Intergen Smarts 9 (2005)

INT Smarts 9_2 6/4/05 9:44 AM Page 2
Ed has recently returned to New Zealand after spending five years working for
Microsoft in Redmond. Ed worked for Glazier Systems between 1995 and 1998
so it is great to have him back.
Intergen is continuing to lead the way with integration projects using BizTalk
Server. We have now completed several projects for clients integrating their ERP
with the Foodstuffs B2B interface. We are also starting to use BizTalk more in
the SOA projects we are undertaking. Adam and Nikolai have been selected to
attend Microsoft "Deep Dive" training for BizTalk Server in Australia. The training
covers advanced topics for experienced BizTalk developers.
We have recently released a totally new version of our web site. The new site
is hosted on EPiServer and is a major update to the way Intergen
is represented on the Internet. A big thank you to the
Creative Team who put in a lot of extra hours to design
and implement the new look.
As part of out new web site we have improved
our careers section. We have a number of
positions that we are trying to fill. If you know
of a person who you think would enjoy the
challenges that Intergen offers please refer them
to www.intergen.co.nz/careers
I hope you enjoy this edition of SMARTS and, as always,
if you want more information about any of the articles feel
free to email the author directly or email me.
The Intergen team have had a busy start to the
year with a number of new projects underway,
four new graduate trainees and a couple of
conference papers delivered.
The EPiServer Content Management System that we launched late last year has
exceeded our expectations. We currently have four significant
implementations underway spread between our Auckland,
Wellington and Christchurch offices. It has proven to be
a worthy addition to our content management offering
alongside Microsoft Content Management Server.
We have expanded our specialist CMS team to
cope with the additional EPiServer work on top
of our Microsoft CMS projects.
We have delivered papers at two conferences over
the past month. Paul Quirk spoke at the Service
Oriented Architecture (SOA) conference on our
experiences completing quite a large number of
development projects using the SOA approach. Ed Robinson
also delivered a paper at the Portal Management Conference.
I S S U E N I N E
>> HOT NEWS:
>> T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E
Ready, steady...
< Copyright 2005 Intergen Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of Intergen Limited >
tony.stewart@intergen.co.nz
CMS Team
SECURITY >> 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS >>
TECHNICAL >>
CREATIVE >>
CONSULTING AND
CONFERENCES
ISSP >>
UPDATE >>
>>
EPiServer success. World famous
in Scandinavia, now in New Zealand.
We’re thrilled with the take up of
EPiServer Content Management
System since we launched it late last
year. So far we have signed up a range
of public and private organisations
and we’ve renewed our own web site
using the EPiserver technology.
EPiServer is the most widely used web
publishing tool in Scandinavia, with
over 1150 sites.
What makes EPiServer so good is that
it caters to the needs of technical staff
in regard to security, performance and
expandability but it is a web
publishing tool for simple and swift
handling of information on intranets,
extranets and public web sites.
For more details see:
www.intergen.co.nz/episerver

Surf safely – how to secure
your home PC
>> INTERGENITE:
< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E >>> S E C U R I T Y>>2
Keeping your home PC 100% secure from hackers
and viruses is virtually impossible. But don’t despair,
there is a lot you can do to keep your PC secure
which is free, simple and gives 99% protection.
T h e t h r e a t s :
>> Viruses/Trojans/Worms: small programmes that replicate through email
or the network
>> Spyware: many free programmes install spyware and adware when you
download them. This software monitors your surfing habits, generates extra
pop-up ads and sends information to the spyware vendor. It slows your
machine and internet connection down.
>> Intruders: people trying to hijack your internet connection or access your
files via the internet.
The best way to guard against these threats is to ‘protect the perimeter’, ie the
internet connection. Think of it as locking the doors to your car. Here are eight
steps for doing this:
1 Use Windows XP, with Service Pack 2 and apply security updates
as they are released. Windows XP is the most secure version of windows.
Service pack 2 turns off unnecessary services and includes a firewall, pop-up
ad blocker for internet explorer, checks virus signatures, and has automatic
‘set and forget’ detection and download of security updates.
2 Run antivirus software and keep it up to date. Any of the big three:
Symantec, McAfee or Computer Associates eTrust are good. I use eTrust at
home – it has the best performance and a 12 month free trial. All these
products update their list of ‘virus signatures’ automatically from the web.
Nick Urry
What do you do?
I’m a developer for the Development
and Integration team. The majority
of my work has been in the content
management space, with experience
in both Microsoft Content Management
server and EPiServer products.
How do you make a difference?
With over five years experience in web
development I have had the
opportunity to work with many
different technologies on a range of
projects. I believe it is this experience
that helps me continually strive to
improve the way we are doing things.
What do you love about your job?
Since joining Intergen I have learnt
many new skills, the atmosphere is fun
and relaxed but with an expectation
to produce real quality in the work we
do. It is this culture that makes Intergen
a really great place to work.
A bit about yourself
Outside of work I am heavily involved
with the Scout Association and spend
much of my spare time in the outdoors,
sailing, tramping and camping. Any
time I have left I have been spending
on studying for some Microsoft
qualifications, though it is easy to get
distracted by a good book.
3 Anti-spyware software. The industry leaders are Ad-Aware and SpyBot.
Neither detects all Spyware so use both. I run both weekly – it takes about
an hour.
4 Do some research before downloading software. Installing new software
is like handing over the keys to your car to a stranger. The biggest danger
is spyware. If the software download comes from a vendor I trust, like Microsoft,
Apple or Macromedia, I install it. If not, I search on download.com which
includes editorial reviews and details of which software includes spyware.
If I can’t find it on download.com, I don’t install it.
5 Be cautious of P2P file-sharing services, like Morpheus, Grokster,
Kazaa. Most of these are laden with spyware and are the first places that
virus writers post new viruses.
6 Don’t trust emails attachments. Many viruses are spread through email.
A good rule is if someone emails you an unexpected attachment, be cautious.
7 Run a firewall. This closes unnecessary access points into your computer.
One comes free with Windows XP.
8 If you run a wireless network use WEP or WPA: these are encryption
mechanisms bundled with most wireless routers that prevent people from
connecting to your wireless network, using your internet connection, and
accessing files.
These steps will protect your computer from most threats, although it is impossible
to get 100% security. I also use one other simple, but powerful, technique. I turn
my computer off when I’m not using it – bad guys can’t launch an internet attack
on your computer when it isn’t turned on.
Ed Robinson works in the Professional Services division at Intergen and can
be contacted at edrob@intergen.co.nz. He is the author of:
Upgrading Visual Basic 6.0 to Visual Basic .NET and Security for Visual Basic .NET
Both available from Microsoft Press.
Some useful links:
Service Pack 2 for Windows XP http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/default.mspx
Computer Associates eTrust free 12 month trial http://www3.ca.com/Solutions/Collateral.asp?CID=39914
LavaSoft’s Ad-Aware: http://www.lavasoft.de/ms/index.htm
SpyBot Search-and-destroy http://www.safer-networking.org/microsoft.en.html
Download.com http://www.download.com
Dictionary of spyware http://www.spywareinfo.com/

< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E > >>3>> B U S I N E S S S O L U T I O N S
This is where Microsoft BizTalk Server (BTS) 2004 fits into
the picture. BTS is perfectly designed to fit with the four
tenets of SOA:
>> Boundaries are explicit: BTS passes defined
messages between applications.
>> Services are autonomous: BTS’s publish/
subscribe methodology ensures each application
is independent.
BizTalk Server 2004
Delivers on SOA Dream
Service Oriented Architecture is a phrase that is
getting a lot of buzz in technology circles, so much
so that Microsoft XML architect Don Box (who
proposed the four tenets of SOA) is suggesting
that the term is so over used that the software
industry is attempting to invent or recycle some
equally vague term to replace it.
SOA is not a new concept, yet it was not until the advent of web services that
technology caught up to allow businesses to realise the SOA vision. The concept
is simple; instead of building one big ‘black box’ application, the applications
are broken up into smaller ‘black box’ services. These smaller services are then
aggregated into a larger complete solution. If the business needs change the
affected service can be extended or swapped with a new one.
Gartner VP Roy Schulte said “Agility generally involves event-driven business
practices, facilitated by service-oriented architectures.” He used a great analogy
to describe SOA. “Changing a truck’s direction is easier than making a train go
where the tracks don’t.”
When solutions are developed using SOA it can be challenging to aggregate the
smaller services back into a complete business solution.
In BTS messages are received and sent via an adapter. Some examples of BTS adapters include (EDI, FILE, SOAP, HTTP, FTP, SAP,
SQL and SHAREPOINT).
Messages pass into BTS through a receive pipeline for pre-processing. The receive pipeline can take a raw inbound message,
decode and decrypt it, disassemble it into parts and then translate it into an internal XML format.
A business process, like an ordered sequence of operations, is invoked on top of the messaging operations. In BTS business
processes are implemented using the orchestration and business rules engines. Business rules are contained inside versioned
policies and provide a business analyst with an easy-to-read view of the rules that are used in the business process. Orchestrations
can be easily exposed as web services and also consume other web services or orchestrations.
Messages pass out of BTS through a send pipeline for post-processing. The send pipeline can take an XML file, convert it into
the outbound format (XML/EDI/Flat file), aggregate it into a batch and encrypt it to create an outbound message.
In summary, BTS is the most service-oriented product that Microsoft ships. With the advances in web service technology SOA
is not just a good idea it is a reality. Without entering into a messaging verses object debate, BTS is about messages and agile
development, the pretext for all successful business process. That has got to be good for the enterprise.
nigel.parker@intergen.co.nz
So how does it all work?
BTS Logical Server architecture:
>> Services share schema and contract, not class:
BTS is message-based. There are defined schemas which
are shared between applications.
>> Service compatibility is based on policy: BTS uses
policies to route messages between services. Metadata
is used to describe expected message formats. Information
such as transport and security requirements is decoupled
from the services themselves.
BIZTALK
Publish and
Subscribe Message
INBOUND
MESSAGE
RECEIVE PORT
OUTBOUND
MESSAGE
<XML MESSAGE>
Adapter
Receive Pipeline
Decode
Disassemble
BUSINESS PROCESS
Business Rules
Engine
Orchestrations
Validate
Party Resolution
<XML MESSAGE>
<XML MESSAGE> <XML MESSAGE>
SEND PORT
Adapter
Send Pipeline
Preassemble
Assemble
Encode

T h e W S - * s t a n d a r d s a r e :
WS-Security – one problem with the web was that it exposed your business
data to the internet but didn’t secure that data. WS-Security is a set of specifications
built on existing X509 and Public Key Infrastructure standards to provide end-
to-end security and message encryption.
WS-Addressing – this standard provides a transport neutral mechanism
that moves information from the HTTP layer into the message.
It identifies a web service like an IP address identifies a computer on
the network. This provides flexibility in transport choice and
futureproofing for new transport technologies.
WS-Policy – all web services have a set of requirements
that must be met by a service consumer. WS-Policy provides
a standard way to document those requirements. The policy
is automatically enforced and validated, reducing the
amount of code developers need to write.
WS-Coordination – the loosely aligned nature of web
services requires frameworks for managing transactions
across applications. This standard provides support for
atomic, commit and rollback transactions as well as long
running transactions that may span hours or days.
Microsoft provides support for a set of the WS-* standard
in Web Service Enhancements 2.0 (WSE 2.0) which
allows developers to create web services that adhere
to the standards.
A major innovation on the horizon is Indigo. Indigo is
not a replacement of web services but a progression towards
a service-oriented world in which web services play a major
role. It unifies the technologies being used in developing
connected applications into a single programming model.
Indigo provides support for advanced web services to
allow for the creation of secure, reliable and transacted
messaging and interoperability.
Mark Delaney
What do you do?
I am a graphic designer specialising
in visual interface and interaction
design of web sites and applications.
A web site needs to not only be
enjoyable to visit but usable as well.
My job is to create appealing and
engaging interfaces that interact with
the intended audience that are
effective, whether for a corporate
intranet or an online retail website.
I love the people and the opportunity
to work on interesting projects. Being
paid to do something you have a
passion for ain’t that bad either!
I graduated from Otago University
with a Bachelor of Arts and a post-
graduate diploma in graphic design
and joined the Intergen team in
2002. Since then I have accumulated
a vast amount of experience in
interaction design. It’s what I do every
day. Design is not just a job but a
way of life for me. Outside of work I
love art, architecture, fashion, music,
reading and keeping fit at the gym.
WS Up?!
In each edition of SMARTS we update you on a
technical matter. In this issue we tell you about
the standards that regulate web services.
Web services such as XML, SOAP, WSDL, HTTP and UDDI are the cornerstone
of the web. They’ve been used in many, many organisations. However, their lack
of enterprise level capabilities such as security, transaction support and guaranteed
and reliable messaging has limited their usefulness. To get these enterprise
capabilities, additional technology or custom development has been needed,
such as BizTalk Server for reliable messaging or custom security models for
message encryption.
To bridge the gap between the cornerstone web services and the additional
capabilities that businesses need, web service standards have been developed.
They are commonly referred to as WS-*.
Two organisations are responsible for the creation and implementation of web
service standards: World Wide Consortium (W3C) – responsible for XML, XSLT,
SOAP, HTML, HTTP; and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured
Information Standards (OASIS) which is responsible for PKI, ebXML and many
of the new WS Standards. A third body, Web Service Interoperability (WS-I),
provides best practices, tools and sample applications that ensure cross platform
interoperability of the standards provided by W3C and OASIS. These organisations
are independent, and partly funded through memberships fees. They are
responsible for maintaining internet and e-business standards.
< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E >>>4 >> T E C H N I C A L
>> INTERGENITE:
paul.quirk@intergen.co.nz

>> C R E A T I V E >>5< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E >

< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E >>>6 >> C O N S U L T I N G A N D C O N F E R E N C E S
More than
hot air
There is probably no typical consulting engagement but here’s how the
professional services team worked with the Ministry for the Environment’s
Climate Change Office (CCO). The challenge was to undertake a business
and technical analysis and other requirements for the proposed New Zealand
Carbon Accounting System (NZCAS).
This initiative has received significant impetus as the CCO shoulders
New Zealand’s new responsibilities for carbon reporting following the
finalisation of the Kyoto Protocol.
The three-month project included wide consultation with current producers and
analysts of New Zealand carbon sequestration data – Landcare Research, Forest
Research, Agriquality and Ministry of Agriculture and Forests. It resulted in a
recommendation about data collection, storage and analysis which will now be
piloted to test assumptions and feasibility.
Watch out for more details in future editions.
The forum focused on the changing landscape in business and IT architecture
with four keynote addresses and many interactive breakout sessions.
The business theme discussed the evolution of enterprise architecture, driven by
the pressure to respond to a more interactive business environment, and an
increase in collaboration between workers. Today businesses are facing new
challenges in keeping agile with the market. The older process-driven models
were discussed as slow to adapt with favour been given to domain-driven models.
The IT theme was service orientation and connected systems. Service orientation
provides an abstracted view of the functions delivered to an enterprise, and
defines the contract between a service and consumer to enable pieces of larger
systems to be snapped together and swapped out as an enterprise evolves those
systems. Technologies such as web services and the WS-* standards now allow
these services to be connected together in a secure and reliable way, robust for
the demands of a business.
Both of these themes were seen to be converging with service orientation
supporting the new needs of business to be responsive to change both in working
with new partners and responding to internal changes and systems; and to
quicken the evolution of systems to meet new business needs.
Intergen is a leader in the field of Service Oriented Architecture, and can provide
strategic and architectural consulting as well as development services to help
evolve your enterprise architecture.
jeremy.boyd@intergen.co.nz
Watch on evolving
architecture
Jeremy Boyd was recently invited
to attend the Microsoft Asia Pacific
Regional Architects Forum in Brisbane,
Australia. The forum is a gathering of lead
architects and CTO/CIO’s from customers
and partners across the Asia Pacific region.

>> INTERGENITE:
Adam Green
What do you do?
I work in the Auckland Development
& Integration team as a team leader.
As well as participating in the day to
day development of systems using a
range of Microsoft technologies, I
oversee the architecture of a lot of
the systems we build.
I help identify and implement ways
in which we can build better solutions.
This sounds simple, but successful
solutions consist of many facets –
performance, security, extensibility,
scalability and reliability. And most
of all, building a system that suits the
needs of the customer. I want to see
us become world solution providers
this year.
I love being part of a fun, motivated,
intelligent and hard working team of
people who genuinely believe in the
solutions they build.
After hours I spend lots of time with
my three year old son Mitchell. He’s
a barrel of laughs and always keen to
help around the garden. He has a lot
more tools and garden implements
than I do.
>> I S S P < S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E > >>7
Yet despite this seemingly dire portfolio, the major economies and markets
continue to be bullish, if a little volatile.
At the same time, information technology and communication price performance
improvement is relentless. The 21st century is forecast to deliver 20,000 years
of technology change at today’s rate of progress. Be it robotics, biotechnology
or nanotechnology, the speed of lifestyle and business style change will be
(and already is) profound.
Countries and companies will succeed or fail in this highly competitive, connected
and globalised world. The outcome will be decided by their ability to rapidly
and continuously innovate, reinvent and adapt. And even the most basic service
innovation will require information technology mastery. Mobility, security, content,
web services, ERP, skills availability, business imperatives – the Chief Information
Officer’s (CIO) role is increasingly central.
Driving IT operational excellence for the organisation is now a minimum
competency. Where the fast-paced flow of information has become the life blood
of all business, the CIO is ideally positioned to be strategist, opportunity translator
and innovation change agent.
Break a leg!
mark.fowler@globalforesight.net
CIO innovator change
agents in a volatile world
The world is experiencing an unsettling raft of
geopolitical and economic disruption such as:
>> Religious and political turbulence and uncertainty in the Middle East
>> More nuclear-armed nations
>> Crude oil regularly surpassing US$50 per barrel
>> China growing and consuming at double-digit growth rates as the
planet’s low cost factory
>> Unfettered import demand from US consumers driving the US trade
imbalance upwards at US$60 billion per month. To both become, and be accepted as an effective innovation change
agent, the CIO needs to start with two programmes:
1 Identify emerging trends and disruptions: as change accelerates, it’s
critical to regularly scan for, and identify rapidly forming industry and
IT industry opportunities and disruptions.
2 Reposition IT as value: through regular presentations and discussions
shift the executive mental model from IT as a cost to be contained, to
IT as strategic investment and business value enabler.

>> U P D A T E < S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E >
F i n d o u t m o r e a b o u t I n t e r g e n :
Auckland: 09 966 3070
Wellington: 04 472 2021
Christchurch: 03 964 0017
info@intergen.co.nz
www.intergen.co.nz
We’re curious, why did the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives go to the
effort to write an Information System Strategic Plan (ISSP)?
We had reached a stage where we were running many different projects and applications
and needed to consider the way we were operating and priorities for development. Looking
to the future we needed to consider what comes first and what implications does changing
one thing have on others. So we needed a plan.
You selected Intergen to help you with your plan. What convinced you that this was a
good choice?
We were looking for people to deal with the technical challenge but who also could
understand the organisational dynamics. Plus we had worked with them before and could
see that they had the right staff to work with in this area.
We know that the plan laid out a number of strategies to help the Office of the Clerk.
Were their any particular strategies which stood out in your mind?
The strategic approach (looking at what was best) was something that we valued rather
than a bottom up approach (trying to fit what was there into something for the future).
The output is outlined in eight central themes which are being followed up by individual
tactical plans.
Any last thoughts about the exercise you went through? Would you recommend this
kind of ‘introspection’ for other organisations?
I cannot see how an organisation can manage without doing it. The complexity and formality
can vary but going off the top of your head is not acceptable. The size of our organisation
means that we are too small for a dedicated planning resource so we needed to bring in a
skilled outside resource for a short period which had an appreciation of our organisation and
its environment. Using external experts you get new ideas and a fresh perspective on things.
We hope that in the future the ISSP can be reviewed in house with Intergen used to critique
and challenge the review.
The Intergen Twilight Seminars are casual late
afternoon sessions that inform you about current
trends, technologies and
initiatives in the space where
business and information
technology overlap.
The seminars include an interactive
presentation followed by questions, drinks
and nibbles. They are presented by topic
experts either from within Intergen or from
one of our business partners. They are not
sales oriented but designed to inform, educate
and initiate discussion. Guests are welcome
to stay around for a drink and discussion with the presenters and other attendees.
To be added to the Twilight Seminar invitation contact list please email,
or call Kelly on 04 472 2021.
Fail to plan and you plan to fail
The Office of the Clerk
has been a client of
Intergen for some
time and when they
recognised the need
to have some external
expertise help them
evaluate and plan
their IT services they
turned to Intergen.
Peter Carr, Manager
Corporate Services talks
with SMARTS:
Twilights

Intergen Smarts 9 (2005)

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