Our services in the field of integration

 A document management system offers database supported administration of electronic documents (email, texting) and paper documents (letter, fax). Systems that generate documents, such as C4 from legodo or printing lines for outgoing documents and scanning systems for incoming documents, are usually actively interlinked document management systems. The administration of documents usually deals with archiving in a categorized directory, but the DMS supports additional functions such as versioning (check-in/checkout), managing meta data which is important for search functionality.

The business purpose of the DMS – integration is the processing of documents in CRM business processes without media breaks, therefore attempting to achieve a paperless business processes, which are still very widely spread. The following DMS systems have been successfully connected to Siebel CRM: Oracle UCM, IBM FileNet, Windream and Open Text.

 Integration of Microsoft Outlook into Oracle Siebel CRM is generally available with Oracle CRM Desktop. CRM Desktop allows the synchronization of business meetings, contacts, employee information and tasks. Additional features available include sending email messages from Oracle Siebel CRM via the F9 key, and incoming email messages can be automatically processed with the Email Response module. Microsoft Outlook integration allows employees to effortlessly combine customer information from Microsoft Outlook and an Oracle Siebel CRM application.

The treatment of doublets covers validation and standardization of addresses, identifying and cleansing doublets, and correct allocating data from foreign systems. A number of different de-duplication software products for data cleansing can be incorporated without integration effort into a CRM system.

The mobile workforce module connects mobile devices such as laptops with Siebel Remote Clients, which give users access (reading and writing) to information with broad functionality  Mapping and filtering of the offline data pool is controlled by the authorization concept. Profiles and roles are therefore defined and those determine the data volume to be synchronized.

The changes made offline are synchronized with the main server when reconnected, and the actual server data are updated on the remote client. Conflicting changes are automatically reported by the server and can eventually be modified or corrected by the responsible employee or administrator. Installation and operation of laptops is performed efficiently in the course of the project. Various standard mechanisms are employed for the initial installation, software updates, continuous data synchronization, central tracingandtroubleshooting tools.

Channel management implies the support of numerous communication channels: email, letter, fax, smartphone app, phone call, messaging, visit, Internet/self-service, phone call with CTI and/or IVR. The CRM system supports various channels, allowing flexible, customer-oriented communications.

The performance of a CRM system is influenced by numerous factors, which are considered during the development phase. For this purpose, ec4u’s own QS tool is employed to inform our developers of potential performance difficulties in advance to help avoid them in time. Moreover, it is necessary to consider an end-to-end view of all components that play a role in the flow of functions and data: e.g. hardware (client workstations, Web, DB, and application servers), software (browser, operating system), and networks linking individual components.

Contrary to the classic point by point connections that were previously the state-of-the-art for EAI (Enterprise Application Integration), a Service Orientated Architecture (SOA) now represents a decoupled, recyclable and easily expandable possibility in connecting systems within the implementation landscape.

Apart from a pure SOA approach covered by the Oracle products, SOA Suite and Oracle Service Bus (OSB), the Application Integration Architecture (AIA) still needs to be considered. AIA comprises a reference and programming model for integration processes, canonical business objects, plus C(reate)R(ead)U(pdate)D(elete) services and tools for the life cycle integration scenario.

Additional important elements of the Oracle SOA are, as depicted in the following illustration, the runtime components BPEL Process Manager, Business Rules or Human Workflow, as well as the JDeveloper development tool and Enterprise Manager for technical monitoring of the server landscape and implementation status. The BAM (Business Activity Monitoring) module can be deployed for real-time monitoring of business processes.

Apart from numerous purely SOA projects, ec4u participated in the early adopter program of the new AIA 11g (3.0) release in 2010. Our clients benefited significantly from our valuable insider know-how, through effective support for implementation of their projects.

If you are interested in this topic, we will gladly present the components and their features, without obligation, and would be pleased to develop, , a possible solution for SOA integration approach in conjunction with you.

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Exchanging information is the basis of our work. Collaboration, co-operation, networking, integration as well as securing and processing knowledge creates new ideas, secures know-how and provides businesses with competitive advantages. It is a known fact that the majority of employees in Europe (about 60%) are primarily knowledge workers rather than physical laborers. Team- and group structures within companies are more and more dissolving, are newly defined or evolve into new virtual teams across the whole globe, and with these changes new forms of collaboration become more and more important.

SharePoint offers the possibility to structurally monitor your business across six central functional areas and optimize business processes and success factors, such as knowledge and collaboration. Microsoft SharePoint works seamlessly in conjunction with with Microsoft Unified Communications, Customer Relationship Management-  and Enterprise Resource Planning solutions.

Contact us – ec4u will be pleased to support you in moving over to innovative Microsoft technologies, which will be well received by your employees.

Source: Microsoft Germany GmbH

SharePoint Server 2010
Collaboration – software for teamwork
Portals – your home page to as the thematic starter page
Enterprise search – for corporate-wide searches
Content management – document & Website management
Business forms & workflows – management of forms/questionnaires, business automation
Business Intelligence – analysis and presentation of business data

Heterogeneous systems, complex structures and individual interfaces – do you recognize these challenges faced by your business? The IT landscape is certainly organic in nature, since it grows and blossoms, but everyday business requires pragmatic short-term solutions. However, at some stage, the level of complexity becomes uncontrollable, effectiveness suffers, calling for a new and structured approach. ec4u supports you in setting up a Service Orientated Architecture (SOA) that enables you to display your IT requirements swiftly and smoothly – thus simplifying your IT operations! This takes place, for example, on the basis of the Microsoft BizTalk server with which you can integrate, administrate, and automate business processes using XML.

BizTalk additionally integrates heterogeneous point-by-point connections to minimizes maintenance and administration requirements. A common example is master data management across several systems like CRM- or ERP-systems. BizTalk can synchronize and align such data in real time. It is also possible to capture data in a decentralized manner (e.g. in branches) at the same time and consolidate those date in a central server.

Source: Microsoft Germany GmbH

The BizTalk Server 2010 is the seventh version on the market. The most recent changes in functionality are: Simplified integration of business applications

• Simplified operation and optimization of software solutions
• Enhancement and simplification of communications possibilities beyond company limits

ec4u assists you through the complete integration process – from the IT strategy to project management, to implementation of your service orientated architecture (SOA).