Intergen Smarts 9 (2005)

INT Smarts 9_2 6/4/05 9:44 AM Page 2

Ed has recently returned to New Zealand after spending five years working for

Microsoft in Redmond. Ed worked for Glazier Systems between 1995 and 1998

so it is great to have him back.

Intergen is continuing to lead the way with integration projects using BizTalk

Server. We have now completed several projects for clients integrating their ERP

with the Foodstuffs B2B interface. We are also starting to use BizTalk more in

the SOA projects we are undertaking. Adam and Nikolai have been selected to

attend Microsoft "Deep Dive" training for BizTalk Server in Australia. The training

covers advanced topics for experienced BizTalk developers.

We have recently released a totally new version of our web site. The new site

is hosted on EPiServer and is a major update to the way Intergen

is represented on the Internet. A big thank you to the

Creative Team who put in a lot of extra hours to design

and implement the new look.

As part of out new web site we have improved

our careers section. We have a number of

positions that we are trying to fill. If you know

of a person who you think would enjoy the

challenges that Intergen offers please refer them

to www.intergen.co.nz/careers

I hope you enjoy this edition of SMARTS and, as always,

if you want more information about any of the articles feel

free to email the author directly or email me.

The Intergen team have had a busy start to theyear with a number of new projects underway,four new graduate trainees and a couple ofconference papers delivered.

The EPiServer Content Management System that we launched late last year has

exceeded our expectations. We currently have four significant

implementations underway spread between our Auckland,

Wellington and Christchurch offices. It has proven to be

a worthy addition to our content management offering

alongside Microsoft Content Management Server.

We have expanded our specialist CMS team to

cope with the additional EPiServer work on top

of our Microsoft CMS projects.

We have delivered papers at two conferences over

the past month. Paul Quirk spoke at the Service

Oriented Architecture (SOA) conference on our

experiences completing quite a large number of

development projects using the SOA approach. Ed Robinson

also delivered a paper at the Portal Management Conference.

I S S U E N I N E

>> HOT NEWS:

>> T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E

Ready, steady...

< Copyright 2005 Intergen Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of Intergen Limited >[email protected]

CMS Team

SECURIT Y >> 2

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BUSINESS SOLUTIONS >>

TECHNICAL >>

CREATIVE >>

CONSULTING ANDCONFERENCES

ISSP >>

UPDATE >>

>>

EPiServer success. World famousin Scandinavia, now in New Zealand.We’re thrilled with the take up ofEPiServer Content ManagementSystem since we launched it late lastyear. So far we have signed up a rangeof public and private organisationsand we’ve renewed our own web siteusing the EPiserver technology.

EPiServer is the most widely used webpublishing tool in Scandinavia, withover 1150 sites.

What makes EPiServer so good is thatit caters to the needs of technical staffin regard to security, performance andexpandability but it is a webpublishing tool for simple and swifthandling of information on intranets,extranets and public web sites.

For more details see:www.intergen.co.nz/episerver


Surf safely – how to secureyour home PC

>> INTERGENITE:

< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E >>> S E C U R I T Y>>2

Keeping your home PC 100% secure from hackersand viruses is virtually impossible. But don’t despair,there is a lot you can do to keep your PC securewhich is free, simple and gives 99% protection.

T h e t h r e a t s :

>> Viruses/Trojans/Worms: small programmes that replicate through email

or the network

>> Spyware: many free programmes install spyware and adware when you

download them. This software monitors your surfing habits, generates extra

pop-up ads and sends information to the spyware vendor. It slows your

machine and internet connection down.

>> Intruders: people trying to hijack your internet connection or access your

files via the internet.

The best way to guard against these threats is to ‘protect the perimeter’, ie the

internet connection. Think of it as locking the doors to your car. Here are eight

steps for doing this:

1 Use Windows XP, with Service Pack 2 and apply security updates

as they are released. Windows XP is the most secure version of windows.

Service pack 2 turns off unnecessary services and includes a firewall, pop-up

ad blocker for internet explorer, checks virus signatures, and has automatic

‘set and forget’ detection and download of security updates.

2 Run antivirus software and keep it up to date. Any of the big three:

Symantec, McAfee or Computer Associates eTrust are good. I use eTrust at

home – it has the best performance and a 12 month free trial. All these

products update their list of ‘virus signatures’ automatically from the web.

Nick Urry

What do you do?I’m a developer for the Developmentand Integration team. The majorityof my work has been in the contentmanagement space, with experiencein both Microsoft Content Managementserver and EPiServer products.

How do you make a difference?With over five years experience in webdevelopment I have had theopportunity to work with manydifferent technologies on a range ofprojects. I believe it is this experiencethat helps me continually strive toimprove the way we are doing things.

What do you love about your job?Since joining Intergen I have learntmany new skills, the atmosphere is funand relaxed but with an expectationto produce real quality in the work wedo. It is this culture that makes Intergena really great place to work.

A bit about yourselfOutside of work I am heavily involvedwith the Scout Association and spendmuch of my spare time in the outdoors,sailing, tramping and camping. Anytime I have left I have been spendingon studying for some Microsoftqualifications, though it is easy to getdistracted by a good book.

3 Anti-spyware software. The industry leaders are Ad-Aware and SpyBot.

Neither detects all Spyware so use both. I run both weekly – it takes about

an hour.

4 Do some research before downloading software. Installing new software

is like handing over the keys to your car to a stranger. The biggest danger

is spyware. If the software download comes from a vendor I trust, like Microsoft,

Apple or Macromedia, I install it. If not, I search on download.com which

includes editorial reviews and details of which software includes spyware.

If I can’t find it on download.com, I don’t install it.

5 Be cautious of P2P file-sharing services, like Morpheus, Grokster,

Kazaa. Most of these are laden with spyware and are the first places that

virus writers post new viruses.

6 Don’t trust emails attachments. Many viruses are spread through email.

A good rule is if someone emails you an unexpected attachment, be cautious.

7 Run a firewall. This closes unnecessary access points into your computer.

One comes free with Windows XP.

8 If you run a wireless network use WEP or WPA: these are encryption

mechanisms bundled with most wireless routers that prevent people from

connecting to your wireless network, using your internet connection, and

accessing files.

These steps will protect your computer from most threats, although it is impossible

to get 100% security. I also use one other simple, but powerful, technique. I turn

my computer off when I’m not using it – bad guys can’t launch an internet attack

on your computer when it isn’t turned on.

Ed Robinson works in the Professional Services division at Intergen and canbe contacted at [email protected]. He is the author of:

Upgrading Visual Basic 6.0 to Visual Basic .NET and Security for Visual Basic .NET

Both available from Microsoft Press.

Some useful links:

Service Pack 2 for Windows XP http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/default.mspx

Computer Associates eTrust free 12 month trial http://www3.ca.com/Solutions/Collateral.asp?CID=39914

LavaSoft’s Ad-Aware: http://www.lavasoft.de/ms/index.htm

SpyBot Search-and-destroy http://www.safer-networking.org/microsoft.en.html

Download.com http://www.download.com

Dictionary of spyware http://www.spywareinfo.com/


< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E > >>3>> B U S I N E S S S O L U T I O N S

This is where Microsoft BizTalk Server (BTS) 2004 fits intothe picture. BTS is perfectly designed to fit with the fourtenets of SOA:

>> Boundaries are explicit: BTS passes definedmessages between applications.

>> Services are autonomous: BTS’s publish/subscribe methodology ensures each applicationis independent.BizTalk Server 2004

Delivers on SOA Dream

Service Oriented Architecture is a phrase that isgetting a lot of buzz in technology circles, so muchso that Microsoft XML architect Don Box (whoproposed the four tenets of SOA) is suggestingthat the term is so over used that the softwareindustry is attempting to invent or recycle someequally vague term to replace it.

SOA is not a new concept, yet it was not until the advent of web services that

technology caught up to allow businesses to realise the SOA vision. The concept

is simple; instead of building one big ‘black box’ application, the applications

are broken up into smaller ‘black box’ services. These smaller services are then

aggregated into a larger complete solution. If the business needs change the

affected service can be extended or swapped with a new one.

Gartner VP Roy Schulte said “Agility generally involves event-driven business

practices, facilitated by service-oriented architectures.” He used a great analogy

to describe SOA. “Changing a truck’s direction is easier than making a train go

where the tracks don’t.”

When solutions are developed using SOA it can be challenging to aggregate the

smaller services back into a complete business solution.

In BTS messages are received and sent via an adapter. Some examples of BTS adapters include (EDI, FILE, SOAP, HTTP, FTP, SAP,SQL and SHAREPOINT).

Messages pass into BTS through a receive pipeline for pre-processing. The receive pipeline can take a raw inbound message,decode and decrypt it, disassemble it into parts and then translate it into an internal XML format.

A business process, like an ordered sequence of operations, is invoked on top of the messaging operations. In BTS businessprocesses are implemented using the orchestration and business rules engines. Business rules are contained inside versionedpolicies and provide a business analyst with an easy-to-read view of the rules that are used in the business process. Orchestrationscan be easily exposed as web services and also consume other web services or orchestrations.

Messages pass out of BTS through a send pipeline for post-processing. The send pipeline can take an XML file, convert it intothe outbound format (XML/EDI/Flat file), aggregate it into a batch and encrypt it to create an outbound message.

In summary, BTS is the most service-oriented product that Microsoft ships. With the advances in web service technology SOAis not just a good idea it is a reality. Without entering into a messaging verses object debate, BTS is about messages and agiledevelopment, the pretext for all successful business process. That has got to be good for the enterprise.

[email protected]

So how does it all work?BTS Logical Server architecture:

>> Services share schema and contract, not class:BTS is message-based. There are defined schemas whichare shared between applications.

>> Service compatibility is based on policy: BTS usespolicies to route messages between services. Metadatais used to describe expected message formats. Informationsuch as transport and security requirements is decoupledfrom the services themselves.

BIZTALKPublish and

Subscribe Message

INBOUNDMESSAGE

RECEIVE PORT

OUTBOUNDMESSAGE

<XML MESSAGE>

Adapter

Receive PipelineDecodeDisassemble

BUSINESS PROCESS

Business RulesEngine

Orchestrations

ValidateParty Resolution

<XML MESSAGE>

<XML MESSAGE> <XML MESSAGE>

SEND PORT

Adapter

Send PipelinePreassembleAssemble

Encode


T h e W S - * s t a n d a r d s a r e :

WS-Security – one problem with the web was that it exposed your business

data to the internet but didn’t secure that data. WS-Security is a set of specifications

built on existing X509 and Public Key Infrastructure standards to provide end-

to-end security and message encryption.

WS-Addressing – this standard provides a transport neutral mechanism

that moves information from the HTTP layer into the message.

It identifies a web service like an IP address identifies a computer on

the network. This provides flexibility in transport choice and

futureproofing for new transport technologies.

WS-Policy – all web services have a set of requirements

that must be met by a service consumer. WS-Policy provides

a standard way to document those requirements. The policy

is automatically enforced and validated, reducing the

amount of code developers need to write.

WS-Coordination – the loosely aligned nature of web

services requires frameworks for managing transactions

across applications. This standard provides support for

atomic, commit and rollback transactions as well as long

running transactions that may span hours or days.

Microsoft provides support for a set of the WS-* standard

in Web Service Enhancements 2.0 (WSE 2.0) which

allows developers to create web services that adhere

to the standards.

A major innovation on the horizon is Indigo. Indigo is

not a replacement of web services but a progression towards

a service-oriented world in which web services play a major

role. It unifies the technologies being used in developing

connected applications into a single programming model.

Indigo provides support for advanced web services to

allow for the creation of secure, reliable and transacted

messaging and interoperability.

Mark Delaney

What do you do?I am a graphic designer specialisingin visual interface and interactiondesign of web sites and applications.

How do you make a difference?A web site needs to not only beenjoyable to visit but usable as well.My job is to create appealing andengaging interfaces that interact withthe intended audience that areeffective, whether for a corporateintranet or an online retail website.

What do you love about your job?I love the people and the opportunityto work on interesting projects. Beingpaid to do something you have apassion for ain’t that bad either!

A bit about yourselfI graduated from Otago Universitywith a Bachelor of Arts and a post-graduate diploma in graphic designand joined the Intergen team in2002. Since then I have accumulateda vast amount of experience ininteraction design. It’s what I do everyday. Design is not just a job but away of life for me. Outside of work Ilove art, architecture, fashion, music,reading and keeping fit at the gym.

WS Up?!

In each edition of SMARTS we update you on atechnical matter. In this issue we tell you aboutthe standards that regulate web services.

Web services such as XML, SOAP, WSDL, HTTP and UDDI are the cornerstone

of the web. They’ve been used in many, many organisations. However, their lack

of enterprise level capabilities such as security, transaction support and guaranteed

and reliable messaging has limited their usefulness. To get these enterprise

capabilities, additional technology or custom development has been needed,

such as BizTalk Server for reliable messaging or custom security models for

message encryption.

To bridge the gap between the cornerstone web services and the additional

capabilities that businesses need, web service standards have been developed.

They are commonly referred to as WS-*.

Two organisations are responsible for the creation and implementation of web

service standards: World Wide Consortium (W3C) – responsible for XML, XSLT,

SOAP, HTML, HTTP; and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured

Information Standards (OASIS) which is responsible for PKI, ebXML and many

of the new WS Standards. A third body, Web Service Interoperability (WS-I),

provides best practices, tools and sample applications that ensure cross platform

interoperability of the standards provided by W3C and OASIS. These organisations

are independent, and partly funded through memberships fees. They are

responsible for maintaining internet and e-business standards.

< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E >>>4 >> T E C H N I C A L

>> INTERGENITE:

[email protected]


>> C R E A T I V E >>5< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E >


< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E >>>6 >> C O N S U L T I N G A N D C O N F E R E N C E S

More thanhot air

There is probably no typical consulting engagement but here’s how the

professional services team worked with the Ministry for the Environment’s

Climate Change Office (CCO). The challenge was to undertake a business

and technical analysis and other requirements for the proposed New Zealand

Carbon Accounting System (NZCAS).

This initiative has received significant impetus as the CCO shoulders

New Zealand’s new responsibilities for carbon reporting following the

finalisation of the Kyoto Protocol.

The three-month project included wide consultation with current producers and

analysts of New Zealand carbon sequestration data – Landcare Research, Forest

Research, Agriquality and Ministry of Agriculture and Forests. It resulted in a

recommendation about data collection, storage and analysis which will now be

piloted to test assumptions and feasibility.

Watch out for more details in future editions.

The forum focused on the changing landscape in business and IT architecture

with four keynote addresses and many interactive breakout sessions.

The business theme discussed the evolution of enterprise architecture, driven by

the pressure to respond to a more interactive business environment, and an

increase in collaboration between workers. Today businesses are facing new

challenges in keeping agile with the market. The older process-driven models

were discussed as slow to adapt with favour been given to domain-driven models.

The IT theme was service orientation and connected systems. Service orientation

provides an abstracted view of the functions delivered to an enterprise, and

defines the contract between a service and consumer to enable pieces of larger

systems to be snapped together and swapped out as an enterprise evolves those

systems. Technologies such as web services and the WS-* standards now allow

these services to be connected together in a secure and reliable way, robust for

the demands of a business.

Both of these themes were seen to be converging with service orientation

supporting the new needs of business to be responsive to change both in working

with new partners and responding to internal changes and systems; and to

quicken the evolution of systems to meet new business needs.

Intergen is a leader in the field of Service Oriented Architecture, and can provide

strategic and architectural consulting as well as development services to help

evolve your enterprise architecture.

[email protected]

Watch on evolvingarchitecture

Jeremy Boyd was recently invitedto attend the Microsoft Asia PacificRegional Architects Forum in Brisbane,Australia. The forum is a gathering of leadarchitects and CTO/CIO’s from customersand partners across the Asia Pacific region.


>> INTERGENITE:

Adam Green

What do you do?I work in the Auckland Development& Integration team as a team leader.As well as participating in the day today development of systems using arange of Microsoft technologies, Ioversee the architecture of a lot ofthe systems we build.

How do you make a difference?I help identify and implement waysin which we can build better solutions.This sounds simple, but successfulsolutions consist of many facets –performance, security, extensibility,scalability and reliability. And mostof all, building a system that suits theneeds of the customer. I want to seeus become world solution providersthis year.

What do you love about your job?I love being part of a fun, motivated,intelligent and hard working team ofpeople who genuinely believe in thesolutions they build.

A bit about yourselfAfter hours I spend lots of time withmy three year old son Mitchell. He’sa barrel of laughs and always keen tohelp around the garden. He has a lotmore tools and garden implementsthan I do.

>> I S S P < S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E > >>7

Yet despite this seemingly dire portfolio, the major economies and markets

continue to be bullish, if a little volatile.

At the same time, information technology and communication price performance

improvement is relentless. The 21st century is forecast to deliver 20,000 years

of technology change at today’s rate of progress. Be it robotics, biotechnology

or nanotechnology, the speed of lifestyle and business style change will be

(and already is) profound.

Countries and companies will succeed or fail in this highly competitive, connected

and globalised world. The outcome will be decided by their ability to rapidly

and continuously innovate, reinvent and adapt. And even the most basic service

innovation will require information technology mastery. Mobility, security, content,

web services, ERP, skills availability, business imperatives – the Chief Information

Officer’s (CIO) role is increasingly central.

Driving IT operational excellence for the organisation is now a minimum

competency. Where the fast-paced flow of information has become the life blood

of all business, the CIO is ideally positioned to be strategist, opportunity translator

and innovation change agent.

Break a leg!

[email protected]

CIO innovator changeagents in a volatile world

The world is experiencing an unsettling raft ofgeopolitical and economic disruption such as:

>> Religious and political turbulence and uncertainty in the Middle East

>> More nuclear-armed nations

>> Crude oil regularly surpassing US$50 per barrel

>> China growing and consuming at double-digit growth rates as the

planet’s low cost factory

>> Unfettered import demand from US consumers driving the US trade

imbalance upwards at US$60 billion per month. To both become, and be accepted as an effective innovation change

agent, the CIO needs to start with two programmes:

1 Identify emerging trends and disruptions: as change accelerates, it’s

critical to regularly scan for, and identify rapidly forming industry and

IT industry opportunities and disruptions.

2 Reposition IT as value: through regular presentations and discussions

shift the executive mental model from IT as a cost to be contained, to

IT as strategic investment and business value enabler.


>> U P D A T E < S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E N I N E >

F i n d o u t m o r e a b o u t I n t e r g e n :

Auckland: 09 966 3070

Wellington: 04 472 2021

Christchurch: 03 964 0017

[email protected]

www.intergen.co.nz

We’re curious, why did the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives go to the

effort to write an Information System Strategic Plan (ISSP)?

We had reached a stage where we were running many different projects and applications

and needed to consider the way we were operating and priorities for development. Looking

to the future we needed to consider what comes first and what implications does changing

one thing have on others. So we needed a plan.

You selected Intergen to help you with your plan. What convinced you that this was a

good choice?

We were looking for people to deal with the technical challenge but who also could

understand the organisational dynamics. Plus we had worked with them before and could

see that they had the right staff to work with in this area.

We know that the plan laid out a number of strategies to help the Office of the Clerk.

Were their any particular strategies which stood out in your mind?

The strategic approach (looking at what was best) was something that we valued rather

than a bottom up approach (trying to fit what was there into something for the future).

The output is outlined in eight central themes which are being followed up by individual

tactical plans.

Any last thoughts about the exercise you went through? Would you recommend this

kind of ‘introspection’ for other organisations?

I cannot see how an organisation can manage without doing it. The complexity and formality

can vary but going off the top of your head is not acceptable. The size of our organisation

means that we are too small for a dedicated planning resource so we needed to bring in a

skilled outside resource for a short period which had an appreciation of our organisation and

its environment. Using external experts you get new ideas and a fresh perspective on things.

We hope that in the future the ISSP can be reviewed in house with Intergen used to critique

and challenge the review.

The Intergen Twilight Seminars are casual lateafternoon sessions that inform you about currenttrends, technologies andinitiatives in the space wherebusiness and informationtechnology overlap.

The seminars include an interactive

presentation followed by questions, drinks

and nibbles. They are presented by topic

experts either from within Intergen or from

one of our business partners. They are not

sales oriented but designed to inform, educate

and initiate discussion. Guests are welcome

to stay around for a drink and discussion with the presenters and other attendees.

To be added to the Twilight Seminar invitation contact list please email,

or call Kelly on 04 472 2021.

Fail to plan and you plan to fail

The Office of the Clerkhas been a client ofIntergen for sometime and when theyrecognised the needto have some externalexpertise help themevaluate and plantheir IT services theyturned to Intergen.

Peter Carr, Manager

Corporate Services talks

with SMARTS:

Twilights

Intergen Smarts 9 (2005)

Technology

Transcript of Intergen Smarts 9 (2005)