Amjad Umar

Reengineering for service oriented architectures: A strategic decision model for integration versus migration

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a popular paradigm at present because it provides a standards-based conceptual framework for flexible and adaptable enterprise wide systems. This implies that most present systems need to be reengineered to become SOA compliant. However, SOA reengineering projects raise serious strategic as well as technical questions that require management oversight. This paper, based on practical experience with SOA projects, presents a decision model for SOA reengineering projects that combines strategic and technical factors with cost-benefit analysis for integration versus migration decisions. The paper identifies the key issues that need to be addressed in enterprise application reengineering projects for SOA, examines the strategic alternatives, explains how the alternatives can be evaluated based on architectural and cost-benefit considerations and illustrates the main ideas through a detailed case study.

IT Infrastructure to Enable Next Generation Enterprises

Next Generation Enterprises (NGEs) rely on automation, mobility, real-time business activity monitoring, agility, and self-service over widely distributed operations to conduct business. It is important to study and analyze such enterprises because they will drive the future industry and job markets. This paper gives a quick overview of NGEs and proposes a conceptual framework for analyzing the IT infrastructure needed to support the NGEs. A systematic discussion and analysis of key building blocks, their interrelationships, and main trends is presented with an emphasis on monitoring and split-second reaction times needed across widely distributed business units of such enterprises.

Exploring a model-driven architecture (MDA) approach to health care information systems development.

OBJECTIVE To explore the potential of the model-driven architecture (MDA) in health care information systems development. METHODS An MDA is conceptualized and developed for a health clinic system to track patient information. A prototype of the MDA is implemented using an advanced MDA tool. The UML provides the underlying modeling support in the form of the class diagram. The PIM to PSM transformation rules are applied to generate the prototype application from the model. RESULTS The result of the research is a complete MDA methodology to developing health care information systems. Additional insights gained include development of transformation rules and documentation of the challenges in the application of MDA to health care. Design guidelines for future MDA applications are described. The model has the potential for generalizability. The overall approach supports limited interoperability and portability. CONCLUSION The research demonstrates the applicability of the MDA approach to health care information systems development. When properly implemented, it has the potential to overcome the challenges of platform (vendor) dependency, lack of open standards, interoperability, portability, scalability, and the high cost of implementation.

A framework for analyzing virtual enterprise infrastructure

We propose that virtual enterprises can be enabled by extending the existing, and evolving, electronic commerce (EC) infrastructure. This incremental approach to virtual enterprises, based on fairly mature technology and standard services, has the obvious advantage over entirely ad hoc solutions of reducing risks and investment costs. To support this view, we present a general multidimensional view of EC that is not restricted to conducting secure transactions over the Internet-instead, it encompasses the partner types, supply chain lengths, organizational boundaries crossed, and value as well as volume of EC transactions. We then propose a platform for virtual enterprises, highlight its key enabling technologies, and analyze how existing commercial integrated platforms for EC can be extended to support virtual business.

The emerging role of the Web for enterprise applications and ASPs

Web technologies were initially used for Web publishing and advertising in enterprises. However, over the years Web technologies have merged with other distributed computing technologies and assumed a vital role in satisfying enterprise business needs. This paper takes a systematic and practical look at Web evolution from static HTML to Web-enabled business components that are at the foundation of currently popular Web services (WS). In particular, WS is a result of convergence of the Web with distributed object technologies and is positioned to play a central role in building and integrating enterprise applications in the future. However, the impact of WS is not limited to enterprise boundaries - business-to-business trade and outsourcing through application service providers can also be profoundly impacted. This paper highlights the key aspects of these developments because they will drive the requirements to be satisfied by the current and future Internet technologies. The possible deterrents to these developments and approaches to address these deterrents are also discussed.

Architectures to Survive Technological and Business Turbulences

Survivable architectures are needed so that the current and future systems can tolerate the usual turbulences of technology and business climate. This paper, based on insights gained through practical experience with several architectural projects in the telecom industry and active participation in the standards bodies, highlights the work being done on survivable architectures. Instead of presenting theoretical models, this paper relies on best practices and explains the concepts through a detailed case study. In particular, the concepts of separating the technology independent models from the technology specific models and externalizing the business process flows from the system components are shown to be of practical value.

Integrated Digital Health Systems Design: A Service-Oriented Soft Systems Methodology

The application of information technology in healthcare has focused primarily on the implementation of specific systems such as electronic health records (EHRs) and clinical decision support systems (CDSSs), mainly for intraenterprise use. However, for the integrated health system (IHS) to function effectively in a complex inter-enterprise healthcare delivery environment, designers must focus on approaches such as soft systems methodology (SSM) to enable the design of robust integrated digital health systems (IDHSs). A service-oriented architecture (SOA) offers a flexible framework for IDHSs to become de-centralized, fully functional and modular systems with interoperability. This article identifies the design issues in IDHS and explores the potential of an SSM methodology-based SOA for the development of interoperable IDHSs. In the process we compare and contrast the functionalist socio-technical approach to the interpretive SSM. We also describe a prototype SOA application for an IDHS setting and discuss challenges in the application of SOA to healthcare.

Intrusion Tolerance in Distributed Middleware

Many existing and new applications rely on several layers of middleware services that must be able to withstand intrusions and attacks from a very wide range of players. In this paper we discuss the concept of Intrusion Tolerance in distributed middleware. We start by presenting a threat analysis of the current commercial middleware technologies. We then discuss basic intrusion tolerance techniques such as Fragmentation-Redundancy-Scattering (FRS) and Threshold Cryptography. Then follows a description of a generic architecture that builds upon these techniques to compensate for intrusion vulnerabilities in commercial middleware, and finally we briefly describe how this architecture can be generalized.

A knowledge-based decision support workbench for advanced Ecommerce

Development of large scale and advanced Ecommerce (EC) sites is an expensive and risky undertaking. At Telecordia Technologies, we have developed an EC Workbench that attempts to reduce the EC effort to less than a month and minimize the risks. This knowledge-based decision support workbench asks the user a small number of questions that guide him/her to appropriate strategic choices, architectural configurations, COTS (commercial off the shelf) technologies and project plans.