Integrating enterprise support systems
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method of exchanging information among applications, the method comprising:
- providing a plurality of transformers, each transformer corresponding to a unique transformation from one format into another;
using a first transformer to transform a data object from a format understandable by a first application into a common format data object;
determining a business event type for the common format data object, the business event type representing one or more of a type of function and activity performed by a business;
selecting, from among multiple communication channels defined in an integration hub, a communication channel corresponding to the determined business event type, each of the multiple communication channels defined in the integration hub corresponding to a single business event type and being configured to communicate those common format data objects in the integration hub that correspond to the single business event type;
publishing the common format data object to the selected communication channel that is defined in the integration hub to correspond to the single business event type determined for the common format data object and configured to communicate those common format data objects in the integration hub that correspond to the single business event type determined for the common format data object;
prioritizing communication of the published common format data object on the selected communication channel based on a relative priority associated with the selected communication channel;
subscribing to the selected communication channel to retrieve the published common format data object; and
using a second transformer to transform the published common format data object into a format understandable by a second application,wherein the common format data object includes data needed to perform the one or more of the type of function and activity represented by the business event type determined for the common format data object, andwherein using the second transformer to transform the published common format data object into the format understandable by the second application comprises translating the data needed to perform the one or more of the type of function and activity included in the common format data object to a vendor-specific format used by the second application in processing data objects to enable the second application to perform operations completed in performing the one or more of the type of function and activity represented by the business event type.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Facilitating the exchange of information among applications (e.g., business support systems or operational support systems or a combination thereof) may involve receiving a data object from a first application, using a first controller to route the received data object to a first transformer, using the first transformer to transform the data object from a first format used by the first application into a common format object, publishing the common format object to a communication channel, receiving a request from a subscribing application to subscribe to the communication channel, using a second controller to route the common format object to a second transformer, using the second transformer to transform the common format object into a data object in a second format used by the subscribing application, and sending the data object in the second format to the subscribing application.
103 Citations
48 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of exchanging information among applications, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of transformers, each transformer corresponding to a unique transformation from one format into another; using a first transformer to transform a data object from a format understandable by a first application into a common format data object; determining a business event type for the common format data object, the business event type representing one or more of a type of function and activity performed by a business; selecting, from among multiple communication channels defined in an integration hub, a communication channel corresponding to the determined business event type, each of the multiple communication channels defined in the integration hub corresponding to a single business event type and being configured to communicate those common format data objects in the integration hub that correspond to the single business event type; publishing the common format data object to the selected communication channel that is defined in the integration hub to correspond to the single business event type determined for the common format data object and configured to communicate those common format data objects in the integration hub that correspond to the single business event type determined for the common format data object; prioritizing communication of the published common format data object on the selected communication channel based on a relative priority associated with the selected communication channel; subscribing to the selected communication channel to retrieve the published common format data object; and using a second transformer to transform the published common format data object into a format understandable by a second application, wherein the common format data object includes data needed to perform the one or more of the type of function and activity represented by the business event type determined for the common format data object, and wherein using the second transformer to transform the published common format data object into the format understandable by the second application comprises translating the data needed to perform the one or more of the type of function and activity included in the common format data object to a vendor-specific format used by the second application in processing data objects to enable the second application to perform operations completed in performing the one or more of the type of function and activity represented by the business event type. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer-implemented method of exchanging information among applications, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of transformers, each transformer corresponding to a unique transformation from one format into another; using a first transformer to transform a data object from a format understandable by a first application into a common format data object; determining an event type associated with the common format data object; selecting, from among multiple communication channels each corresponding to a specific event type, a communication channel corresponding to the determined event type; publishing the common format data object to the selected communication channel; prioritizing communication of the published common format data object on the selected communication channel based on a relative priority associated with the selected communication channel; subscribing to the selected communication channel to retrieve the published common format data object; and using a second transformer to transform the published common format data object into a format understandable by a second application, wherein using the first transformer to transform the data object from the format understandable by the first application into the common format data object comprises translating the data object from a vendor-specific format associated with the first application to an Interface Description Language (IDL) object and storing the IDL object in a shared object model. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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23. A computer-implemented method of exchanging information among applications, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of transformers, each transformer corresponding to a unique transformation from one format into another; using a first transformer to transform a data object from a format understandable by a first application into a common format data object; determining an event type associated with the common format data object; selecting, from among multiple communication channels each contending to a specific event type, a communication channel corresponding to the determined event type; publishing the common format data object to the selected communication channel; prioritizing communication of the published common format data object on the selected communication channel based on a relative priority associated with the selected communication channel; subscribing to the selected communication channel to retrieve the published common format data object; and using a second transformer to transform the published common format data object into a format understandable by a second application, wherein using the second transformer to transform the common format data object into the format understandable by the second application comprises retrieving a stored Interface Description Language (JDL) format object from a central repository and translating the JDL object into a vendor-specific format associated with the second application.
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24. A computer-implemented method of facilitating the exchange of information among applications, the method comprising:
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receiving a data object from a first application; using a first controller to route the received data object to a first transformer; using the first transformer to transform the data object from a first format used by the first application into a common format object; determining a business event type for the common format data object, the business event type representing one or more of a type of function and activity performed by a business; selecting, from among multiple communication channels defined in an integration hub, a communication channel corresponding to the determined business event type, each of the multiple communication channels defined in the integration hub corresponding to a single business event type and being configured to communicate those common format data objects in the integration hub that correspond to the single business event type; publishing the common format data object to the selected communication channel that is defined in the integration hub to correspond to the single business event type determined for the common format data object and configured to communicate those common format data objects in the integration hub that correspond to the single business event type determined for the common format data object; prioritizing communication of the published common format data object on the selected communication channel based on a relative priority associated with the selected communication channel; receiving a request from a subscribing application to subscribe to the selected communication channel; using a second controller to route the published common format object to a second transformer; using the second transformer to transform the published common format object into a data object in a second format used by the subscribing application; and sending the data object in the second format to the subscribing application. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A system for facilitating the exchange of information among applications, the system comprising:
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a plurality of digital computers, each of which executes an application, each application being configured to exchange information representative of business events with other applications; and an integration hub in data communication with each of the digital computers for enabling transfer of information representative of business events between applications, the integration hub including a computer-readable medium on which is encoded instructions for causing a computer to perform operations comprising; receiving a data object from a first application executing on a first of the plurality of digital computers; using a first controller to route the received data object to a first transformer; using the first transformer to transform the data object from a first format used by the first application into a common format object; determining a business event type for the common format data object, the business event type representing one or more of a type of function and activity performed by a business; selecting, from among multiple communication channels defined in the integration hub, a communication channel corresponding to the determined business event type, each of the multiple communication channels defined in the integration hub corresponding to a single business event type and being configured to communicate those common format data objects in the integration hub that correspond to the single business event type; publishing the common format data object to the selected communication channel that is defined in the integration hub to correspond to the single business event type determined for the common format data object and configured to communicate those common format data objects in the integration hub that correspond to the single business event type determined for the common format data object; prioritizing communication of the published common format data object on the selected communication channel based on a relative priority associated with the selected communication channel; receiving a request from a subscribing application executing on a second of the plurality of digital computers to subscribe to the selected communication channel; using a second controller to route the published common format object to a second transformer; using the second transformer to transform the published common format object into a data object in a second format used by the subscribing application; and sending the data object in the second format to the subscribing application. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A tangible medium having encoded thereon instructions for facilitating the exchange of information among applications, execution of the instructions causing one or more machines to perform operations comprising:
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receiving a data object from a first application; using a first controller to route the received data object to a first transformer; using the first transformer to transform the data object from a first format used by the first application into a common format object; determining a business event type for the common format data object, the business event type representing one or more of a type of function and activity performed by a business; selecting, from among multiple communication channels defined in an integration hub, a communication channel corresponding to the determined business event type, each of the multiple communication channels defined in the integration hub corresponding to a single business event type and being configured to communicate those common format data objects in the integration hub that correspond to the single business event type; publishing the common format data object to the selected communication channel that is defined in the integration hub to correspond to the single business event type determined for the common format data object and configured to communicate those common format data objects in the integration hub that correspond to the single business event type determined for the common format data object; prioritizing communication of the published common format data object on the selected communication channel based on a relative priority associated with the selected communication channel; receiving a request from a subscribing application to subscribe to the selected communication channel; using a second controller to route the published common format object to a second transformer; using the second transformer to transform the published common format object into a data object in a second format used by the subscribing application; and sending the data object in the second format to the subscribing application. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A computer-implemented method of exchanging information among applications, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of transformers, each transformer corresponding to a unique transformation from one format into another; using a first transformer to transform a data object from a format understandable by a first application into a common format data object; determining a business event type for the common format data object, the business event type representing one or more of a type of function and activity performed by a business; selecting, from among multiple communication channels defined in an integration hub, a communication channel corresponding to the determined business event type, each of the multiple communication channels defined in the integration hub corresponding to a single business event type and being configured to communicate those common format data objects in the integration hub that correspond to the single business event type; publishing the common format data object to the selected communication channel that is defined in the integration hub to correspond to the single business event type determined for the common format data object and configured to communicate those common format data objects in the integration hub that correspond to the single business event type determined for the common format data object; prioritizing communication of the published common format data object on the selected communication channel based on a relative priority associated with the selected communication channel; subscribing to the selected communication channel to retrieve the published common format data object; and using a second transformer to transform the published common format data object into a format understandable by a second application, wherein determining the business event type for the common format data object comprises determining a business event type of at least one of a create order business event type, an add product business event type, an add service instance business event type, an apply account level adjustment business event type, a cancel product business event type, a cancel service instance business event type, a create customer business event type, a maintain account business event type, a maintain service instance business event type, an update account status business event type, and an update product status business event type; and wherein selecting, from among multiple communication channels defined in the integration hub, the communication channel corresponding to the determined business event type comprises selecting a communication channel corresponding to at least one of the create order business event type, the add product business event type, the add service instance business event type, the apply account level adjustment business event type, the cancel product business event type, the cancel service instance business event type, the create customer business event type, the maintain account business event type, the maintain service instance business event type, the update account status business event type, and the update product status business event type.
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Specification