Patent ID: 7562041
Filing Date: 2009-07-14
Classification: G06Q,H04L

Abstract:
1. A computer program product, comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code when executed by a computer, enables the computer to: obtain a first business process data from at least one first trading participant, said first business process data comprising a set of transaction messages having a first data format in accordance with a first protocol for conducting business transactions used by said at least one first trading participant; process said first business process data at a process management platform accessible via an interconnection fabric, wherein said process management platform is configured to manage the flow of said transaction messages and monitor said transaction messages, wherein said process management platform is configured to automatically determine at least one of a plurality of second trading participants to satisfy said first business process data; identify a second protocol for conducting said business transactions used by said at least one of a plurality of second trading participants; generate a second business process data from said first business process data, the second business process data comprising a set of transaction messages having a data format in accordance with said identified second protocol; and transmit said second business process data from said process management platform to said at least one of said plurality of second trading participants such that said first and second trading participants conduct said business transactions in accordance with their respective protocols for conducting business transactions, wherein said process management platform is configured to process at least one proprietary transaction definition format; wherein said computer readable program code comprises a virtual trading participant; wherein the virtual trading participant is configured to receive fictitious business process data from the first trading participant and to both acknowledge the fictitious business process data and reply to the first trading participant that the fictitious business process data has been acknowledged in order to enable the first trading participant to determine that the first trading participant is prepared to automatically transmit the first business data to complete said business transactions; wherein the computer readable program code is configured to test operational characteristics and a connectivity of a currently trading participant connected to the process management platform, by utilizing the virtual trading participant to determine if the data defining individual business processes is in a uniform format understood by the process management platform; wherein the computer readable program code is configured to utilize the virtual trading participant to ensure compatibility with an identified version of the uniform form at; wherein the virtual trading participant provides a mechanism for generating test reports and determining if the process management platform is configured to archive and/or store information about business process data sent through the process management platform; wherein the process management platform provides a directory of business processes such that the virtual trading participant enables trading participants to review and test an ability to access the directory and obtain data about the business processes a particular trading participant is configured to perform; wherein the virtual trading participant provides a feedback mechanism for determining if a particular trading participant is ready to send, receive, and perform other operations on business process data.