Integration of enterprise applications and systems is a critical part. Many of todays solutions use simple connectivity to databases and transaction managers, but integration of legacy, systems is becoming essential to maintain a competitive advantage. However, the difficulty of exchanging information between systems which have different systems, data models and protocols means that integration is often hand-crafted. This paper will identify the difficulties that faced the integration between MYIIUM portal and IIUM library system. The issues and the challenges involved.
Introduction
The enterprise portal is the public Internet face of the enterprise to the outside world. It should have web pages that provide access to everything the enterprise wants generally known. Potential users include customers, current and potential shareholders, business partners, and even potential employees. The portal may function as an advertising and marketing tool to influence attitudes about the enterprise, promote political positions, and raise awareness and understanding of enterprise products and services. [1]
IT environments at government and large corporate organizations are usually a result of years of evolution as business practices have changed and grown, and as new systems have been deployed. The systems include commercial off-the-shelf, government off-the-shelf, and custom applications that fulfill specific business needs for the organization. Not surprisingly, these applications are built on different technologies with unique architectures and have their own specific data formats for their business transactions. As a result, applications lack a way to share data or services, leading to islands of information and business capabilities within an organization. Such disconnected environments lead to duplication of data entry, information discrepancy, and lack of information visibility across the enterprise. How can organizations get around this problem? The answer is enterprise integration .Which is the industry term for real-time information exchange across the various business functions of an enterprise. However, integration can be complex and expansive.[ 2]
Integration is the largest spending priority for IT organizations today, according to a survey of chief information officers reported in CIO Magazine (September 2003). The reason is clear: enterprises have underestimated the complexity of application integration, system administration, and maintenance. At the same time, vendors have typically delivered proprietary, restrictive, solutions that perpetuate and even exacerbate the problem.[10]
The need for new systems and technologies, especially with the evolution of the technology let behind the previous systems as legacy systems. As a result of that integrating the legacy systems with the newer had become the main aim to the enterprises. We have chosen myIIUM portal and the library of IIUM University as the context of our study. The myIIUM portal is constantly evolving to make it as the gateway of information and resource for the IIUM community. A gateway to access the following services :
Calendaring
Learning Management System
(LMS)
Course Information
Financial Information
Personal Information
Student Information
Software Repository
Examination & Results
E-meeting
News & Announcement.
But the library of IIUM university is not integrated with the previous services, so the purpose for our papers is to search for the reasons behind not integrate the library with myIIUM portal and to study the possibility of integrate the library with myIIUM portal.
We cannot understand the impact of new technology without considering it with respect to legacy systems. The current enterprise landscape is littered with systems that are result of revolution of business and technology over many years. Systems have been developed to solve specific high-priority problems or achieve specific productivity improvement. Paths have been forged to connect systems to each other to avoid manual intervention and improve response time. In some cases databases are shared by several systems to achieve consistency and streamline communication. However, these databases generally are not the sole repositories for the data they contain, and equivalent but inconsistent data often are stored in other systems.[3]
The evolution of technology also has contributed to the fragmentation of systems. When new systems are developed, the latest technology is employed. Systems build with older technology cannot simply be redeployed using the new technology, but rather require substantial reworking or development to port them to the new technology. If the current business functionality of a system is adequate, there often is no clear incentive to perform the rework. As time goes on, the old systems become more out of date and difficult to operate or integrate because of both changes in the technology and changes in business operations that are reflected in the newer system [3].
Objectives
To study the issue of integration between myIIUM portal and IIUM library system.
To analysis the reasons that are obstacle to integrate these two systems.
Methodology
In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the research method used combined between literature review and face to face interview .The interviews were held with the administration of ITD and IIUM library
Background
Enterprise Integration (EI) seeks to connect systems to achieve system interoperability. In layperson's terms, EI seeks to enable software from different vendors to communicate, notwithstanding differences in infrastructure technology and application architecture.[11]
Implementing enterprise integrations can be complex and daunting, especially for organizations with a legacy information technology environment. The practical approach to integrations should result in maximizing return on investment and achieve a forward-looking, flexible architecture aligned with broader enterprise architecture goals. [2]
There are many integration software vendors in the marketplace that offer integration solutions. Instead of attempting to pick a specific tool or technology for implementing your integration solution, the first step is to determine the integration strategy that will best achieve your business needs. The integration strategy should implement a long-term, enterprise wide model that sets a foundation for sharing data and capabilities across all applications of a business enterprise even as they are modified or replaced.
Integration between systems can be difficult to justify. In most cases, integration is not the driving force behind the acquisition project, so integration is relegated to a secondary status. Those functions required to allow integration (interfaces, context objects, APIs, common authentication, etc.) are frequently priced separately by the vendors or are an added cost during development.[9]
Legacy System Integration
Integration of legacy applications with new applications is a very attractive strategy for several reasons. First, it extends the life cycle of a legacy system by making it available to new applications. Second, it hides the implementation details of the original system from other client applications. Third, it leverages existing legacy software assets by taking advantage of their mission critical functionality. Finally, it minimizes the risk and cost associated with complete re-development or application conversion.
Object wrappers play a vital role in integrating legacy applications. These wrappers can integrate the services provided by a single software component, or can be used as an integration gateway that allows for multiple resources from a diverse range of components to interoperate. Object wrappers may also provide access to high level system services such as, transaction services, naming services, security services, and persistence services [4].
Integration Strategies
Integration technologies and concepts have evolved over the last decade, leading to a multitude of architectures and products in the IT market. Once you get past the marketing hype, however, there are really three broad integration strategies:
Point-to-Point
In a point-to-point integration approach, each application is integrated directly with the other application via an interface module. As shown in Figure 1, each line represents a distinct interface module between the various applications. The interface module contains all of the necessary business rules to extract and transform data between the two applications being integrated. While interfaces of this type can be built and implemented relatively quickly and cheaply, the approach has limited consideration for enterprise-wide data integration. As more applications are interconnected with each other, the numbers of integration modules you need to build and maintain multiply exponentially. Additionally, those interface modules are directly impacted by underlying application upgrades and data changes. You should use a point-to-point integration approach only in an environment with a very limited set of legacy applications that are in sustainment and are not expected to be modified over time [2].
In a Point-to-Point scenario, work moves directly between two applications. In our example, Manager A would hand-deliver the document to Manager B. This is the simplest approach, but there are potential problems. What if Manager B is not available, never returns the document, goes on vacation, or retires? In the world of information technology, Point-to-Point integration is the most commonly found scenario (see Figure 1 below). It is particularly common when the integration involves one or more custom applications. The two applications typically communicate through an Application Programming Interface (API) that is custom-designed specifically to handle data transfer between these two applications. However, the weaknesses remain: what if the receiving application is not available or fails to complete the task? [12]
Figure 1: Point-to-Point Integration
Enterprise Application Integration
The EAI approach is based on a hub-and-spoke integration methodology. This approach consists of a central hub that houses and executes all of the integration logic for the enterprise. Business applications communicate via the hub and not directly with each other. As shown in Figure 2, the enterprise hub is typically supported by a specialized application known as the EAI middleware, which acts as a message broker, routing data exchanges between multiple applications. EAI middleware applications are available as commercial off-the-shelf products from companies specializing in integration technologies [2].
Enterprise Service Bus Integration
The ESB Integration strategy is also based on the hub-and spoke integration topology. With the advent of open, Web based, and service-oriented business applications, EAI middleware applications have evolved to support Web-based communication standards such as SOAP, XML, HTTP, and other services. This new breed of service-oriented architecture- based integration middleware applications is known as ESB middleware. As shown in Figure 3, with this approach, enterprise systems need to be capable of exchanging corporate data and business services across applications using standard Web-based formats and Web services. For legacy applications lacking a Web-services interface, that is achieved by developing an external layer of code often termed the application wrapper. The application wrapper allows for legacy business functions to be openly available for use as enterprise services. The application wrapper contains code to transform data and functions to a standard Web format for communication between the application and the ESB. You will find many organizations implementing ESBs as part of their corporate integration strategy in conjunction with a service-oriented architecture. Like the EAI strategy, the ESB architecture allows for a central data store for the integration business processes, and it provides a single point of control for maintaining data integrity. If done correctly, it can lead to a very nimble IT organization that can adapt to changing business needs rapidly by allowing business applications to plug and play as and when needed [2].
Analysis of ITD role
Information Technology Division (ITD) is the main responsible to handle all technical systems in the IIUM. ITD is currently a division within the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) created to consolidate efforts in providing IT services to the campus community. In this respect, ITD has a role as a service provider to all Kulliyyahs/Divisions/Centres/Mahallah in IIUM. ITD will identify, plan and implement IT projects as well as support and maintain its operations on behalf of the users [5]. The myIIUM portal is constantly evolving to make it as the gateway of information and resource for the IIUM community. It has included most of the systems of the student and staff as under one umbrella which is handled by ITD [6]. Based on the necessity student/staff can access any system in the MyIIUM portal by using single entry. Because integration has been done among all systems excluding IIUM library system. Because the account information in library portal is not integrated with main platform of the MyIIUM portal for staff and student. It requires library barcode as a username and different password to enter the library system itself where MyIIUM portal requires student identity number (Matric no.) as a username and pin number as a password for authentication. ITD does not store library barcode. It is being stored at another database in A&R.
Analysis of Library system
IIUM library is one of the well known libraries in Malaysia. Since 1997 it is serving smoothly to the IIUM students and staff. Until June 2010, IIUM library has used Horizon System. Horizon is a fully integrated client/server library management system, providing a graphical user interface for the library . "It offers the functionality and standards required for an open system, including Web access, Z39.50 standard for information exchange, the TCP/IP communication standard, UNIX and Windows NT for portability" [7]. During that time Horizon was most recent automated library system, it has given friendly interface, and the best information service for users.
Users have been continually faced with change driven by new technology. The internet and web technology have had a huge impact in shaping library systems. As libraries with old systems started to migrate to the new systems. Recently Horizon has become obsolete. Thus IIUM library has migrated Horizon to Symphony system on July 2010. Vendor is same which is SirsiDynix. Symphony is a multitier, versatile, and scalable system with flexible architecture and an open design. It can accommodate both existing and future technologies to meet the expanding needs of libraries and their users. It provides multiplatform support for servers such as Windows, UNIX, and Linux and for operating systems such as Windows and Mac. Workflows is the Java-based staff interface for all Symphony public and technical services software functions and embedded and full Oracle database support[8].
Why they are not integrated?
In this point we are discussing the issues that facing integration problem between ITD and IIUM library. MyIIUM portal was created less than five years and Library has come out with their portal much longer before. During that time Horizon was most recent automated library system, so IIUM library was using this system until last month. On the other hand, ITD is using Oracle Directory Service (ODS) which has been using more than five years in the ITD. Horizon has come to enough life. So Oracle Directory Service (ODS) does not support Horizon system that is why library portal is not integrated with MyIIUM portal. Interms of database most of the systems they are using Oracle database. Library has own database and different parameter. It is really burden for user to remember different username and password for each system. This is initiated by high authority to provide convenience for the users on using single login to access all systems. They are still under stage. Some systems can be direct easily done to be integrated, these have been done. Some systems are more challenges but the drives, the motivation it comes from the system owner to be integrated. While ITD is allowed to integrate any function by respected owner then ITD is eligible to do so.
Challenges faced by ITD and Library
All systems under the MyIIUM portal are ICT system but not all of them belong to ITD. ITD provides this single sign on platform. As it goes, there are many systems belong to the respective system owners. Even though some of the systems are developed by ITD but it is only during the development project, once project is completed it is handed over to the respective owner. On the other hand, there are also some systems are not developed by ITD; these are developed by external parties, vendors, contractors, software houses etc and they handed over to the respective owner. The owner might be a kuillayh, division, centre, mahallah, etc. IIUM library system is not developed by ITD. It is proprietary service which (previously was Horizon now is Symphony) is bought from SirsiDynix that customizes their requirements.
Currently library has migrated Horizon to Symphony system. It's totally a new system. They have changed the database, their workflows. Symphony system supports Oracle Directory Service (ODS) where integration is undemanding. But library is not fully stable yet interms of login system because it has two different accesses itself. One for digital and another for general library system. These have different databases. That things are also not been handled yet. Last time accessing to digital users need to authentication every day, every time. So authority doesn't want to burden on the library servers. That is why it has come out with two different databases. They are looking for integrating both within one access to whole library for user convenience. They are looking for small things first and do integrate. But library system is quite big so it will be integrated by stages.
It has been situation where some technical problems prevent them (ITD) from successfully integration certain systems. For example, student add & Drop system currently not in the MyIIUM portal where previously it was integrated with. Now this system requires individual login. Although it is based on Oracle database. MyIIUM portal depends on ODS. This is the one that actually synchronize the password of other systems. Particularly add & drop and pre registration, this is another oracle database which has thousands of users especially during the time when students do their pre-registration and add & drop. As a consequence it makes bottleneck because of huge access and congested of the system. That is why add & drop system has been removed from the portal. So now this individual system is divided ten different (access) MySQL server. These ten different servers have load balancing facility.
Recommendations
From the literature review and the analysis that stetted at the previous parts of this paper on the current situation of the integration process between MYIIUM portal and IIUM library we can draw some points as a recommendation mainly from two perspective
-Managerial approach
-Since ITD is currently a division within the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) created to consolidate efforts in providing IT services to the campus community. It is envisioned that this unit will evolve into an entity to undertake IT projects on a turnkey basis [5]. So the responsibility of the integration should be with ITD, of course with the collaboration of the IIUM library because the objective is shared, as both of them aims to create a better service for the IIUM community.
Technical approach
Adapting an effective integration strategy is a crucial things for the success of any integration solution .This allows IIUM library system to interface directly to the standardized data model MYIIUM portal. Hence, one of the best integration strategies is Enterprise Service Bus Integration which is according to [2] based on the hub-and spoke integration topology. With the advent of open, Web based, and service oriented business applications, EAI middleware
Conclusion:
Basically the issue of integration between MYIIUM portals and the library system was the challenge to integrate old technology (Horizon) with the new one. But the situation now has changed after the migration of the library to symphony system which is a new technology that can be integrated with deferent systems included oracle. Therefore, there is a great opportunity for integrating the two systems in the future.
