Business to Business Integration (B2Bi) Software

Adeptia solution is a web-based, graphical, easy-to-use b2b system integration solution that allows customers to integrate disparate information sources, databases, and software applications, both within an enterprise and between customers, vendors, and business partners. These integration data flows can be implemented within a short span of time, and they can be set up to run automatically in the background without intervention, barring any errors or exceptions. Common business to business (B2B) integration scenarios such as mapping, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or HL7 messages to XML or internal databases can be done very quickly and easily.

Adeptia Connect is unique B2B software because it enables the automation of not only the system-to-system (straight-through) and partner-to-system data flows, but also the more common system-to-human business processes where business users need to interact with running data flows to view information, correct errors, and resubmit data if needed. Another unique attribute of Adeptia is the inclusion of a web portal and design studio that are completely web-based, making it extremely easy for business analysts to configure functionality in Adeptia, and for business users to track partner messages and correct errors. It also enables organizations onboard customers or partners faster by up to 80 percent, making them easier to do business with. Finally, Adeptia’s business integration software is built on current technologies such as Java, Web Services, APIs and XML, leveraging state-of-the-art frameworks such as a process-centric approach and services-based (SOA) architecture.

Adeptia’s solution includes all the functionality of B2B Integration, ETL Data Integration, and Enterprise Service Bus software in one package. It allows companies to “centrally manage” all their b2b integration interfaces from one web-based application. All the partner configurations, application touchpoints, database connections, protocols, Web Services, formats and schemas, mapping rules, data validations, triggers, alerts and notifications, partner message tracking, and run-time logs are all managed from one place. On an ongoing basis, as rules and formats change, this approach drastically simplifies the process of maintaining all interfaces and data bridges.

It includes rich and comprehensive support for all the industry standards that are utilized in today’s world of electronic commerce – including pre-built data dictionaries, schemas, and message formats (such as EDI, EDIFACT, HIPAA/HL7, ACORD AL3/XML) as well as pre-built secure communications and Managed File Transfer (MFT) functionality that includes pre-built connections and secure internet communications protocols such as AS2, SFTP, FTPS, MLLP, ebMS, etc.

Adeptia Connect is a proven B2B integration solution that has been deployed by a plethora of customers who are utilizing it to create an integrated environment that thrives on communication and collaboration. It provides enterprise-class scalability and performance that enables customers to process very high volumes of messages and gigabytes of data on a daily basis. Adeptia solution can be configured in a clustered mode for scaling performance and for redundancy or failover. It also provides the automatic ability to send notifications and alerts, recover failed transactions, and archive messages.

Adeptia solution, with its B2B Integration (B2Bi) capability, is a unified, packaged solution that offers all the features and functionality that one would need in a complete process-centric, SOA-based Integration software platform. This includes the following capabilities:

Accessible via the built-in web-portal for users to easily and quickly configure partner profiles as well as rules for handling inbound and outbound relationships. A centralized repository offers a single view to reduce partner administration. Learn more about Partner Management.

Included for ANSI X12 EDI, EDIFACT, HIPAA/HL7, ACORD AL3/XML, etc. This simplifies the task of mapping the data from (or into) these messages to internal formats and databases. Adeptia supports the full set of schemas for the following:

Schemas: Flat Files, Fixed-length positional files, ANSI X12 EDI, EDIFACT, XML, Microsoft Excel, HIPAA HL7, ACORD AL3, SAP IDOC etc.

Databases: Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access DB, MySQL, IBM DB2, Sybase, Netezza, Informix, PostgreSQL etc.

ANSI X12 EDI versions: 3010, 4010, 5010, 003040UCS, 003060UCS, 003070UCS, 004010UCS, 004010VICS, 004020, 004020UCS, 004020VICS, 004030, 004030UCS, 004060, 005010, 005010VICS etc.

A web-based design tool to help IT staff collaborate with business analysts (if needed) to easily create and document their data flows, routing rules, and business processes in a highly graphical and intuitive way. The designed process can be exported to a PDF format document for sharing and archiving.

Another web-based, graphical design tool that eases the tasks of specifying ETL, mapping, validation, and data cleansing rules to process incoming information. Even very complex rules can be easily specified without writing any code.

The Data Mapper supports Any-to-Any mapping, meaning that transformation rules can be applied where sources and targets are in different formats. This tool includes a library of functions that can be pre-created and re-used again and again. Finally, the Data Mapper has a “preview” capability to see actual source and target data, while the rules are being specified, if the source data file is available.

Allows complex data flows with complex rules to be specified such that routing of data, workflow tasks, and information can be affected automatically in the process flows at run-time.

Allows manual human workflow tasks to be automated. This allows business users to interact with running data flows.

Included to support processing of data in any format whether it is Text or CSV, XML, or in any databases (such as Oracle, MySQL, SQL Suite, DB2, Sybase), or in EDI, HIPAA, ACORD AL3, or any fixed-length file format, or any other format. Sources and targets in data flows can be in any format. Adeptia Connect also supports all of the data transport protocols to connect with various applications and systems.

Includes the management of users and roles and their relationships, permissions-based access, and secure login access.

Pre-built to allow business users to see which tasks are waiting, as well as their priorities and due dates. Managers can see subordinates’ Task Managers and have the ability to reassign tasks if needed. Users can fix any data errors or make any decisions before data is processed and end-systems updated.

Allows users to upload and download documents securely, then track documents related to the various instances of the data flows.

Allow flexibility in determining how the implemented integration solutions (data flows) will be executed. These can be simple scheduled triggers to run certain data flows at specific times, or they can be real-time triggers that execute data flows based on certain events, such as a file being dropped in an FTP folder or an email being received.

Enables extensibility, allowing any existing external programs, in any programming language, to be plugged-in as a service to the Adeptia Connect and reused at any time in any data flows. This allows organizations to leverage existing work and move their existing interfaces into a “services-based” solution, where everything can be centrally managed.

Allows, within any process, the ability to access any web service and exchange data. A Web Services provider is also available to expose any business process as a Web Service or API to other applications. Adeptia supports both REST and SOAP Web Services.

Because Adeptia technology has been developed on a Java/J2EE platform, it can be deployed on any operating system. Adeptia’s solution install packages are tested, certified, and available for Windows, Linux, and other Unix platforms, such as Sun Solaris, providing maximum flexibility for customers.

Adeptia Connect is designed to easily handle very large data volumes in a robust, efficient, and graceful manner – a useful capability when processing bulk data.

Provides real-time visibility into the application to view all connections as they are triggered and executed. This includes the ability to view EDI and non-EDI transactions on a per partner basis, giving the operations staff the ability to check whether B2B integrations are running correctly and to proactively track and fix any errors and exceptions.

Adeptia’s B2B automation capabilities form a complete solution that helps enterprises fully automate their partner and customer data flows and integration interfaces. Some of the main benefits of Adeptia’s solution include:

• Centrally manage all integrations: Adeptia Connect allows you to centrally manage, from a single product, all the Connections, Formats, Protocols, Mapping Rules, Triggers, Exception Handling, and Data Flows for all your applications, customers, and partners.
• Ease of Use: Adeptia’s solution makes the work of setting up partner profiles and designing and automating data flows and integration touch-points simple, easy, and painless. Because everything is graphical and wizard-driven, there is no need for any coding, except in rare situations. This means that the use of Adeptia Connect is not limited to developers. To create in integration within Adeptia Connect, you simply follow a 3-step process: 1) Design the flow, 2) Configure the services, and 3) Deploy the solution.
• Rapid Implementation: Because Adeptia Connect supports collaboration, ease-of-use, and pre-built data flow templates for quick configuration and deployment, you can drastically reduce the time it takes to design and automate data flows.
• Lower Total Cost of Ownership: Adeptia’s solution is attractively priced and available on a subscription-pricing model, significantly reducing capital requirements and financial risk.
• Process-centric, SOA-based approach: Because most data flows are part of business processes, they require review by business users for decision-making purposes. Adeptia’s solution facilitates the process of working with your business users by providing superior collaboration capabilities within the software.
• Ease of maintenance: Because Adeptia Connect was built on a Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) approach, reusability is increased, greatly simplifying the processes of making enhancements and changes to flows and business rules.
• Enhanced customer service: Because you can improve the speed and throughput of information such as orders, invoices, payments, and shipments, all while eliminating errors inherent in keying and re-keying, your customers will enjoy an enhanced digital experience.
• Accelerated Revenue and Increased cash flow: You can fast-forward your revenues and get to service delivery quicker, shortening your invoicing and payment cycles.
• Improved competitive advantage: You can better communicate and service your customers, enabling you to better compete in the marketplace.
• Be Easier to Do Business With: Your customers will perceive you as easy to do business with because you can help them easily connect as partners to your business processes and systems.

Adeptia Connect is a flexible software platform ideal for creating many types of partner connectivity solutions and addressing a wide spectrum of integration needs. Some of the most common uses of the Adeptia Connect are:

• Customer Data Onboarding: Adeptia’s solution is very well suited for typical customer data integration scenarios, such as creating interfaces from customer and partner data to various back-end systems and databases. This solution allows an organization to receive and automatically process files in different formats and aggregate data from various sources. This solution, for the first time in a single product, allows companies to extend their internal business processes to encompass external entities.
• Internal Application to Partner Integration: Many Adeptia customers use this solution to connect internal applications and databases more easily and quickly with external organizations – whether they are suppliers, partners, customers, distributors, or regulatory bodies. This solution allows an organization to automatically extract and process internal data into standards-based files in any format, then deliver them securely to various external entities.
• Accelerate Service Delivery: Adeptia helps its service provider customers quickly onboard their customers and automate delivery processes, so they can drastically shorten the order-to-cash cycle. Many companies take 8 to 18 weeks to create automated connections with their customers; with Adeptia, this time is reduced to hours. For companies that provide data-driven services, this is crucial: If they can get their hands on customer data faster, they can more quickly deliver services and invoice for them. Accelerating service delivery means accelerating revenue.
• Automate processes that span partners and customers: Engage customers and partners to work more closely with your organization in key processes that enable significant cost savings for you and improved experiences for them.
• E-Procurement: Electronic procurement, sometimes known as supplier exchange, is the business-to-business or business-to-government purchase and sale of supplies, work, and services through the Internet as well as other information and networking systems. Automating processes usually requires integration between Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.
• Procure-to-Pay (or purchase-to-pay): This process is a fully integrated solution designed to support an end-to-end process that begins with goods and services requisitioning and ends with ready-to-pay files for upload into an accounts payable system. Again, B2B integration and human workflow features are key aspects of automating this process.
• Order-to-Cash (OTC or O2C): This is a set of business processes that involves receiving and fulfilling customer requests for goods or services. This usually follows the end of the sales cycle, when an order has been received from the customer. O2C spans customer provisioning, onboarding, product or service delivery, and sending invoices and receiving payment (cash). Automating this process requires all aspects of integration and data connectivity with customers as well as internal applications and systems.
• Product and Price Availability: This process is quite important for distributors and manufacturers. enabling them to send product catalog, inventory, and pricing information directly to retailers. Integrating directly into retailers’ applications is key to ensuring they have the most updated and current information, which in turn, reduces cancelled and unfulfilled orders.
• Purchase Order or Invoice Exchange: This process is a subset of the Procure-to-Pay and Order-to-Cash processes. Automating the exchange of purchase orders and invoices between companies saves money, ensures timely payments, and reduces missed order and manual data entry mistakes.

Adeptia’s B2B integration architecture enables business and IT teams to work collaboratively in order to accelerate the process of onboarding customer data by using a rich B2B Partner Management Portal along with a robust data transformation, orchestration and workflow capabilities to handle any type of data integration challenges.

Adeptia’s B2B architecture provides the benefits of supporting all types of B2B transactions through a single unified platform. A unified “meta-driven” architecture provides the benefits of handling both structured and unstructured data whether it is EDI files or non-EDI files, it supports any-to-any data transformation, workflows for handling exceptions, and it provides a rich monitoring and tracking interface with real-time dashboards to help your customer services team get all the information they need for a particular Order, Invoice, Shipping or other transactions without having to go to multiple systems to find that information.

Here are some of the main features of Adeptia’s B2B Integration architecture:

• Partner setup and onboarding of customer data.
• Services repository that allows users to reuse existing data layouts, data maps and process triggers.
• Service orchestration and connectors for cloud and on-premise ERP and CRM applications such as SAP, JD Edwards, Oracle EBS, NetSuite, MS Dynamics GP, Sage, Salesforce etc.
• Standard Data Dictionaries for EDI, EDIFACT, ACORD, MISMO, HIPAA, HL7, NCPDP, ACH, BAI, FIX, ROSETTANET etc.
  Support for all data formats such as CSV flat files, Excel, XML, JSON, Fixed Width etc.
• Support for all transport protocols such as AS2, SFTP, FTPS, REST, SOAP, HTTPS, EMAIL, AMQP, JMS, UDP, MLLP, TCP.
  Support for all databases such as Oracle, Sql Server, IBM DB2 (including AS400), MongoDB, Cassandra, ElasticSearch etc.
  Publish/Subsrcibe model for APIs.
• Scheduling- and-Event based triggers to kick-off process flows.
  Support for all MQs such as RabbitMQ, Apache ActiveMQ, OracleAQ etc.

Read more about B2B integration architecture: