WebSphere/Domino Integration general guidelines

To help you determine if the WebSphere/Domino Integration custom designs are appropriate for the design of your Web-based application, the following information details the business and IT scenario into which a WebSphere/Domino Integration solution fits.

Businesses developing a solution needing the following characteristics should consider using a WebSphere/Domino Integration design:

• The end-users and customers need to directly interact with business processes.
• The business process needs to be integrated with existing business systems and information.
• The business process must be reachable in a common, consistent, and simplified manner through multiple delivery channels.
• The business activity demands and fosters collaboration and the sharing of information among its participants.

WebSphere/Domino Integration solutions combine the transactional functionality of the Self-Service business pattern with the collaborative functionality of the Collaboration business pattern. The Self-Service business pattern is commonly observed in e-business solutions that provide users the ability to access their information and change it by interacting directly with core business systems and databases. This pattern captures the essence of direct interactions between users and the enterprise. Such interactions can range from simple static information lookup to complex updates involving enterprise data. The Collaboration business pattern occurs in e-business solutions that involve one or two way interactions between users of the solution. Examples of applications that use the Self-Service business pattern in combination with the Collaboration business pattern include the following:

• Customer-facing applications, such as an Online Broker application, that allow investors to manage their portfolios and make equity trades across the Web, and also allow investors to collaborate with the broker's help desk
• Business partner-facing applications, such as a dealer extranet, that allow dealers of a manufacturing company to link their sales distribution operations to the shop floor processes by exchanging forecast, demand, and production information, and also facilitate online collaboration with the manufacturer's sales department

WebSphere/Domino Integration solutions might consist of all or some of the following elements:

• Multiple Users, who:
  • May be within the enterprise, in partner organizations or in any other location across the globe
  • Will typically access the solution using a web browser or a browser-based Internet appliance. The enterprise has very little or no control over how this device is set-up or configured. Access from non-browser based devices can be supported by adding pervasive device support patterns to the base Self-Service patterns.
  • Can access the solution from any location across the Internet
• A network, which:
  • Is based on TCP/IP and other Internet technologies
  • Can be a dedicated LAN connection, a broadband connection or a dial-up connection
• A set of collaboration services, which can include support for:
  • A directory that allows users to locate others on the network. This directory can also store security and access privileges associated with each user.
  • Different types of data, from simple text to sophisticated and complex large data elements such as streaming audio and video.
  • Transient and persistent data sources that facilitate the collaboration.
• Enterprise systems, which can be:
  • Custom developed systems (old and new)
  • ERP systems and other packaged applications such as SAP, BAAN and PeopleSoft
  • Databases
• A set of interactions that represent business functions provided to users and might include:
  • One to one, one to many, and many to many collaborations.
  • Simple and complex workflows involving users, programs, or applications.

This pattern can be observed in solutions such as a Web based retailer that allows customers to shop for and buy apparel, cosmetics and other retail goods by accessing a catalog of items and order entry functions from their browsers across the Internet, and also allows the customer to collaborate directly with the help desk.

If you have determined that the WebSphere/Domino Integration custom designs can provide an appropriate solution design for the application you are developing, next review the specific connection methods and hybrid Runtime patterns for your choice:

• WebSphere V3.5 and V4.0 / Domino Integration patterns
  • Connection Methods
  • Hybrid Runtime patterns
• WebSphere V5 / Domino 6 Integration patterns
  • Connection Methods
  • Hybrid runtime patterns

If the WebSphere/Domino Integration custom designs are not appropriate for your development efforts, review the Business patterns to determine which pattern best addresses your e-business needs.