About us Contact Careers Blog iCore Tech What we do Products & Services Customers Resources Partners Pricing Integration and e-business dictionary Every industry has its own terminology and buzzwords. Below is a list of the most common terms used in integration and e-business, we hope you will find it useful! TERM EXPLANATION Accelerator Accelerator is a generic name used to describe packaged functionality facilitating the creation of an Adapter. An Accelerator may consist of one or many building blocks. The building blocks may be Scripts, Adapterflows or Workflows. Adapter An application that provides an interface between business and enterprise management systems and a central integration platform, or towards other applications. Adapters are important SOA components. Intelligent Adapters can promote high-level composite services. API management An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of classes, interfaces, functions, structures, and other programming elements that software developers use to write programs that interact with a product, technology, or operating system. API management is the process of publishing, promoting and overseeing APIs in a secure environment. It also includes the creation of end-user support resources that define and document the API. The goal of API management is to allow an organization that publishes an API to monitor the interface's lifecycle and make sure the needs of developers and applications using the API are being met. B2B, e-biz The exchange of products, services and information, preferably over the Internet. BAM Business Activity Monitoring, BAM, is a real-time technology for monitoring business processes. BI Business Intelligence, BI, is a generic term for systems, applications and technologies that manage business information. The purpose is to help enterprises in the decision-making process. BI applications may collect, store, integrate, analyze and present different types of business information. Building up BI is a very common integration project. Big data Big data is a term that describes data sets so large and complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate. Challenges include analysis, capture, data curation, search, sharing, storage, transfer, visualization, querying and information privacy. Data sets are growing rapidly in part because they are increasingly gathered by cheap and numerous information-sensing mobile devices, cameras, microphones, RFID readers, and wireless sensor networks. This "explosion" of gadgets and devices connected to the Internet is often referred to as the "Internet of Things". BPEL Business Process Execution Language, BPEL, is a serialized XML programming language for specification of executable business processes, applied primarily to the orchestration of Web services. BPM Business Process Management is a method used to design, enact, control, and analyze operational business processes involving people, systems, applications, data, and organizations. BPMS Business Process Management Suite, BPMS, (often called IC-BPMS where IC is integration-centric) is the comprehensive solution containing all tools to orchestrate, configure, implement, integrate, run and monitor both human centric and system centric business processes. Business integration The processes of combining different business and management systems so that they may interact with one another and thus be used to enhance an enterprise business strategy. Business integration will make the business processes more efficient and cost-effective. Business rules The formal codification of business policies and actions into prescriptive operational practices that are externalized from and maintained independently of application code. Cloud, Cloud Solutions The cloud refers to the Internet, which is often depicted as a cloud in presentations. Cloud solutions or cloud computing means solution that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet, for example SaaS (Software as a Service). CRM systems Customer Relationship Management, CRM, is a generic term for methodologies and software used by an enterprise to manage customer relations in a structured way. This often means building databases with information that can be easily reached by sales people, management or others who focus on establishing and maintaining a good relationship with customers. Information from purchase systems, order systems etc, are often valuable for the customer data in the CRM-system. Thus, integrating these systems may be essential for the business. CRM integration is a very common project. EA Enterprise Architecture, EA, is the integration architecture for IT infrastructure and business processes at a company. EA is based on the requirements of the business operations performed by the company. SOA and EA are closely related concepts. EAI Enterprise Application Integration, EAI, is a term for the process of integrating various computer systems with one another so that information can be exchanged between them automatically. The EAI concept is based on loosely coupled systems. With integrated systems, there is no need for manual interference when updating one system with information from another - irrespective of their different configuration and format. When integrating systems, the goal is to share and reuse as much as possible from the different systems so as to avoid isolated point-to-point connections. e-business e-commerce Business conducted electronically, with an automated information system on the Internet. E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods on the Internet, and is basically a subset of a wider e-business strategy. The e-business strategy usually covers the complete business chain, from electronic orders and invoices to automatic update of in-house systems (ERP, CRM, purchase, economy systems etc). It also includes providing customer service and collaborating with partners via the Internet. EDI is one type of e-business. EDA Event Driven Architecture (or Enterprise Driven Architecture), EDA, is a software architecture that is focused on the production and consumption of events. An event is generally seen as a pattern change. It could be a message, value, marker or similar that is identifiable in a system and that will effect other applications. For example, a when a new business deal has been closed, the initial "event" of closing the deal will display a change of state from pending to concluded in a sales/business system. In an event-driven architecture, this event will promote a change in other loosely coupled systems for example the production system, the economy system and the CRM-system. EDI Electronic Data Interchange, EDI, is an old, established standard for exchanging electronic documents between businesses. It is a generic term that covers the use of all types of message standards. EDIFACT Electronic Data Interchange For Administration, Commerce, and Transport is the international United Nations standard for electronic data interchange (UN/EDIFACT). The standard specifies the syntax rules for structuring data to be sent electronically. The standard is suitable for large message content, since an EDIFACT-message is much smaller than, for example, an XML-message with the same content. ERP systems Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP, is a generic term used for a number of business activities such as product planning, human resource planning, warehouse management CRM, supply chain management, project management etc. An ERP-system is a software package that contains at least two such functions. In general, though, the term is used for a system that covers several of them, often with a single database serving all modules. ESB An Enterprise Service Bus, ESB, is an application that gives access to other applications and services. Its main task is to be the messaging and integration backbone of an enterprise. Human-centric business processes A human-centric business process is a business process that involves a number of human tasks during the execution. Applications for human-centric business processes contains the processes and an associated interface for task originating, processing and querying. BPM tools are typically used to define and implement human-centric business processes in organizations. Internet of Things The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects (devices, vehicles, buildings and other items) which are embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity, which enables these objects to collect and exchange data. The Internet of Things allows objects to be sensed and controlled remotely across existing network infrastructure, creating opportunities for more-direct integration between the physical world and computer-based systems, and resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefits. Legacy systems Legacy systems are systems that are based on technology, languages and platforms that are older then the ones currently used. It is often hard to access these systems from more modern applications. In many companies legacy systems are business critical and migrating to a more modern system would be a costly and difficult procedure. Business integration, and/or Adapters, provide the means to solve the problem of accessing the information in legacy systems, without having to migrate to a more modern environment. Loosely coupled systems Loose coupling is a way of interconnecting components in a system or network so that they depend as little as possible on one another. Consequently, loosely coupled systems are useful when there are frequent changes in one or several of the components/systems. With loose coupling the risk of a change in one system affecting another is much reduced. Master A master is the data source of the original data, where the maintenance of the data is done. A is usually a device (or process) that controls one or more other devices (or processes). Message Broker Architectural integration pattern. A Message Broker acts like central hub that can receive messages from multiple destinations, determine the destination of each message and forward the message to the correct receiver. MOM Message-oriented Middleware, MOM, is a client/server software that provides an infrastructure allowing applications to be spread over multiple platforms. MOM gives flexibility and interoperability to the applications in the infrastructure. MSMQ Microsoft Message Queuing, MSMQ, is a technology by Microsoft that enables applications to communicate over networks and systems regardless of the systems/networks being online or not. Messages are sent to a queue and are then collected by the receiving application(s) when they are ready. Open marketplace An Internet website on which different actors may interact, for example buy and sell items or services. This type of business forum requires e-commerce solutions. Orchestration The automated arrangement, coordination, execution, and management of complex computer applications, systems, integration, and services. PIM Product Information Management, or PIM, means managing the information required to market and sell products through distribution channels. A central set of product data can be used to feed information to media such as web sites, print catalogs, ERP systems, and electronic data feeds to trading partners. Process A process is a series of actions or operations that transform a set of inputs into pre-defined outputs. If computerized, a process is often an instance of a program performing a task. It may contain a set of activities, data, and associated information. Process optimization The practice of making changes and adjustments to a process in order to improve its efficiency or effectiveness. Process owner The individual who has responsibility for process performance and resources, and who provides support, resources, and functional expertise to projects. The process owner is accountable for implementing process improvements. Publish/Subscribe Common architectural integration pattern. In a Publish/Subscribe pattern, the sender application broadcasts an event, for example a changed order number, without knowing who will receive it. Recipients subscribe to events from the sender application. The event is broadcasted to one input channel, which then splits up into a number of output channels that go to the subscribers. Purchasing portals A purchasing portal enables products or services to be electronically selected, ordered and paid for. A purchasing portal gives a complete overview of the available supply. Examples of a purchasing portal providers are IBX, Proceedo and Ariba. Request/Reply Common architectural integration pattern. The Request/Reply pattern allows a two-way communication between applications, often in real-time. One system may then request information, for example price of a product, and get an immediate reply from the other system. REST Representational State Transfer, or REST, is an architectural style, and an approach to communications often used in the development of Web services. The use of REST is often preferred over the more heavyweight SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) style because REST does not require as much bandwidth, which makes it a better fit for use over the Internet. REST's decoupled architecture, and lighter weight communications between producer and consumer, make REST a popular building style for cloud-based APIs, such as those provided by Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. ROI Return on Investment, ROI, is a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment. Basically, it is the profit or loss made on an investment compared to the amount of money invested. SaaS (Software as a Service) Software as a Service (SaaS) is way of making software available to customers over the Internet as a service on demand. Applications are usually hosted on a web server or uploaded to a customer device. When the contract expires the service is disabled. SaaS is used for many business actvities, for example Customer Relationship Management (CRM), invoicing and service desk management. SCM Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the coordination of product, information and finance flows between supplier, manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer and customer. Many enterprises use web-based applications as a part of the SCM solution, which makes it an essential part of integration as well as an e-business strategy. SOA Service Oriented Architecture, SOA, is an underlying computer systems structure that supports the connection between various applications and the sharing of data. SOA outlines business processes by structuring large applications into smaller modules called services. A service is a function, for example viewing an account or filling in an order form, that is performed by one computing entity for an end-user, another application or another service. The idea behind the concept is to facilitate the communication between the entity performing the service and the one requesting it. Building a SOA is not dependent on certain architecture. It can be implemented using more than one protocol. SOA Consumers An enterprise, system or application that uses a SOA service. A SOA enabled adapter, for example an iCore Adapter, may act as both SOA Consumer and SOA Provider. SOA Providers An enterprise, system or application that provides a SOA service. A SOA enabled adapter, for example an iCore Adapter, may act as both SOA Consumer and SOA Provider. SOAP Simple Object Access Protocol, SOAP, is a protocol for exchanging XML-based messages over computer networks. SOAP-based Web services is commonly used to implement SOA. Supplier portals A supplier portal gives electronic access to the products/services offered by the suppliers of a company. Users may search for products, request price and availability, send orders and receive order confirmation on-line. A supplier portal usually also contains constantly information about the supplier products, such as technical descriptions, manuals and guidelines. An example of a supplier portal provider is Endorsia. System centric business processes Application-to-application integration. See EAI. XML Extensible Mark-up Language, XML, is a specification describing how a text is structured, laid out, or formatted. It is a mark-up language using tags to identify different types of information. XML is an open standard that allows the user to define its own elements. Formal recommendations on grammar and syntactic analysis (parsing) are issued by W3C. W3C World Wide Web Consortium, W3C, is an international standards organisation for the World Wide Web, WWW. The W3C develops standards for the WWW. Examples of these standards are: HTML, XML, SOAP. Web services Web services (or application services) are APIs or web APIs that can be accessed by other applications over the Internet and executed on a remote system hosting the requested services. Data is sent between the applications using HTTP. Appplication interfaces are described in XML. A Web service is often used for the exchange of business information, for examples ordering or price quoting. Workflow An orchestrated and repeatable pattern of business activity enabled by the systematic organization of resources into processes that transform materials, provide services, or process information. WSMQ Websphere Message Queuing, WSMQ, is a network communication software developed by IBM that allows messaging across platforms (Windows, Linux, IBM mainframe and midrange, and Unix). Messages can be sent between applications running at different times. A queue manager will hold the message until it can be delivered. Want to know more? 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