Telco of high standard

Two years ago, while planning its applications architecture, IPCommunications standardised on Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) due topositive experience with it previously. "Our concept was that theapplication server would be core to all our systems, such that anysystem to be built - and any integration to be carried out - would gothrough the application server," says IP's vice president ofInformation Systems Rick Barry. "As we weren't sure what systems weregoing to be implemented over the next year, we selected an applicationserver and integration platform that would allow us to integrate ourvertical applications. Applications will come and go, but thisintegration infrastructure will be maintained for years," headds.

Integration has a strategic focus within IP Communications as thetelecommunications industry has not fully integrated its systems,despite the proliferation of manually intensive business processes fordata management across multiple suppliers, customers and internalresources. Barry believes that 35 percent of an IS budget should bespent on integration. "We constantly challenge ourselves by asking,'As IT leaders in our companies, why aren't we focusing onintegration? Do we have a separate shop focusing onintegration?"

With a manually intensivebusiness that was expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 248percent, IP Communications had to deploy a Telecom Operational SupportSystem infrastructure quickly. It had to be executed with a small IToutfit comprising more generalists than specialists. Technically, theinfrastructure had to be scalable and flexible with reusablecomponents, open and based on industry standards, and easy to deployand use. The solution had to be vertical- and component- based, anddeployed within three months. IP Communications also wantedWeb-enabled thin clients (Java Server Pages), integration via XML(eXtensible Markup Language) and Java Messaging Server (JMS), and alimit on the number of different technologies involved.

In late 2000, the company bought BEA Systems Inc.'s WebLogic Serverand WebLogic Integration to carry out two integration projects. Thefirst - enterprise application integration (EAI) - automates order flowfrom J2EE to its DCOM-based billing system. The second - B2Bintegration with Southwestern Bell, a U.S. telecommunications companywith which it had to connect via EDI - transmits complex transactionsback and forth using EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), JMS and SecureSockets Layer (SSL).