Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)

1. Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) Share, integrate, and automate information flow within the educational environment. • Jeff Nuckolls - jeffnuck@microsoft.com • Technology Specialist • Microsoft – Education Group • Gary Hammond - gary.hammond@uc.edu • Application Analysts • University of Cincinnati

2. Agenda • What is EAI? • The Education Environment and Common Integration Scenarios • The Benefits of EAI • Microsoft .NET as an EAI Platform and Solution • EAI at the University of Cincinnati • Resources

3. What Is Enterprise Application Integration? Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) offers comprehensive capabilities for integrating applications and data resources both within and between educational organizations for efficient productivity and accountability.

4. The “Ideal” Environment Connected Integrated Empowered IT that supports the success of teaching, learning, and day-to-day operations within the educational community

5. The Reality (If you’re lucky) Student Information Systems Library System Human Resources Accounting System Learning Mgmt System

6. Enterprise Application Integration We hear you saying… Higher Education - Key Concerns • Not getting maximum value out of current technology investments • Need to make strategic decisions, faster • Systems and processes not integrated together well enough to provide seamless and secure exchange of information • Find technologies and services that will unify disparate campus environments • Enable students, staff and faculty to access information and services through Web-based capabilities • Facilitate information exchange from legacy campus systems to newer campus systems

7. Enterprise Application Integration We hear you saying… Higher Education - Key Needs • Develop an enterprise portal and e-services for faculty, staff and students • Improve staff, faculty and student productivity • Lower administrative costs • Improve decision support processes through better and easier access to relevant data • Streamline information sharing between disparate school systems • Prevent overspending on infrastructure technology initiatives • Ensure secure data exchange

8. School Imperatives • Proven • Flexible • Quick to generate benefits • Empowering to faculty and staff To build and maintain value, an educational institution needs a solution that is:

9. EAI@UC Enterprise Application Integration at the University of Cincinnati • Gary W. Hammond • Application Analyst • University of Cincinnati

10. About the University of Cincinnati State-supported university located in southwest Ohio One of only 88 institutions classified as a Research I University by the Carnegie Commission Total enrollment, for the 2001-2002 academic year, of 33,085 4 Campuses A main academic campus A medical campus A branch campus in suburban Blue Ash A rural branch campus in Clermont County just east of Cincinnati

11. Our Mission Establish the technical capability to facilitate the integration of the University’s and its partners’ applications through the use of accepted industry standards

12. Road Blocks and Challenges Multiple platforms OS/390 (moving to Z/OS), Windows, Linux Multiple Disparate Data Repositories VSAM, ADABAS, MS SQL, DB2 Multiple Languages Cobol, Natural, VB, Java Limited Staff and No Experience with Application Integration

13. Our EAI Solution Our design calls for BizTalk/Host Integration Server hub which acts as a control center accepting “messages”, translating them and directing them to their proper destination. The solution is being architected so that it is industrial strength and fault tolerant.

14. The Pilot Project Replace the current background process used to interface the student PIN change application with the web farm’s database so that the changed PIN takes effect universally as soon as it is entered.

15. PIN Change Process “The Before” Green-screen One Stop PIN Update Web One Stop PIN Update Entire X Broker Using EntireX Broker to call a Natural program, the ADABAS database is synchronized UniverSIS One Stop Site SQL Database ADABAS Using nightly FTP and Batch jobs the SQL Database is synchronized

16. PIN Change Process “The Now” Web One Stop PIN Update Green-screen One Stop PIN Update EAI HUB One Stop site UniverSIS ADABAS SQL Database Real-time updates

17. The Big PlayersTechnologies Used Microsoft BizTalk Server Integration of Enterprise Applications and Data Automation of Business Processes Reliable Messaging Microsoft Host Integration Server Application, Data, and Network Integration with Host-based systems IBM WebSphere MQ / Microsoft MSMQ Cross-platform middleware product that enables applications to communicate asynchronously and reliably through the use of messages XML / Web services Technologies used to allow applications running on any platform or device to communicate through the use of open standards and protocols

18. System Availability BizTalk Server provides high availability by allowing all the servers within a group to access a single database server running on the SAN. If one of the servers in the group fails, the others can inherit its load and continue to process from the database server. For full-time availability, we are using Microsoft Cluster Services (MSCS), which ensures that a server is always available in the event of a hardware or software failure.

19. Current projects for the EAI Team Accounting Code Validation A Single University Identity Management System Mapping Flat Files into XML for SEVIS CAS (Course Applicability System) & DARWIN Exposing UniverSIS (Student System) using Web Services

20. Summary & Final Thoughts Get the best people you can to work on EAI – there is a lot to learn Start small – EAI will grow quickly once you prove it will work Expect things to change – this is a rapidly evolving technology Count on your software vendor – we certainly would have struggled more without Microsoft’s guidance

21. Summary of Key Microsoft Education EAI Solution Benefits • Enable Improved Information Access and Sharing • Easily Integrate Applications • Rapidly Automate Departmental and/or Enterprise Processes • Leverage your existing investments in technology, skills, and resources

22. Resources For Training and Certification Questions: Microsoft Training & Certification http://www.microsoft.com/trainingandservices/default.asp To Locate a Partner Who Works With Microsoft Integration Solutions: Microsoft Certified Providers Directory http://mcspreferral.microsoft.com For additional information on Microsoft Solutions for Education Microsoft Resources for Education http://www.microsoft.com/education For Technical Information About Microsoft Integration Solutions: Technical Resources for BizTalk Server http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/techinfo/default.asp Many TechNet Courses Are Available, Including: Course 2379: Developing and Deploying Microsoft Biztalk Server 2000 Solutions Course 2420: Designing B2B Trading Partner Integration Solutions For Information on Integrated Applications: BizTalk Server Web Site http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk Host Integration Server Web Site http://www.microsoft.com/hiserver

23. Thank you for attending.