via Integrated SOA Gateway available as part of EBS R12.
Using Ephlux CX Integration Cloud
We have put together a CX middleware integration framework that pieces together on-prem enterprise apps, cloud apps (esp Oracle CX cloud apps) and customer touch-points including mobile, social, e-commerce, location-based services, in-store (kiosks), POS and augmented reality apps.
This framework is light-weight yet highly secure and scalable with built-in big-data analytics, business activity monitoring and complex event processing support. It provides CX integration adaptors on top of a SOA stack providing multi-channel integration across all digital and physical touch-points.
CX Integration Cloud goes beyond SOA and provides in-built support for CX Adaptors to be able to integrate quickly to mobile, ecommerce, location-based services, IoT (Internet of Things), Augmented Reality and in-venue technologies.
As you would’ve guessed, I’m passionate about how middleware technologies can connect CX Cloud to both ERPs and customer-centric technologies. I would love to hear your thoughts on your experience in this space and more specifically the SOA and integration challenges you’re facing with Oracle CX Cloud. To set up a time to discuss this in more detail, please fill the form:
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About the Author
Ali has around 14 years of experience, spanning areas of strategic technology management, product and business development for the US, UK, South Asia and Middle East regions across telecom, hospitality, healthcare and other verticals.
At Ephlux, Ali is currently focused on CX (Customer Experience) platforms and consulting, SOA, enterprise mobility, digital marketing and integration of ERPs, CRMs and EMRs with customer-centric mobile, social, e-commerce, in-venue and other digital touch-points.
Ali and his company Ephlux has worked on customer experience, integration and mobility projects for large enterprises and start-ups alike, including PHILIPS, Disney, Gibson Guitars, Johnson & Johnson, IKEA and many more.
Ali can be reached out on his twitter handle @m_ali_nasim and on his email at ali.nasim@ephlux.com
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