Download - Uces Pro Evolution Datasheet
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Version1.3FINAL
31/07/2012
PresentedBy
Andreas Halbig
PRODUCTDATASHEET UCES Pro Evolution
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CaseStudy-UCESProEvolution
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ContentsCompanyProfile ............................................................................................................................ 3Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 4
UCESProEvolutionOverview......................................................................................................... 5
LimitationsandChallenges ............................................................................................................ 6
LookandFeel..................................................................................................................................... 6
LogonandRegistration...................................................................................................................... 6
EnhancementandOptimizationofStandardComponents............................................................... 7
AdditionandOptimizationofCustomComponents.......................................................................... 7
TechnicalSolution.......................................................................................................................... 9DevelopmentEnvironment ............................................................................................................... 9
Templatedriven............................................................................................................................... 10
Web-CMSIntegration ...................................................................................................................... 10
BusinessObjectLayer...................................................................................................................... 10
Extensibility...................................................................................................................................... 11
Benefits ........................................................................................................................................12
FasterImplementation/IncreasedCost-Benefits........................................................................... 12
Ready-To-UseExtraFunctionality.................................................................................................... 13
Conclusions...................................................................................................................................14
FurtherInformation ......................................................................................................................14
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Company ProfileEcomizeAGwasestablished2004andisregisteredasaSwissPublicLimitedCompany(PLC).
EcomizeAGisaSAPCRMfocusedconsultancyprovidingspecializedexpertisewithinSAPWeb
Channel(WEC),WebChannelExperienceManagement(WCEM),BillerDirectandUCESplatforms.
Wehavewideexperienceinworkingwithcustomersacrossmultipleindustries:
Aerospace&Defense
ConsumerProducts
High-Tech
Life-SciencesincludingPharmaceuticals
Media
Oil&Gas
ProfessionalServices
Retail
Utilities
Ourcustomersinclude:
BluewaterPower
Fresenius
Lindt&SprngliUK
LondonHydro
NorskMedisinaldepotAS
Rieber&Sn
SAP
Saskpower
SONY
TheCaravanClub
Uhlmann
RotoFrank
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OverviewBillerDirectformspartoftheSAPFinancialSupplyChainManagement(FSCM)offering,itprovidesa
webbasefrontendfortheElectronicBillPresentationandPayment(EBPP)processesformanaging
debits,creditsandonlinepaymentsforvarioususerscenarios(oftenreferredtoastheE-Billing
solution).
SAPUtilitiesCustomerE-Service(UCES)isthecorrespondingIndustrySolution,whichfurther
extendsBillerDirectwithspecificutilitiesindustryfunctionality(e.g.contractaccountsandself
servicecapabilities).
BillerDirect/UCESarebasedonwellarchitected,industrystandardtechnologies,providingtight
integrationtobackendSAPprocessesrelatedtoERPandCRM.Thestandardinstallationprovidesa
ready-to-gooutoftheboxsolutionwithawebbasedinteractionlayer(frontend).
Thisprovidesthecustomerwithanacceleratedimplementationframeworkwhichcaneasilybe
enhancedanddeployedaspartofanimplementationproject.
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UCES Pro Evolution Overview
Inanincreasinglycompetitivewebdominatedmarket,requirementsfortodayswebbasedapplicationsfarexceedthoseexpectedwhentheBillerDirect/UCESproductwasfirstconceived.
Todayswebapplicationsmustcompeteinamarketwheretechnologysavvycustomersdemand
visuallystimulating,contentdrivenapplicationsthatsupportmulti-channelaccessfromthemyriad
ofwebenableddevicestheyusetoorganizeandruntheirday-to-daylives.
Thispresentsthemodernbusinesswithasignificantchallenge.Itisnolongersufficienttojust
rolloutready-to-useoutoftheboxB2B/B2Csolutions,replacingtheoddlogoandtweakingthestyle
sheetappearance.
Equally,refocusingeffortstorespondtotherequirementsofanincreasinglydemandingcustomerbasemustbedonewithinthecontextoftodayschallengingglobaleconomy;businessesneedto
seekoutsolutionsthatallowthemtoleverageinvestmentsinexistinginfrastructureandtechnology
withoutsignificantlyincreasingtheirTCO,yetstillretainingtheircompetitiveadvantage.
Asaspecialexpertiseimplementationpartner,EcomizeAGhasbeenresponsiblefornumerous
implementationsofSAPBillerDirectandUCESwhichhasputusinauniquepositiontounderstand
thecomplexitiesinvolvedinsatisfyingthemanyandvariedcustomerrequirements,usingthe
standardproduct.
UCESProEvolutionrepresentsthenextlogicalstepfortheUCESapplicationplatformandisbased
ontheextensiveimplementationexperiencegarneredoverthemanyimplementationsinwhichwewereinvolved.
ThesolutionoffersaprovenapproachtosolvingthelimitationsofthestandardSAPBillerDirect/
UCESapplicationsincludingamajorre-workofkeyelementswithintheUCESfrontend,enabling
customerstodeliveragainsttheirrequirementswhilststillleveragingtheirinvestmentintheexisting
SAPinfrastructure.
OurapproachwhendevelopingtheUCESProEvolutionproducthasbeentoprovideaframework
whichmovesawayfromthetraditionalprojectbasedimplementingparadigm,insteadembracinga
conceptofcontinueddevelopmentandenhancementfocusedonreusingtheexpertiseofprevious
implementations.
ThishasprovedtobeafreshattitudetowardstraditionalprojectbasedSAPconsultingwhichhas
enabledustodifferentiateoursolutionforourcompetitors,inwhichwehavestriventoimprovethe
efficiencyofnewfeaturedevelopment,increasetheoverallflexibilityoftheproductandtoenable
thefastestpossibleimplementationpathforourcustomers.
UCESProEvolutionisthereforenotanewproduct;itrepresentstheaccumulationofmanyyears
knowledgeandexpertisegainedinimplementingSAPBillerDirect/UCESsolutionsformanyand
variedcustomers.
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Limitations and Challenges
ThefollowingsectionsexaminethelimitationsofthecurrentSAPBillerDirect/UCESproductandprovidedetailedinformationonthechallengestheUCESProEvolutionsolutionhasbeendesigned
toaddress.
Look and FeelThestandardUCESapplicationutilizesframesettechnology,meaningthebrowserscreenis
separatedintothreeframeseachusingphysicallyindependentHTMLfiles,oneforeachofthe
header,navigationandcontentcomponentsrespectively.
Thisapproachwasusedtocentralizedrecurrentpartsofthescreen,tomaintainthemwithinasingle
locationandavoidredundanciesusingabrowsersidetechnology.Atthetimewhentheframeset
basedtechnologywasimplemented,itwasgenerallydeemedsufficientforlookandfeelchangesto
bekepttoaminimum,onlytheadditionofheaderlogoandadjustmentofthecolourschemevia
CSSfilesconsiderednecessary.
Overrecentyears,greaterdemandforflexibilityandcontrolofthesecomponentshasdramatically
increased.Todaysexpectationsforfullyoptimizedandseamlesslyintegratedapplicationsinline
withtheoverallcorporatebranding/customerIdentityofcompanyhaveneverbeengreater.
Hereinliestheproblemwithframesets,theyareoftendifficultforbrowserstohandleinaconsistent
manner,resultinginnumerouslayoutissuesandmessyworkaroundstosupportthemultitudeof
differentbrowsersavailable.
Thismeansthatthecontentofeachscreenmustbemaintainedwithinindividualandlogically
independentfiles(upto200filesintotal).Changestolookandfeelacrossmultiplepagesneedto
beappliedindividuallytoeachpage,thishighdegreeofseparationresultsinredundantandtime
expensiveworkloads,withapproximately90%oftheworkloadduetotheredundancy.
Example:Acustomerreportsabrowsercompatibilityissuetothesupportdesk.Thisissueispassedtothe
technicalsupportgroupwhodulytracetheproblemtoasmallissuewithHTMLcompatibility,
requiringaminormodificationtotheapplication.
Thisproblemwasidentifiedwithin10minutes,but,duetothearchitectureoftheapplication,will
requirelengthyremedialworktoeachoftheeffectedpagesinordertosolve.Whatshouldbea
minorfixsolvedinafewminutesbyanexperienceddeveloper,escalatesintoachangethatwilltake
severalhourstocomplete.
Logon and RegistrationUCESprovideslogonandregistrationfunctionalitythroughaphysicallyindependentandcentralized
applicationviathesecurityAPIoftheSAPNetWeaverJAVAruntimeenvironment.
ThissecurityAPIisprotected,andhenceisnotavailableassourcewithintheNWDI(NetWeaver
DevelopmentEnvironment).Onlylimitedchangescanbeachievedviachangesapplieddirectlyto
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thedeployedapplication,whichmustberepeatedduringeachsubsequentdeploymentastheyare
automaticallyoverwrittenbythisprocesses.
Furthermore,giventhatthesecurityAPIprovidesacentralizedmodel,eachmodificationtothis
wouldapplytoallrunningapplicationinstancesonthedeploymentserverandcannotbelimitedtoa
specificinstancesuchasBillerDirect/UCES.
Whilstthepossibilitytooptimizethisprocessisthereforetechnicallyfeasible,neverthelessthisisa
timeconsumingandexpensiveprocess,whichlimitstheflexibilitytomaximizeautomationand
usability
Example:Acustomerrequeststheimplementationofsecurityenhancementwhichwouldautomatically
timeoutpasswordsgeneratedbythepasswordresetfacilityifnotusedwithin24hrs,inorderto
increasethesecurityoftheprocessfortheuser.
Underthecurrentarchitecture,theimplementationofthisfunctionalityviathestandardsecurity
APIwouldrequireasignificantinvestmentintimeandresources,makingthischangeinfeasibleto
achievewithinareasonabletimeframe.
Enhancement and Optimization of Standard ComponentsEnhancementandoptimizationofanyHTMLdoesrequireagivenamountoftimeandeffortto
achieve,butunderthecurrentarchitecture,enhancementofthedatalayerislimitedasdatais
mostlytransferredtothescreenviaXMLdocuments,whichincreasethecomplexitytomodify,filter
orenrichthisdata.
Furthermore,theevaluationofthisdataisoftenhappeningwithintherenderingprocessofthe
HTMLpageandrequiresthatbusinesslogicbeembeddedhere.Asaresult,thiscomplicatestheenhancementfurther,aseachmodificationmustbeembeddedwithintheindividualrendering
process.Giventhatalmosteverypagehasanindependentprocesstoload,manageandreleaseits
dataelements,thenumberofpointsforenhancementstartstoincreasedramaticallyforeach
modification.
Example:Acustomerhastherequirementtohidespecifictypesofcontractsonagivenscreenbasedupon
theirdescription.
Inordertosatisfythisrequirement,theXMLdatastructuremustbeenhancedandtheadditional
businesslogicprovided,whilstthebusinesslogiccaneasilybeimplementedwithin30minutesorso,correctionstotheXMLdocumentalonetakeuptoadaytocomplete.
Addition and Optimization of Custom ComponentsTheintegrationandoptimizationofcustomscreenswithinthestandardUCESapplicationcan
generallybeperformedwithoutcomplication;especiallywheretheyarecompletelyindependent
fromotherscreensandrequireonlylimitedorcommoninformationaboutthecurrentaccount.
Unfortunately,iffurtherinformationisrequiredtoprocessadditionaldatafromotherscreensor
backenddatasources,thenasignificantamountofadditionaltimewillbeusedinordertogain
accesstothisdata.Therefore,thevastmajorityofthedevelopmenteffortassociatedwithsuch
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changesisfocusedpurelyondataaccessratherthattheadditionalbusinesslogicbeingprovidedby
thepage.
Example:ThecustomerhastherequirementtodisplaythemeterreadstableofthevanillaContract
Overviewscreenwithinanotherpage.
Inordertosatisfythisrequirement,theexistingdatamustfirstbemadeavailabletothispageand
thebusinesslogicimplementedtointerpretthisdata.Upto90%ofthedevelopmenttimewillbe
investedinmakingthedataavailabletothepagewhilst10%ofthetimewillactuallybespenton
developingthenewpageandassociatedbusinesslogictoprocessthedata.
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Technical Solution
ThefollowingdiagramdetailsthetechnicalarchitectureoftheUCESProEvolutionSolution.Furthertechnicaldetailisprovidedinthesubsequentsections.
Development Environment
UCESProEvolutionisbuiltupontheSAPNWDI(NetWeaverDevelopmentEnvironment).Ithasbeenembeddedwithinahierarchicallikestructurethatinheritsfromandenrichestheexisting
standardfunctionalityratherthanthreadinganapplicationcompletelyindependentlyofthe
standardcomponent.
Aspartoftheintegratedbuildprocess,allnewcontentisautomaticallymergedontheflywiththe
standardcomponentsandallcustomerspecificmodificationsareencapsulatedwithinUCESPro
Evolutioninthesamewayasintroducinganyotherdeployablecomponent.
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Themainadvantagesofthisapproachare:
PatchesandUpgradesofthestandardUCEScomponentcanbeappliedatanytime
UCESProEvolutionglobalfeaturesarealsocontainedintheirowncomponent,newer
versionsofproductcanbedeployedindependentlyofcustomerdevelopments
Customerdevelopmentsarephysicallyseparatedfromtheinheritedcomponents;thisgives
thecustomermoretransparencyaboutenhancementimplementationsandsimplifiesthemaintenanceprocess.
Template drivenUCESProEvolutionisatemplateorientatedframeworkwherecentralizedmaintenanceoftemplates
reducesredundanciesandgreatlyincreasesthereusabilityofspecificscreenelements.
Migratingtothistemplatedrivenarchitecturefreesthecustomerfromtheoutdatedframeset
technologyallowingthemtheflexibilitytoachievethoselookandfeelobjectivesnotpreviously
possibleinthestandardoffering.
ScreensarereturnedtothebrowserwithinasingleHTMLresponse,inparallelamodularized
concepthasbeenappliedtoeachindividualscreen,elementsofthescreencanbeexchanged,
interchangedandreusedwithouttheneedtophysicallytouchanyofthepages.
Web-CMS IntegrationUCESProEvolutionprovidesuniqueadaptertechnologytoretrievethecompletewebpageandits
contentdirectlyfromaCMSsystem,currentlyprovidingsupportforJoomlaandMcCannwithEktron
supportunderdevelopment.
TheadvantagesofsuchintegrationarethatthecontentoftheCMSwillbedynamicallymergedonflywiththeUCESfunctionalitypermittingminorchangestopagetitles,text(beforeandafterthe
maincontent)andindividualUCESscreenswithouttheinvolvementoftechnicalresourcesandwith
immediateeffect.
Business Object LayerUnlikeSAPsWeb-Channelsolution,BillerDirect/UCESdoesnotprovideseparationbetweenthe
controlanddatalayers.Toprovideincreaseflexibilityandeasieraccesstodata,UCESProEvolution
providesaframeworkfromwhichtoaccesstheBusinessObjectLayer(BOL)whosecore
functionalitiesareaccessiblethroughtheinterface.
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LeverageofthisBusinessObjectLayer(BOL)significantlyreducesthetimetakentodelivernewdata
accessrequirements,modifyingandenhancingthedataaccesslayerwithouttheneedtore-write
therenderingandcontrollayeraspartoftheprocess.
Additionally,useoftheBOLlayerprovidestheadvantageofseparationbetweenbackendand
frontendprocesses,includingtheflexibilitytoreplaceabackendimplementationwithouteffecton
thefrontend.
ExtensibilityUCESProEvolutionhasbeendesignedtomaximizetheapplicationextensioncapabilitiesavailableto
thecustomer,providingthecapabilitytoextenddataaccess,controlandrenderingprocesses
independentlywithsupportforindustrystandardtechnologiessuchasJSON,XMLandHTML5
rendering.
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BenefitsThefollowingsectionsexaminethemanybenefitsofimplementtheUCESProEvolutionssolution.
Faster Implementation / Increased Cost-BenefitsUCESProEvolutiontypicallyleadstoimplementationswheretheprojectdevelopmenttogo-live
cycleisdecreasedbyupto43%.
Thegreatlyenhancedpossibilitytoenablerequirementsinastraightforwardmannernotonly
impactsthedevelopmentcyclebutsignificantlyreducestheeffortrequiredduringtheblueprinting
phasewhilstcontinuingtosupportamoreflexibleandmodulatedfoundationforfurther
modificationandcostefficientsupport.
Inparallel,anincreaseinusabilityoftheproductisalsoachievedthroughtheuseofclientside
scriptingframeworksandothertechnologies.Theseenhancementsensureyourcustomersreceive
thebestuserexperiencepossible.
Improvingyourcustomerexperiencealsohasbenefitsforyourbusinessaswell,happiercustomers
raisefewercomplaints,userfriendlyapplicationpromoteE-Serviceadoptionandallowyouto
furtherinnovateinyourservicedeliverytoreducetheworkloadandcostsofyourcustomer
services,call-centresorotherservicechannels.
2!1!
12!
6!
2!
2!
0!2!4!6!8!
10!12!14!16!18!
UCES! Pro Evo!
Testing!Implementation!Blueprint!
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Ready-To-Use Extra FunctionalityUCESProEvolutionisalotmorethanjustafancyfrontendandcatchytitles,inadditiontoallthe
standardUCESfunctionalityavailable,UCESProEvolutionincorporatesmanyotherinnovative
functionalitiesincluding.
Logononbehalfallowyourcustomerservicetoseethesameasyourcustomeronscreen.
BusinessPartneraddresssynchronization
InteractiveConsumptionCharts
Advancedsearchoptions
Displaybillsbyaccount
SmartMeter/TOUsupport
Environmentalinformation/Temperaturecharts
Meterreadschedulecalendar
HTML5/MobileDeviceSupport
UserAccountStatistics(Admin)
Andmore
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Conclusions
Mostoftherequirementsforthefrontendarecommonandgenerallyrelativelysimpletoachieve,yetthemajorityofthetimeusedforimplementationwillbeallocatedtohandlingthenecessary
dataandenvironmentchanges.
Theoverheadforcompletingsuchchangestobringinlinetheapplicationwithcorporatebrand/
customeridentity,includingtheoptimizationofexistingscreensandfrontendprocessestherefore
presentsasignificantchallengetoachievewithinareasonableandcosteffectivetimeframe.
UCESProEvolutionwas,therefore,conceivedtoaddresstheseissues,provideaseamlessly
integratedapplication,thatishighlyfocusedonuserexperienceandusabilityyetleveragesthe
existinginvestmentinapplicationarchitectureandinfrastructureoftheBillerDirect/UCES
platform,providingtightintegrationtobackendSAPprocessesrelatedtoERPandCRM.
Further InformationIfyourequirefurtherinformationpleasecheckoutourwebsite www.ecomize.comwhereallourup
todateinformationandcontactdetailscanbefound.