A large financial services company with a batch-driven back-office system was having several problems exposing profitability information and reporting to their customers promptly. Netrix applied service-oriented architecture and rules engine technology to keep the data processing and reporting flowing and minimize the occurrence of business interruption.
A large financial services company with a batch-driven back-office system was having several problems exposing profitability information and reporting to their customers promptly. During the nightly batch processing, the transactional data, which was exposed by a portal, was rendered inaccessible to the firm’s clients. Data warehouse integration within the back-office system was hard-coded and inflexible. Process dependencies were decentralized and difficult to manage, and the entire process was too critical to be shut down for any period to overhaul. The system was essentially multiple systems (ten systems and ten different technologies), all connected in such a way that shutting any one system down would halt the entire operation.
Most problems in business are in some way or another based on the ability (or inability) to integrate the steps within the business process, making business process redesign and process optimization essential for long-term success. And most processes are comprised of components (applications, databases, digital technologies, etc.) that are added one-at-a-time over a period-of-time making it virtually impossible to monitor and gain insight into how these processes work together to solve higher order business problems and issues.
Solving this dilemma while keeping the business online at the same time is no easy task, especially when finance leaders must balance continuous improvement, competing priorities, and maintaining operational efficiency. There are essentially two choices – use service-oriented architecture (SOA) and rules engine technology to build an entirely new environment and do a cut-over (rip and replace), or figure out a way to work around the barriers to achieve the same result.
The first choice, although easier and safer, was cost-prohibitive. The second and much riskier one took the approach that “it doesn’t matter what is inside, just deal with what is available without rewriting everything inside.” In other words, use the “new” technologies of SOA and rules-based decision-making as an “enabler” to leverage existing assets, strengthen finance transformation goals, and breathe new life into legacy transformation efforts. Netrix combined the two for an innovative and comprehensive approach to the problem, ensuring financial processes remained stable while introducing smarter orchestration.
Netrix took an SOA and rules approach based upon an already-in-place bus and application server technology, ensuring alignment with human resources and operational priorities across departments. The bus and nodes are clustered to meet high availability and scalability requirements. Netrix provided the architecture and implementation services to ensure that the multidimensional cross-platform processes (IBM System, Java, Linux, Microsoft SQL Server, a BPEL engine, rules engine, message router, and gateway) could be logically orchestrated to solve enterprise-class business problems and managed centrally.
Complex integration problems were solved by tying existing solutions together in one central location, significantly reducing operational costs while streamlining workflows and performance. The configuration of these processes (choreographing and orchestrating) was stored in the database and could be maintained by business users, aided by process mapping, machine learning, and advanced analytics that simplified oversight. The rules engine also enabled the customer to “outsource” some of the process management to their users, thus replacing an expensive and unwieldy code-based process that would also hamper future updates, further improvements, and error reduction.
The solution was facilitated by a process orchestration bus and backed by a process orchestration database where the business flows of technical processes are tied together. Independent gateways were built to publish and listen to events on the bus. The messages, which conformed to a canonical standard, allowed expandability to meet future integration needs and ensured that systems could work with the same data. Enabling existing processes on disparate platforms to be leveraged in innovative ways was clearly the key to success, while encouraging technology adoption, improved efficiency, and streamlined operations. By combining an understanding of the interactions of the business process, with the cause-and-effect of the individual steps, guided by years of experience with the Java Enterprise stack, the clever solution proved to be successful, showing how organizations can leverage technology and make data-driven decisions. The result was IT redesign at its best, using SOA and rules to make use of the existing system and digital transformation initiatives to support future growth across the entire organization, giving the company a strong competitive edge. Business process knowledge and orchestration skills are the secret sauce that Netrix brought to the table to solve the client’s reporting problem quickly and inexpensively, delivering operational excellence, intelligent automation, improved data quality, and lasting business value.
Pains
Transactional batched data update overnight caused real-time access and reporting issues for the firm’s clients.
Data warehouse integration with the back-office systems was hard coded, and linear dependencies constrained maintenance and updates without total system disruption.
System availability and client access were expected 24/7, so the system could not be offline for maintenance without failing critical processes tied to SLAs, customer experience, and business commitments.
Gains
A rules engine and processes were developed so business line stakeholders could play a role in system maintenance and updates, reducing time-consuming tasks and helping to reduce errors.
The code-based process was replaced by the rules engine to facilitate future enhancements and updates, reducing manual processes like data entry that previously slowed the system.
Netrix combined the SOA with the firm’s existing technology to circumvent re-work, downtime, and budgetary constraints, while strengthening financial operations for long-term stability—an approach that resonated strongly with finance professionals.
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