Integration: Added Power at Your Fingertips
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At Optical Image Technology, Inc., we make integration as easy as possible for our customers. Whether you need to add a few simple commands to enable your current software to do more, or a robust system that allows you to perform thousands of additional commands without adding programmers and complicating work for your employees, we have an integration solution that can work for you. With DocFinity®, there are infinite possibilities for integration, most of which are as simple as the touch of a button for your employees. Read on to learn about which solutions are right for you: implementing the simplified DocFinity URL API, adding the robust functionality of our newly enhanced Web Services API, or working with the Java-based File Handler. Whether you choose one of the solutions independently or combine them for even greater functionality, integrating with DocFinity will expand your administrative power and flexibility.
Integration Made Easy: The DocFinity URL API (Application Programming Interface)
Description: The DocFinity URL API is a simplified API which is driven by URLs (web addresses), and it is the “gateway to integration”.
The URL API enables users to run queries and view objects stored in the DocFinity Repository from within their own applications (such as correspondence, policies, check images or other stored documents), and is a quick and easy method of integration. It gives companies the option of keeping end-users in their existing environment while giving them the power of the DocFinity system. If your end users are productive in their existing application environment, this method allows you to introduce the functionality of DocFinity quickly from a single button or drop-down menu versus a whole new interface that they would otherwise need to learn and maintain.
How it works: The URL API functions by following a set of simple, routine commands that are automatically launched by the user and provide instant access to information. By using a “Command URL”, an organization’s IT resource can open the DocFinity IntraVIEWERŪ (which enables the user to view the desired information or objects) and ask the system to generate a requested object or hit list of desired information (such as a list of all policies handled by a specific insurance agent, all students eligible for a certain financial aid package, or a list of all medical claims under $10,000). The “Command URL” can send a list of parameters to the URL, which tells the DocFinity IntraVIEWER automatically what to do behind the scenes, and which applications to open in order to display the information sought by the user.
Options: Depending on the preference of the company and its users, the administrator can view the information in two different ways. The administrator can set up the system to launch the DocFinity Viewer (if they are willing to view desired objects by using our Viewer), which enables the user to view all of the files in the same format and with the same graphical appearance. Administrators can also choose to have the documents return as a dynamically created PDF or return in native file format to the browser.
Figure 1
Benefits: The user benefits by being able to access desired information quickly and easily within familiar software applications, supplying users with more information while ensuring the comfort of “business as usual.” The API solution enables clients to integrate seamlessly without having to engage in time-consuming and cost-intensive programming, or hiring someone to write custom programming for them.
An Introduction to Web Services API
A robust Web Services Application Programming Interface (API) is a leap beyond the traditional methods of integration for administrators. Prior to Web Services, organizations had to hire (or utilize their own) IT staff to program and reengineer systems so that different applications could communicate with each other. Not every organization had the resources to manage this, and the process was cumbersome.
The introduction of Web Services dramatically improved the effectiveness and speed of integration. Furthermore, it became possible to perform multiple integrations simultaneously, while almost nullifying the integration responsibilities for the organizations using these services. By eliminating the IT person’s integration responsibilities through the implementation of non-proprietary Web Services offered by savvy vendors with leading enterprise systems, companies now have access to a powerful set of tools that provide a substantial return on investment. Through Web Services, organizations can save substantial time and money, enabling client IT resources to be used where they are needed (and most effective) within an organization.
Although changes in standards may still emerge, Web Services is based on standards and technologies that have been successfully in operation for more than a decade. These technologies have been employed effectively by Optical Image Technology in Fortune 500 companies and Big Ten universities as well as smaller operations, and the results speak clearly for themselves.
The Ultimate Solution in Integration: DocFinity Web Services APIDescription: The Web Services API enables users to tap into all of the functionality of the DocFinity Client, but within their own familiar software applications, portals or web pages (regardless of which language or platform they employ), thanks to the universal standard of Web Services. This allows users access to the full breadth of the DocFinity suite of products, but enables them to spend their time working efficiently with applications they already know and understand rather than having to spend time learning to use new software. Internal applications (such as initiating an invoice and routing it through a workflow) can be set up to activate workflows without the end user being aware of these changes.
Figure 1
How it works: The DocFinity API allows servers to communicate with each other behind the scenes, enabling the client to extract needed information, generate reports, view archived images and files, process information electronically through automated workflow, and much more. The client’s other LOB (line of business) applications can communicate with the DocFinity API through a SOAP call (simple object access protocol), which is an open protocol that is accepted by many corporate environments. SOAP is an application layer protocol that is implemented over HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol), a common Web technology that standard Web browsers use to transfer pages from the server to the end client. The “Search for Documents” illustrated in Figure 2 would use a SOAP call to search documents in the DocFinity repository using a primary key (such as a list of all objects which are associated with a specific agent, student, patient, or customer number). It would then employ XML to further instruct the system regarding what data to expect (invoices, for example) and what formats are available. It can request such metadata from the repository of stored information and objects, or put a desired document or file into an automated workflow for further processing.
The keystone of DocFinity integration: The DocFinity API supports the industry’s messaging standards of XML and SOAP. Open standards keep the product flexible and allow integration with most major development toolsets. With the inclusion of Web services into popular office applications such as Microsoft Office 2003, integration possibilities are endless for the enterprise. DocFinity Web services focuses primarily on interacting with metadata, indexing information, and workflow messaging. The integration then utilizes URL commands to return documents as described in the URL command section. If the application needs access to the raw file, then an additional tool, File Handler (detailed later in this document) will return the file.
Benefits: Users of the Web Services API automatically benefit from the same reliable security systems as those that are available to users of the DocFinity Client; in other words, the same security of a non-web-based environment. As new functionality continues to be added to the DocFinity Client applications, customers using the Web Services API will have access to these same additional capabilities within their own familiar software applications. Work assignments and file access are controlled through the API's session management and authentication. Companies have access to much more powerful tools without compromising the familiarity that makes employees feel comfortable doing their jobs.
Costs: All DocFinity customers are provided with the ability to call our Web Services API for no extra charge, as it is included in the DocFinity Core.
File Handler: A Java-centered Option for Integration
Description: For customers who need to change the location of their files, File Handler is an important ingredient in the integration mix. This tool makes it possible for software integrators to move files across different parts of the network on the back end, impervious to the user. By integrating with File Handler, a company can physically move complete document files into (or out of) the repository with ease.
File Handler also increases network security by providing a single entry-point access to DocFinity storage locations. It is a Java RMI application (Remote Method Invocation), and the communication takes place between the File Handler Client and File Handler Server over two configurable ports: a Remote Method Invocation (RMI) port and a separate file-streaming port; the File Handler Server directly accesses the repository storage location. File Handler can be embedded by users within their own applications to retrieve files easily, even through firewalls. File Handler does not require Windows UNC paths to be open across a company firewall. It provides the most efficient network transfer possible for file objects within the DocFinity repository, allowing SOAP calls to focus exclusively on workflow messaging and metadata.
Benefits: Integration through the File Handler provides increased security of information for the integration application. File Handler is a single Java object reference that only needs a DocFinity document pointer to retrieve an object, regardless of whether the object is a stored image/file or a compressed report.
Costs: Like the DocFinity Web Services API, the File Handler is available at no extra cost for customers when they purchase the DocFinity Core.
Integrating With the Modules in the DocFinity Suite: Building Blocks that Fit Together on a Strong Foundation
Overview: At Optical Image Technology, we pride ourselves on a well-conceived core product that integrates seamlessly with each of our enhancement modules. DocFinity’s non-proprietary, open architecture enables customers to achieve a higher level of business performance through integration, configuration, and scalability. Like an architectural masterpiece, the DocFinity Core provides a strong foundation in imaging, storage, and retrieval, and the enhancement modules provide the architectural details that make an organization capable of managing documents and information in nearly any means that is envisioned by a company.
If you can create blueprints of your business processes, we can supply you with the right combination of products to meet your needs. The products integrate seamlessly in the Front End, which can be accessed via the Native Client in a Windows-based environment or through the DocFinity IntraVIEWER Web Client, by using a standard Web browser. If you prefer, you can interface with the DocFinity product line through your own applications, portals, or web pages through our different API options as discussed above.
Storage details for the tech-savvy administrator: DocFinity supports any file type and will convert 80 types of the most common file formats, including TIFF, JPEG, DOC, XLS, PDF, MP3, and AVI to PDF on the fly. Your company’s information can be stored in the SQL database of your choice, such as MS SQL, Oracle, and Sybase. Any SQL-compliant database will work, as long as DocFinity can recognize it as a drive letter or UNC. The objects which you keep in your repository of stored information can be physically stored on the device of your choice, based on your volume and preferences. (Optical Image Technology’s only technical requirement is that we must be mapped to the device, or recognize it as a UNC device. The DocFinity executables must reside on an XP, 2000, 2003, or Windows 20xx environment.) The IntraVIEWER URL API toolkit is included in the DocFinity Suite to accomplish the integration of DocFinity with third-party software such as Oracle Financials, giving you the keys to tools that will enable you to advance as your organization and its repository of stored information grow.
For additional information regarding Integration with DocFinity, please contact us.
