Top 10 Ways To Integrate With Oracle Enterprise Content Management (ECM)

Top 10 Ways To Integrate With Oracle ECM Brian “Bex” Huff Chief Software Architect

Agenda
ECM integration basics
What’s involved, why its useful
The Top 10 ways to integrate
Out-of-the-box tools
Frameworks
Web services
Some honorable mentions…
Less common, but still important!
Recommendations

Integration Basics
UCM is a service-oriented architecture
Easy to consume services from remote applications
Easy to customize services for your needs
Integrations come in several forms
Pre-built integrations
Just install, and configure.
Framework integrations
Lets you easily create content-rich applications and interfaces
Web-service integrations
Direct APIs for the most options and power.
Customizations to the applications
Integrate the back-end with your systems.

The Top Ten…
Secure Enterprise Search
SOAP
Content Integration Suite (CIS/CPS)
Open WCM
JCR Adapter and WebCenter
AJAX / Mashups
AquaLogic Ensemble (WebCenter Services)
Records Management Adapters
BPEL Workflows
Custom components and security integrations

Secure Enterprise Search
Enables you to search across multiple systems
Content Manage Systems: Stellent, Documentum, FileNet
Legacy system: shared file systems, web sites, Lotus Notes
Enterprise Applications: Siebel
Generic database table search
Multiple security options
Global security policy, application specific policy
Can oranize results differently based on user context
Department, location, language, etc.
Easy to set up
Multiple connectors, generic spiders, plus integration API

Secure Enterprise Search screen Find information wherever it lives in your organization. Browse content hierarchy from your search results. Sort results by relevance, date or other criteria. Login to enable secure access to any application you are authorized to see. Filter results by topics or metadata values such as record type, author, or other criteria. See search term highlighted in context in your hit results.

SOAP
Open XML-based protocol for application integration
Typically over the web (HTTP), or in messages
Fundamental part of Microsoft’s .NET framework
Toolkits exist for almost every language and platform
Built into Content Server
SOAP support built into Content Server (7.5 and above)
WSDLGenerator component bundled with Content Server (10gR3 and above); separate extra for 7.5.x
Add IsSoap=1 to any content server URL
Web Services Description Language (WSDL)
Helps SOAP toolkits parse XML into easy to use objects
One object to execute the service
Binds the XML request and response into data objects

SOAP Benefits
All UCM services available through SOAP
Can create XML request manually, or use WSDL
7.5.x and later – pass IsSoap=1 into any URL or request to get back SOAP
All the benefits of XML and HTTP
Simple, extensible, used almost everywhere
Most developers comfortable with the technology
Toolkits available for nearly every language
Java, C, C++, C#
Python, Perl, PHP, Ruby
JavaScript, Flash, Flex

SOAP Challenges
All the drawbacks of XML and HTTP
Stateless requests – both good and bad
Standard security challenges with HTTP
Verbosity presents performance challenges
SOAP (and WSDL) considered needlessly complex
Some prefer ReST-based approach
UCM is mostly, but not entirely, ReST-ful
SOAP with ReST-like simplicity…
Use the IsSoap=1 flag
Use the URL Mapping feature built-in to 10gr3

SOAP vs. ReST
Fewer tools available for security, auto configuration, etc.
No WSDLs
Although it usually is simple enough to not need these tools
HTTP is kind of broken: sometimes it needs help
Messaging, polling, encoding, quality of service.
HTTP not good for all use cases.
Difficult to separate the good ideas from ReST dogma

Content Integration Suite (CIS/CPS)
Standards compliant JEE application for UCM
Client connector, plus service cache
Supported on all major Java app servers
Oracle App Server, Websphere, WebLogic, JBoss, Tomcat
Plain Old Java Objects
Complete coverage of UCM API
Common services available as objects-oriented API
Can execute any UCM service
Can also interface with IPM

CIS/CPS Continued
CIS allows Java apps to communicate with UCM
CIS server connects to Content Server
CIS client is used in your app to connect to CIS server
CIS server caches results for faster performance in peak hours
Server supports multiple interfaces: JMS, JCA, EJB, RMI
Content Portal Suite (CPS) for J2EE Portal Server
Uses CIS to connect to UCM
Contains sample portlets for interacting with UCM
Search, Library, Contribution, Workflow, Admin
Federated Search (Combined search over I/BPM and UCM)

Open Web Content Management
Distributed model for web content management
Manage web content in containers outside the repository
Display images, text, converted Word docs
Alter content in-context with the application!
Standard Site Studio contributor editor
Launch in remote portal or web app
Uses standard workflows, conversion, subscription, etc.
Change it in one portal, see it change in them all!

Open WCM Architecture

Java Content Repository (JCR) Adapter
Java Content Repository
Java standard for content management
Formerly known as JSR170 and JSR283
Oracle’s JCR adapter connects to UCM through CIS
Achieves Level 1 compliance with JCR
Easy integration with WebCenter ADF components
Create a JCR Data Control
Bind to ADF Tables and Trees
Show thumbnails, content, and limited metadatas

JCR Adapter Limitations
Only works with Java
Cannot connect to SharePoint with JCR connectors
Less powerful than SOAP or CIS alone
Very limited feature set
Gives an awkward view of the content repository
Limited ECM vendor adoption; not a popular standard
IBM, EMC, and Microsoft have dropped it in favor of CMIS
Oracle and others will likely follow suit

Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX)
Several AJAX options
Use semi-ReSTful SOAP interface
Put IsSoap=1 into any URL to get SOAP formatted response
Create a read-only SOAP request in JavaScript
Search, content info, workflow info, etc.
Use “Schema” APIs to download option lists
Lists of content metadata
Run queries, cache results in JavaScript files
Mash-up data with other JavaScript accessible resources

Aqua Logic Ensemble
The problem: application proliferation
Dozens of web applications, many done outside IT control.
Portals, web applications, Java, .NET, PHP, Ruby on Rails
IT forced to support whatever becomes business critical.
Management nightmare!
Impossible to find the application you need.
Inconsistent security policies.
How to solve this?
Force everybody to agree to one single framework / language?
Or, mash-up the applications into one interface?

Ensemble Architecture Ensemble Mashup Ensemble Server .NET App JSP Mashup PHP Mashup .NET Mashup Pagelet Pagelet PHP App JSP App Pagelet

Ensemble And UCM
Treat UCM like every other web applications
Create “pagelet” of the screen you want
Site Studio page
Workflow queue
Dynamically converted content
Images, digital assets, folios
Embed UCM Pagelet anywhere in your enterprise
Embed other Pagelets inside a Site Studio web page

Universal Records Management Adapters
Life cycle management is critical for all organizations
Retain content for specific time, according to rules and regulations
Destroy content once it is no longer relevant, or useful
Reduce storage cost, and legal risk
One gigabyte of data:
$0.25 of hardware, $60 / year to maintain, $2500 for a lawyer to review
Where is your business critical content???
No matter what, its not all in your UCM system.
Email archives, SharePoint, file systems
URM Adapters manage life cycle no matter where it is
Custom connectors, generic adapters

URM Architecture Oracle Universal Records Management Discovery Services Central Policy Management Oracle UCM Adapter Oracle I / PM Adapter File Servers Adapter Adapter Adapter Services Adapter: Oracle UCM Adapter: Oracle I / PM Adapter: File Servers Adapter: Microsoft Sharepoint Adapter: Symantec Vault Adapter: Generic Adapter Services Notification Services Physical Records Manager Records Manager

BPEL Workflows
Business Process Execution Language (BPEL)
Workflow language for tying systems together
Some human workflow capabilities (BPEL4People)
Graphically design your workflows
Pass content from content server to enterprise apps
Process through external workflow
Check-in content, update metadata, others?
Tie together processes with SOAP
Workflow events trigger a web service
Workflow approve, search, check-in, update
Makes application integrations simple!

BPEL Diagram

Custom Components and Security
All of UCM is a service oriened architecture
Use “Component Architecture” to add/modify services
Anything you can do in Java, you can do here
Used mostly to add new life-cycles to content items
Also used to quickly modify existing interface
Execute code when specific Filter Events occur
When the server starts-up
When an item enters workflow, is checked-in, or deleted
Add custom code to a service, or override standard behavior

Honorable Mentions
Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS)
Emerging specification that will replace JSR170
Only at version 0.5, but has significant potential
Oracle Real-Time Decisions
Uses analytics to determine what content people might want
Next-best activity
Great idea, but no productized integration yet

Honorable Mentions (continued)
Information Rights Management
Oracle Document Capture
Oracle Universal Online Archive
Siebel Files replacement
ActiveX controls for Windows applications
Command-line utilities for administrators

Which Should You Use?
Are you integrating a Java front-end?
CIS or CPS is probably what you want
Use from Spring, ADF, or Web Center frameworks
SOAP with WSDLs a good second choice
Are you integrating a non-Java front end?
SOAP with WSDLs is the best choice
Are you writing a desktop application?
SOAP a good choice for behind-the-scenes integration

Which Should You Use?
Are you integrating with a remote repository?
BPEL Workflows sometimes the easiest way
Direct SOAP or CIS a good second choice
Sometimes need custom Java component
Connect with standard Java libraries from your code
JDBC, LDAP, IMAP, SOAP, RSS
If you need compliance or Records Management, use Agents
Generic .NET and Java agents have 80% functionality you need
Do you want to execute code when specific events occur?
Example: on startup, when content is checked-in or deleted
Need Java component: Filter or chained Service Handler
Hundreds of filter events and services available for customization

Important Resources
Books:
The Definitive Guide To Stellent Content Server Development
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1590596846
Standard Stellent documentation:
Content Integration Suite / JCR
UCPM API Developer’s Guide, Content Server JCR Repository Adapter
Java Components
Working With Components
SOAP – Using WSDL Generator and SOAP
Content Server JCR Repository Adapter

More Important Resources…
Transforming Infoglut!
A Pragmatic Strategy for Oracle Enterprise Content Management.
Bex Huff and Andy MacMillan
Available on Amazon in January 2009

Special Thanks…
Independent Oracle User Group
http://ioug.org
For inviting me to talk here
Chris Bucchere
[email_address]
For helping me with the Ensemble demo

My Company: http:// bezzotech.com
My Blog: http:// bexhuff.com
My Self: [email_address]
Questions?

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Top 10 Ways To Integrate With Oracle Enterprise Content Management (ECM)

by Brian Huff on Sep 30, 2008

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Top 10 Ways To Integrate With Oracle Enterprise Content Management (ECM) — Presentation Transcript