1/2014

15 years of Intersys! For the last 15 years, Intersys has been a provider of high quality custom made software solutions and in these years, there were many interest-ing and challenging projects that we were able to deliver to our cus-tomers. The 15 years anniversary is a good time to take a moment to reflect. This is exactly what we did in the afternoon of Aug 21st with a lively group of customers, partners and Intersys employees.

Meeting at the new Intersys offices in Zuchwil, the event launched with an aperi-tif and the possibility to take a look at our new office that we moved into earlier this year. We then enjoyed a guided tour through the old city of Solothurn which has an in-teresting history that is not even known by many locals. Mrs. Marie-Christine Egger of the local association for guided tours in his-toric sites showed us the center of the city in the light of the “Reisläufer”, a term used for the mercenary soldiers that served dif-ferent French kings in the centuries be-tween 1’500 and 1’700. There are still some

very clear signs of these time that can be only seen by the observant.After the guid-ed tour, the group moved to a restaurant situated on the bank of the river Aare, where grilling & chilling was the main event. It was nice to have some time and the opportunity to learn a little bit more about each other, not just focusing on daily business. Reflecting means looking back, slowing down and considering where we are and this is what all participants were able to do this evening. We as a team at Intersys, look forward to many more years working with our customers and partners!

The run to Weissenstein

On the 24th August around 450 persons participated in the 24th Weissensteinlauf, a 14Km run with 1000 meter climb starting in Solothurn and ending in the mountains above the city and for which there were perfect running conditions on that day.Intersys is one of the main sponsors of the

event, providing specific software in the area of participant management and result analysis and presentation. Intersys consid-ers this investment an important contribu-tion to the community of Solothurn that Intersys forms a part of.

Editorial Dear reader

After successfully being present for 15 years in the IT market, we thought it was time to pause and reflect.

This is what we did with many of our customers, partners and employees during the event we held on Aug. 21st in the city of Solothurn (see article below).

In taking a moment to reflect, we had the idea to create a customer maga-zine, which you have just received – “Intersys Spotlight”!

In an era of speed, of technical and financial facts and in a more and more virtualised world, we want to give you something more than the normal busi-ness topics. We want to show you how our company positions itself in society, show you the people behind

our services and give you a smile with a comic strip from a famous local Solothurn satirist!

The new magazine will be issued reg-ularly – in exactly the same way you learned to know and trust Intersys as a longtime, trustworthy partner in your daily business. This is a particu-lar key value that we would like to highlight to you.

Enjoy reading our magazine!

Jirí PetrCEO

SPOTLIGHT

Customer Magazine Intersys AG

flickr.com / seilbahnweissenstein

No password hassle thanks to SAML

ly being rolled out to the customer. First field tests have been carried out and clearly show that the targeted results have been achieved.

Potential for further product developmentDuring the project, it became quite clear that the customer requirements matched other customer’s requests. After a mar-ket analysis, including discussions with manufacturers of Identity Provider solu-tions, Intersys decided to develop a SAML Proxy Server product with similar functionality as the existing one but en-hanced by certain additional functions in the area of self-configuration. The resulting solution shall be able to integrate with all existing Identity Pro-vider solutions available on the market.This SAML Proxy Server product devel-opment is one of the first activities of Intersys that reflects the change of strat-egy from a pure custom made software manufacturer towards a product based company.

Our client, an organisation within a Swiss canton, has requested Inter-sys to provide a solution for a simplified way of dealing with passwords when using web applications.

The new solution had to adopt to the ex-isting authentication components that were already in use at the customer.The number of web based applications that require secure access had grown continuously over the past years at the customer’s site and different mecha-nisms for authentication and authoriza-tion have been employed,. This left the users with a myriad of different pass-words and required know-how about se-curity mechanisms that were just re-quired to enter the systems.The client has acquired a centralized Identity Provider solution in a separate project not related to our mandate. This solution was responsible to provide us-ername and passwords for web applica-tions for each end user. Additionally, the customer has previous-ly decided to use the SAML 2.0 stand-ards (SAML – Security Assertion Markup Language, see infobox) as the standard

to exchange authentication and authori-zation information between the different systems that are used within the cus-tomers infrastructure.

Clear mandate: simplifyIntersys was mandated to significantly simplify the handling of authentication and authorization mechanisms for all end users within the customer organisation. This was especially necessary for cas-caded authentications – one of the main goals of the project.Intersys started with an analysis of the existing mechanisms and created a spec-ification which showed the simplification and which also made sure that there were as few as possible changes within the end user client applications, a key requirement from the customer side.As a result of these requirements, our solution of a “SAML Proxy Server” was developed, implemented and is current-

User (Browser)

Service Provider 1 (Web)

Service Provider 2 (SOAP)

SAML Proxy Server

Identity Provider (IdP)(Secure Login Service)

Application(Service)

SAML Proxy Elements

User (human) make use of SAML Proxy

User (application) makes use of SAML Proxy

Inter-/Intranet

1

2

3

1 2 3

1

2

3

1 2 3

samISOAPdealer

samlFilter

SAML as StandardSAML 2.0 is the world-wide de-facto

standard for exchanging authentication

and authorization information within and

across organisations. It has been ap-

proved by the swiss government IT

standardization body (eCH) as an official

method and is also used by many of the

large service providers worldwide. You

can find more information on SAML us-

ing following Wikipedia Link: http://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_Asser-

tion_Markup_Language

Interested in SAML Proxy Server?If your company faces similar challeng-

es with authentication and authoriza-

tion mechanisms, we would be very

happy to discuss the use of the SAML

Proxy Server or other mechanisms to

help you simplify your employees life

and increase your application security.

Please do not hesitate to contact our

sales department using following mail

address: sales@intersys.ch

Customers case studies

You can find our more information in the customer case study (german only) on http://intersys.ch/downloads/case-studies/Intersys_CaseStudy_SAML-Proxy_de.pdf

Test Tools for Interfaces:

– SoapUI

– FitNesse

Test Tools for Load Testing:

– JMeter

– LoadUI

Test Tools for Test Management:

– HP Quality Center

– Spirateam

Specialiced Test Tools::

– Fitnesse and related plug-ins (for functional tests)

– Findbugs (search of error patterns in java source code)

– PMD (for static source code analysis)

– Jenkins (continous testing)

– Robotask (to test command line interface based applications)

– QF Test (automation of test taking care of GUI components)

– Toad (for DB testing)

Intersys Testing Tool Competency

Software testing is vital for our customers business

Organisations and companies are highly dependent on well-functioning change procedures when moving from an existing application to a new one. However, there is never any “out of the box” guarantee that new software always behaves just as it has been specified. Some years ago Intersys decided to invest in a software testing team of its own, offering software quality testing services to its customers. René Jehle is the testing team leader and explains why Intersys customers can be certain the new software will work as specified when being tested by his team.

at an early point in the project means mak-ing sure the necessary test infrastructure will be in place and working. As independ-ent software testers in a project, we quite often test aspects of the solution that might have been neglected by the develop-er. Additional benefits to the customers are: know-how of the vertical markets we’re performing our tests in and the knowledgeable use of technologies that we have built in-house by ourselves in order to best serve our testing requirements. E.g. a database that we created for testing in the AAA area (Authentication, Authoriza-tion, Accounting).

What’s your company’s standard proce-dure for testing software?As a general principle, we make sure that the work of the project manager and the work of the tester are highly synchronized. Normally, being a part of the project steer-ing group, the tester is highly involved in each go/no-go decision of the project team.Each project starts with the creation of a

René Jehle, you, as most of your team members, have a background in elec-trical engineering. How does an elec-trical engineer turn into a software test manager?Each member of my team is a fully certified tester according to ISTQB, the internation-al Software Testing Qualifications Board. Besides passing the basic certification, each member of the team has also passed 4 additional tests which are part of the ad-vanced level. With this, we have studied the best practice of the theoretical definitions, and proved to be able to work with the ter-minology used in testing. In addition to the theory aspects, all of the team members

have been using their know-how in various customer environments and have therefore accumulated a broad range of hands-on ex-perience.

What are the benefits of external testing services for a client?When implementing a new system or up-dating an existing one, we quite often dis-cover incomplete specifications that need to be corrected. The role of the test man-ager includes identifying these gaps and minimizing their impacts. The earlier such issues are discovered and corrected, the more likely it is that the project will be on-time and in-cost. Involving test managers

Intersys Software testing team (f.l.t.r): René Jehle, Andreas Schneider, Ruedi Blöchlinger, Thomas Letzkus, Kevin Holden

test plan and a test concept that defines how the different tests will be structured.The type of the tests and the level of test-ing will be specified in this first phase. Also, what parts of the application will be tested an which not. Testing points are be-ing defined as well as the test integration points for performance, load, functional and stress tests. Once all this work is done, the start of the actual testing is commenced and, from this point on, the customer will receive regular reports on the status of the tests being performed.

In your opinion: why should a company invest in software testing?When changing from an existing system to a new one or when implementing a com-pletely new system, there’s always some risk of not ending up with the specified functionality, the required level of stability or fault free behaviour. This can put busi-nesses in danger and can have a big impact on the bottom line of a company. Software testing is a proven method to reduce risks from those factors if it is employed profes-sionally. As an example: if the test of data being migrated from an existing to a new system has been performed prior to the production switch, the company’s opera-tions manager will have a better night’s sleep prior to the actual migration.Our clients value the fact that we consult and support them during the whole process of quality assurance and that we show re-sponsibility even to the point of supporting them in vital decisions regarding the qual-ity. Quite often, our team members are at customer sites working very closely with the customers team members. This creates trust and certainty which is well needed at times of change.

Product / Services

Test Tools for Interfaces:

– SoapUI

– FitNesse

Test Tools for Load Testing:

– JMeter

– LoadUI

Test Tools for Test Management:

– HP Quality Center

– Spirateam

Specialiced Test Tools::

– Fitnesse and related plug-ins (for functional tests)

– Findbugs (search of error patterns in java source code)

– PMD (for static source code analysis)

– Jenkins (continous testing)

– Robotask (to test command line interface based applications)

– QF Test (automation of test taking care of GUI components)

– Toad (for DB testing)

Intersys Testing Tool Competency

Test Tools for Interfaces:

– SoapUI

– FitNesse

Test Tools for Load Testing:

– JMeter

– LoadUI

Test Tools for Test Management:

– HP Quality Center

– Spirateam

Specialiced Test Tools::

– Fitnesse and related plug-ins (for functional tests)

– Findbugs (search of error patterns in java source code)

– PMD (for static source code analysis)

– Jenkins (continous testing)

– Robotask (to test command line interface based applications)

– QF Test (automation of test taking care of GUI components)

– Toad (for DB testing)

Intersys Testing Tool Competency

Partnership with Scandit Ltd.Intersys has recently signed a cooperation contract with Scandit Ltd in the era of bar-code scanning. A startup formed by com-bined resources from ETH (Swiss Techno-logy Institute), MIT and IBM, Scandit is an innovative company that focusses on bar-code-scanning for smart phones, tablets and wearable devices. The company is headquartered in Zurich with subsidiaries in San Francisco and Boston. For Intersys,

this cooperation is the clear next step for-wards in its activities in the logistics mar-ket. Using the Scandit software, Intersys is able to support its customers using smart phones as scanners for tasks that previous-ly only could be performed using dedicated and expensive handheld scanners.

More information on the Scandit software can be found on www.scandit.com

Your SubscriptionIn case you have received this newsletter in printed version and would like to change receiving it in electronic format in the future, then please do not hesitate

to notice us about it on:

www.intersys.ch/en/mailing

Optimized Processes with Ein|fachTo better position our company in the ever growing market of Business Pro-cess Management, Intersys has signed a partner contract with ein|fach GmbH. Einfach, a startup company, is focused on the analysis and organizational opti-mization of business processes. Ein|fach has a thorough understanding of introducing and furthering of IT based process automation with a strong focus

in the pharmaceutical market. The work is based on a best practice set of meth-ods that makes sure the target expected savings and optimizations will be achieved.

Find more infos about ein|fach on www.ein-fach.ch

Intersys is founding member of the TCBE Chapter Solothurn

On June 18 2014 the local chapter of the ICT Cluster Bern (TCBE) was founded in the city of Solothurn. The purpose of this local chapter is to better position the Sol-othurn area as an important IT location and to further IT innovation from local companies. Intersys is proudly part of the two found-ing companies and happy to support the chapter’s activities. In 2014, further ac-

tivities have already been planned and include working with local universities, the founding of sub-committees for spe-cific topics and the networking between the local companies.

More information on www.tcbe.ch

New Case Study being preparedIntersys works very closely with its cus-tomers achieving great solutions. The number of highly satisfied customers is growing and is reflected in the number of case studies we have created following completion of customer projects. For 2014, following case studies are expected to be released:- A case study about Intersys’ contribu-tion to a Cloud platform and its integra-

tion into the business applications of a large swiss telecom operator- A case study about a renewal of an ex-isting subscriber information system (SIS) for a large Telco operator in Switzerland. We will announce the availability of the case studies to you.

More existing case studies can be found on www.intersys.ch/en/case-studies

New solution portfolio for Subscriber information brokering

One of Intersys‘ core competences is dealing with subscriber information. Hav-ing deployed several customer specific projects in this field, Intersys has decided to invest and develop a solution set that will make it more effective to roll out the solution to new customers. Having a standardized, yet flexible modular frame-work at its base, the aim is to address specific customer use cases (e.g. sub-scriber broker for Telco operators, for ser-

vice providers, for Mobile Virtual Network Operators, for enterprise customers for Network Equipment Providers or for Ma-chine2Machine Providers). Each of these use cases and their respective implemen-tations will be optimized to cover a defined customer need. It is expected that the first Subscriber Information Broker (SIB) based solutions will be announced later in 2014.

Inquiries: sales@intersys.ch

Contest

What do you recognize in this picture?

a) An Albatrossb) A Betatrossc) A Gammatross

All people aged 18 and older are eligible to take part in the con-

test. Only one entry per person. There is no legal recourse after

the prize draw. The prize draw is excluded from the jurisdiction

of any court. The winner will be notified in writing by eMail and/

or letter. There is no cash alternative to the prize. The prize is

not transferable to another person. Information entered by the

participants can be used by Intersys for advertising purposes,

however, they will not be passed on to third parties. Employees

of Intersys AG and Business4you AG are excluded from the con-

test. The contest will close on 10th November 2014.

Participate in our contest and be the happy winner of a iPad mini. Just scan the QR-Code below and fill in the information on the website you are pointed to. Or, alter-natively go to our website at http://www.intersys.ch/contestEvery correct submission that is entered until 10th November 2014 is eligible to win an iPad mini.

Participate and win now!

Comic

News

Andreas Thiel, Guest Comic Author