JISC

This project is to demonstrate how Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)-based solutions could be rapidly constructed within an existing University landscape. The project is to implement different Enterprise Service buses (ESBs) as the backbone communications channel at two different Universities. It is to connect four quite different applications at each University to the ESB and demonstrated how information could be combined from each application. The applications are deliberately chosen to have different technical challenges (eg already enabled to be web-service connected through to having to develop connectors directly to underlying database tables).  The project and all of its documents, design, coding etc will be available – the intellectual property of third party systems integrators has been transferred so that it can be re-used by any UK University.

Aims and objectives

To develop a working prototype which demonstrates how Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) technologies can be used to gather information from multiple application systems in different Universities and present that information. Note that the logic applied should be independent of the universities concerned and also the actual applications which they are using.

Anticipated outputs and outcomes

1.  Workshop to publically demonstrate and present the solution by the System Integrator in January 2010 
2. Documentation to JISC of the design, the considerations of the developers to outline what could become the ‘HE standards’ for SOA/Web Services designs 
3. Documentation of lessons learned in terms of institutional culture and context