Enterprise web service data to mobile device synchronization

• US 7,983,249 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2007
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Galluzzo, John, Nemitz, George
• Primary Examiner(s): Hu; Jinsong
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nealon; William
• Application Number:
  US11/626,238
• Publication Number:
  US 20080176536A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,638 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/359
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

A Mobile Enterprise Platform utilizes a web based service that synchronizes enterprise data between a plurality of disparate mobile devices and a plurality of backend enterprise resources. The Mobile Enterprise Platform creates a web service synchronization source instance using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”) for each application or database present on a plurality of mobile devices. Corresponding to each of these web service synchronization source instances is a web based synchronization service associated with a specific backend enterprise resource. Each synchronization service is web based and can thus live anywhere on the network or on a dedicated services tie as they need only to supply a small set of operations to offer synchronization capability to a variety of mobile devices.

Claims

1. A method for synchronizing enterprise data between different backend enterprise resources and different network mobile devices, the method comprising:

accepting a request from a mobile device at a mobile enterprise platform to synchronize enterprise data present on the mobile device and on a backend enterprise resource, wherein the mobile enterprise platform is communicatively interposed between the backend enterprise resource and the mobile device;

parsing the synchronization request;

accessing a synchronization database to identify a backend enterprise resource being targeted by the mobile device;

configuring a synchronization source instance that is designed, based on data obtained from the synchronization database during the accessing step, to delegate portions of the synchronizing to a resource specific synchronization service independent of the mobile enterprise platform, wherein the resource specific synchronization service is configured to implement an interface with the backend enterprise resource;

receiving, via the resource specific synchronization service, enterprise data from the backend enterprise resource at the mobile enterprise platform; and

sending, from the mobile enterprise platform, the received enterprise data to the mobile device so that the enterprise data on the mobile device is identical to the enterprise data sent from the backend enterprise resource.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the resource specific synchronization service may reside anywhere on the network.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein resource specific synchronization service communications from the mobile enterprise platform to the backend enterprise resource use SOAP/HTTP protocols.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile enterprise platform interfaces with the resource specific synchronization service so that only required information is accessed from the backend enterprise resource.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile enterprise platform comprises a server isolated from both the mobile device and the backend enterprise resource by a firewall.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile enterprise platform comprises at least one resource proxy server and wherein the resource proxy server creates synchronization source instances.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile enterprise platform is XML based representation protocol wherein XML defined document type and is used for SyncML commands and data representation.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein SyncML is represented in XML and transported using HTTP.

9. A method for synchronizing enterprise data between a backend enterprise resource and a mobile device, the method comprising:

receiving a request from the mobile device at a synchronization server to synchronize enterprise data present on the mobile device and on the backend enterprise resource, wherein the synchronization server is communicatively interposed between the backend enterprise resource and the mobile device, and wherein the synchronization server is in communication with a synchronization database;

parsing the request and identifying the backend enterprise resource by accessing data associated with the synchronization database;

configuring a synchronization source instance that is designed, based on the data obtained from the synchronization database, to delegate portions of the synchronizing to a synchronization service independent of the synchronization server;

identifying enterprise data present on the mobile device that has been modified;

detecting by the synchronization service enterprise data present on the backend enterprise resource that has been modified;

gathering all modified enterprise data at the synchronization server;

synchronizing the modified enterprise data at the synchronization server; and

updating enterprise data present on the backend enterprise resource via the synchronization service and enterprise data present on the mobile device with unified synchronized enterprise data independent of the type of mobile device and operating system associated with the mobile device.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein communications among the synchronization server, the backend enterprise resource and the mobile device is represented in XML and transported using HTTP.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the synchronization server authenticates the mobile device.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein identifying and detecting are accomplished by the synchronization server.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein enterprise data that has been modified comprises new, updated and deleted enterprise data.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising communicating among the synchronization server, the backend enterprise resource and the mobile device via a synchronization web service.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the synchronizing comprises comparing modified enterprise data from the mobile device to modified data from the backend enterprise resource.

16. A mobile enterprise platform for enabling a plurality of different mobile devices to synchronize with a plurality of different backend resources, the mobile enterprise platform comprising:

a synchronization engine configured to accept a data synchronization request from a mobile device, parse the data synchronization request, and access a synchronization database to identify a backend resource being targeted by the mobile device; and

a connector module operable to configure a unique synchronization source instance for each data synchronization request from the mobile device that is designed, based on data obtained from the synchronization database by the synchronization engine, to delegate portions of the synchronizing to a synchronization service independent of the mobile enterprise platform, wherein the unique synchronization source instance comprises;

a web service proxy for interfacing with the synchronization engine; and

a web service client that executes an interface between the connector module and the synchronization engine;

wherein the web service client is operable to connect with a synchronization service that is linked to one of the plurality of different backend resources;

wherein the synchronization engine and the connector module are housed within a common synchronization server.

17. The mobile enterprise platform of claim 16, wherein the web services client is operable to call the synchronization service and obtain updated data from the one of the plurality of different backend resources.

18. The mobile enterprise platform of claim 16, further comprising a synchronization server web service description language (“

WSDL”

) coupled to the connector module that is operable to provide configuration files for the unique synchronization source instance.