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Access Integration general guidelines

To help you determine if the Access Integration pattern is appropriate for the design of your Web-based application, the following information details the business and IT scenario into which an Access Integration solution fits.

Business and IT Drivers
Businesses developing a solution needing the following characteristics should consider using the Access Integration pattern:

  • The end-users and customers need to directly interact with business processes.
  • The business activity has a need to aggregate, organize, and present information from various sources within and outside of the organization.
  • The business process must be reachable in a common, consistent, and simplified manner through multiple delivery channels.


Context
The Access Integration pattern is commonly observed in e-business solutions that provide users a seamless and consistent user experience that combines access to multiple applications, databases, and services. It is used as a front-end integration pattern, and is also observed when information needs to be presented through multiple delivery channels (devices). The Access Integration pattern does not stand alone in a solution, but is typically used to combine Business patterns to create custom designs and Composite patterns are used to solve complex business problems.

Solution
The Access Integration pattern typically consists of:

  • Users who:
    • May be within the enterprise, in business partner organizations, or in any other location across the globe
    • Will typically access the solution using a web browser or a browser-based Internet appliance. The enterprise has very little or no control over how this device is set-up or configured.
    • Can access the solution from any location across the Internet
  • A network that:
    • Is based on TCP/IP and other Internet technologies
    • Can be a dedicated LAN connection, a broadband connection or a dial-up connection
  • Business applications and data that can be:
    • Custom developed systems (old and new)
    • ERP systems and other packaged applications such as SAP, BAAN and PeopleSoft
    • Databases
  • Access Integration services that can include one or more of the following services:
    • Device support
    • Presentation
    • Personalization
    • Security and Administration


Putting the Access Integration pattern to use
This pattern can be observed in Solutions such as:

  • Customer-facing solutions such as online stores that provide a personalized user interface that can be customized by users to suit their individual requirements and preferences.
  • Online Portals that allow users to customize their interactions with the portal and specify their preferences for multiple access devices such as a browser, a custom client, Personal Digital Assistants, Web-enabled phones, and interactive set-top boxes.


What's Next
If you have determined that the Access Integration pattern can provide an appropriate solution design for the application you are developing, next select an Application pattern.

If the Access Integration pattern is not appropriate for your development efforts, review the Business patterns to determine which pattern best addresses your e-business needs.

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