Unified Mobile Application to Integrate SalesForce, Oracle EBS, Taleo, Outlook & Kofax Modules

Unified Mobile Application to Integrate SalesForce, Oracle EBS, Taleo, Outlook & Kofax ModulesA Whitepaper by RapidValue Solutions

©RapidValue Solutions

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index

Executive Summary

Sample Implementation – Building Unified Mobile Application

Conclusion

Single Sign-on Authentication using ADFS and OID

Mobilized Use Cases

Solution Benefits


17 About RapidValue

In the last couple of years, enterprises have

understood that mobile applications can help

them reduce the infrastructure costs, boost

productivity and facilitate exibility of millennial

employees. As a result, we now observe a plethora

of enterprise mobile applications in the market.

Employers and employees both nd it challenging

to manage and economically maintain multiple

applications catering to different use cases.

This paper is a continuation of the previous

whitepaper on Approach to Unified Mobile

Application Implementation for Multisystem

Integration. It discusses solution to the above-

mentioned problem by describing a sample

integrated implementation which manages

various important use cases from different legacy

systems.

A unified mobile application acts as a one-stop

solution for the sales team as it will mobilize use

cases right from recruitment of sales team to

submitting and approving their expense reports /

purchase requisitions to managing opportunities

and contacts along with respective follow-ups. This

includes integration of various on-premise and

cloud-based systems like Oracle EBS, Salesforce,

Oracle Taleo, Kofax and MS Outlook.

Executive Summary

The entire design of the unified mobile application

is scalable and modularized for ensuring flexibility

and easy configuration.

The Unified Mobile App solution mentioned in

the whitepaper provides an intuitive UI and also,

a highly customizable and scalable solution. This

paves the way for future integrations. Mobilizing

legacy systems with Unified Mobile App has

several advantages. You can seamlessly, share data

where it’s needed to automate business processes.

It provides users a 360-degree view of business-

critical information.

This paper explains how to build a Unified Mobile

Application to Integrate SalesForce.com (SFDC), Oracle

E-Business Suite (EBS), Taleo, Outlook and Kofax

Modules.

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Unified Mobile Application to Integrate SFDC, Oracle EBS, Taleo, Outlook and Kofax Modules

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http://www.rapidvaluesolutions.com/whitepapers/approach-to-unified-mobile-application-implementation-for-multisystem-integration.html



SampleImplementation-Building Unified Mobile ApplicationSingle Sign-on Authentication using ADFS and OID

Mobilized Use Cases

Solution Benefits


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Sample Implementation-Building Unified Mobile Application

In this section, we have explained with a real-world

scenario on how RapidValue has implemented a

Unified Mobile application solution to integrate

Oracle EBS, Taleo, Salesforce and MS Outlook

Modules using Kofax as a third party storage

system.

Synchrony between Oracle MAF / PhoneGap and

Oracle MCS can help to swiftly churn out cross-

platform applications integrating multiple ERP,

CRM and third party storage systems (modules like

I-expense / Approvals from Oracle EBS, Kofax for

third party file storage, Salesforce and MS Outlook)

to provide a unified mobile experience. With

Oracle Mobile Cloud Service (MCS) & Oracle Mobile

Application Framework (MAF), you can seamlessly

orchestrate MS exchange services, EBS web

services, Kofax document store services and cloud-

based Salesforce services and also can implement

the integrated cross-platform app (Android/ iOS)

within 6-8 weeks which otherwise with a native

approach, will take 22-24 weeks of effort. That is

approximately 65-75% lesser time compared to

the usual method of mobilizing.

The key benefit of embarking on cloud journey

with Oracle MCS is that it opens doors to future

integrations with different modules of multiple

systems. Thus, reducing future compatibility cost.

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Unified Mobile Application to Integrate SalesForce, Oracle EBS, Taleo, Outlook and Kofax Modules


Taleo

Approve / Reject Recruitment Requisitions

and Offer letters.

Online / Offline Mode

Tackle intermittent Internet connectivity

with an offline feature.

Salesforce

Leads, Opportunities & Contact

Management with real-time updates.

MS Outlook

Calendar sync with multiple Salesforce

contacts, Meeting Reminders and Events.

Oracle Approvals

Approve/Reject worklist like Purchase

Orders, Purchase Requisitions, Invoices,

Leave Requests, Expense Reports.

Essential Features Some of the essential features for the

unified mobile application are:

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Oracle Expense Management

Create/view Expense Reports, Report

Withdrawal, Authority Delegation,

Capturing Receipt Images using a mobile

camera, credit card integration, Kofax

integration for capturing expense receipt

attachments.


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Architectural Approach

The major layers/components of the

architecture deployed for mobilizing

Oracle EBS with Salesforce and MS Outlook

integration is explained below:

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ON-PREMISE

MOBILECLOUD SERVICE

DatabaseJava Container

Oracle Internet Directory

ADFS ActiveDirectory

Cross-platform Apps


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Authentication

The mobile application is authenticated

using MCS SSO with Microsoft AD which is

federated. (ADFS) ADFS sits on top of AD

(which is in sync with OID) and thus, it is

federated for Oracle EBS, Salesforce, Taleo

and Outlook.

Oracle MCS makes the architecture future

proof, scalable and secure. Also, with out-of-box

connectors available for other integration services,

like Oracle Integration Cloud Service (ICS), the

architecture is more ‘future-designed’ at a time

when the companies are moving towards Cloud

infrastructure. Using MCS, more cloud services

can be integrated as it facilitates faster creation

of Custom API and Connector API. Also, MCS is

compatible with multiple mobile platforms with

out-of- the box SDKs for native iOS, Android and

cross- platform frameworks like Oracle MAF and

Xamarin etc. It has technologies for location API,

Analytics, Document Storage, Push Notifications,

Connector API’s etc. which help the organization

to build on top of current architecture for future

requirements such as location services or analytic

reporting.

Secure Integration

The web services are exposed from Oracle

EBS using ‘Java Container’ (Custom) which

creates REST APIs from the Oracle Pl/SQL

custom packages deployed in Oracle DB.

The Java Container is connected to Oracle

DB using Java Database Connectivity

(JDBC) connection. The Java Connector also,

fetches and posts files to Kofax (a third party

file storage system).The Rest services are

passed to Oracle MCS using a Reverse proxy

setup in DMZ layer for additional security to

mask the enterprise systems from internet.

There will be internal and external reverse

proxies. For high availability, a load balancer

is also used in external DMZ.

Oracle MCS

Oracle MCS is used as an integration and

mobile backend services system. Push

notifications, mobile user management

are managed using MCS. Custom APIs are

developed for webservice orchestration

(aggregation) using MCS for Oracle EBS

services, Outlook, Taleo and Salesforce API’s.

Also, MCS is used for logging transactional

data like various events from mobile, API

performance etc. for getting analytical

information for mobile app usages.

Mobile Client

Mobile application is built using cross-

platform technology like Oracle MAF or

PhoneGap or open source JavaScript

technologies, so that one single source

code can be used to get a build that can

run on iOS, Android and Windows phone.


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For organizations using ADFS as SSO federated

system, list of user IDs (to be used in unified

mobile app) can be uploaded to MCS in order to

map it to AD. The user id repository in MCS can be

updated regularly from ADFS using an automated

Selenium scripts.

Oracle Internet Directory (OID), which is part of

Oracle Identity Management Solution of Fusion

middleware product suite, is used for implementing

secure login from the mobile application to Oracle

E-Business ERP. OID, leveraging the security from

Oracle database layer, helps to authenticate against

Oracle EBS through Oracle Access Manager (OAM).

OID integrates seamlessly with Microsoft AD and

gets in sync with AD user profiles.

Salesforce, Taleo and Outlook use ADFS and AD for

login respectively, so there is no other mapping

required for implementing secure login from the

mobile application.

Thus, with a single sign-on ID, defined in Active

directory, the user can access different systems like

Oracle EBS, Salesforce, Taleo and MS outlook

calendar on his/her mobile device.

Single Sign-on Authentication using Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) and Oracle Internet Directory (OID)


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Using the same architecture explained above, the

following use cases can also, be easily mobilized in

a mashed up way.

Mobilized Use Cases

Field ServiceManagement

ApprovalManagement

Service Management Viewing the Pending Approvals

Task Management Respond to Notifications

Task Debrief

Capture Notes

Digital Signature

Google Map Navigation

Manager ConsoleApprovals History

Viewing Attachments

Offline Capability

Locate Technicians on Google Map

Purchase Requisition

User & Device Management

Purchase Orders

Messaging & Video Conferencing

Leave Request

Invoices

Expense Report


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InventoryManagement

OrderManagement

Check Stock Availability of Items Online Creation

Perform Sub-Inventory Transfers Online Booking of Sales Orders

View Status of Booked Orders

Pick, Release and Shipping ofBooked Orders

Generate Invoice for Shipping Orders

View Invoice and PDF Outcomes

View Transfer Transactions

Perform Picking

Perform Issues

Conduct Cycle Counting

Receive Items in Inventory

Perform License Plate Number (LPN)Transfer

Inquire about License Plate Number


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ProcurementManagement

HRMS

Creating a Purchase Requisition (PR)

Viewing PRs

Creating Purchase Orders (PO)

Creating Receipts

Viewing Receipts

View and Edit Employee Profile

View Organization Hierarchy Chart

Employee Look-up

Apply Absence usingTeam Calender

View and Search Paystub

Office Capability


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I-Expense Time and Labor

Online Creation and Submission

of Expense Reports

Indivdual Time Entry

Time Card Review

Editing Already Saved Time Cards

Submitting Multiple Time CardSimultaneously

Fast Time Entry

Time Card Approvals

Punch-in (Stop Watch EnabledTime Entry)

Setting Default Parameters

Capture Photographs of Receipts using Mobile Cameras and Upload to Expense Reports

View Status of Expense ReportsSubmitted

Withdrawal of Expense Reports forEditing

Manager Approvals

Authority Delegation

Integration with Corporate and Personal Credit Cards for Importing Charges to Expense Report


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SFDC

Outlook

Taleo

View Contacts

Schedule Events

View Opportunities

Schedule Reminders

Create Contacts

Create Opportunities

Approve Requisition

Approve Offer Letter


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Solution BenefitsThe unified mobile application solution, owning

to custom java connector and cloud integration,

not only provides an intuitive UI but also a highly

customizable and scalable solution which open

doors to future integrations. Mobilizing legacy

systems with the unified mobile application has a

plethora of advantages like:

Increased Employee Productivity

Promotes BYOD Culture,Reduces Infrastructure Cost and Provides Easy Maintenance

Drastic Reduction inTransaction Time (up to 75 %)

Quick Time to Market01

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This flexibility helps the employee to

maintain a good work-life balance as

employees can utilize there travelling time

and can effectively contribute by taking

timely business decisions.

Mobilizing daily use cases of multiple legacy

systems will surely incur initial investment

but the savings in the long run, wins the

deal. Since employees are free to use their

own mobile devices, employers save a lot of

equipment/paper printing costs and also,

avert delay in business decision making. A

unified mobile application saves employers

from spending on maintenance of multiple

apps catering to different legacy systems.

The expense approval time which typically

takes between 1-5 days can be reduced to 2

to 4 hours using Oracle MCS.

Owning to pre- built connectors and

adapters, the unified application solution

can be quickly configured to work with any

legacy system like Oracle EBS, Mainframes,

SFDC, SAP, Outlook etc.

With Oracle MCS and MAF, you can develop

cross-platform applications for Android /

iPhone using a single source code. Oracle

MCS simplifies the integration as most of

the backend features could be siphoned

off to MBAAS. There are SDKs and out-of-

box APIs for features like Push Notification,

Storage collections, Location API, Custom

connectors and Analytics. Custom API

creation and aggregation for Oracle EBS,

Taleo, Outlook & Salesforce APIs is quicker.

End points for web services in MCS could

be tested faster during the implementation

using MCS console. Overall, with cross-

platform mobile development frameworks

and MCS we could implement a lot more

features in half the time frame (~50 %

reduction in time to market).


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Identification of UsagePatterns in Business Processes using MCS Analytics

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Leveraging mobile client SDK, MCS can

record data and provide analytical details

on Users, Sessions and API calls details.

The analytical information will help CIO of

companies to:

Do a quantitative analysis of reduction in

transaction time after implementation of

mobile app.

Highlight the pain point areas in a business

work-flow by recording a series of event

details.

Ensure conformance to pre-defined SLAs

after verifying the number of API failures.

Quantify the mobile / BYOD adoption rate

in the organization.

Determine the need of infrastructure

upgrades by measuring concurrent session

usage.

Cut the infrastructure cost for physical data

storage and operations especially when

integrating with multiple systems like

Oracle EBS, SAP, Taleo, SFDC, Outlook etc.

Cross-platform Availability

Mashup Data from Multiple Sources

Highly Secure Environment

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The unified application is available on

Android, iOS & Windows, in both mobile

and tablet versions.

The unified application can integrate

multiple sources like SFDC, Mainframes,

Taleo, Oracle EBS, SAP, Outlook etc.

The use of reverse proxies both externally

and internally masks the backend systems

from Internet and the mobile application

does not directly communicate with legacy

systems.

Highly Scalable09

Since the unified mobile is based on cloud

platform, it can easily be scaled up for

higher usage.


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User Analytics Compatibility

Third party storage integration

Push Notifications

Touch Id authentication

NO

NO

NO

NO

YES

YES

YES

YES

Feature Out-of-the box Apps Unified Mobile App

Cross-Platform Availability NO YES

Compatible with lower EBS

versions (<R12) and other legacy

sysytem

Scalability / Modularity (Future

integrations to SAP etc.)

NO

NO

YES

YES

Much More to Offer than Standard ’Out-of-the box’ Apps

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Conclusion

The Unified Mobile Application Solution is highly modular and can adapt to any specific client use cases. The modules are loosely coupled which makes it easy to add and remove different functionalities and features that can mobilize various backend systems. A typical Unified Mobile Application implementation can provide a one stop solution integrating multiple modules from SFDC, Oracle EBS, Taleo , Outlook and Kofax systems and present data in a mashed up way. Owning to cloud infrastructure , the web services can be scaled up and adapt to different user loads. The secure architecture uses internal and external reverse proxies to ensure that the enterprise backend systems are not directly exposed to internet. The user analytics feature provided by Oracle MCS can help identify process pain points and thus , further add to ROI.

About the Author Saurabh Bahree is the Senior Consultant, Oracle

Mobility at RapidValue. He is a certified scrum

master and PMP professional. Saurabh is an

MBA graduate from the Great Lakes Institute

of Management and he comes with over 7

years of international work experience in health

management, financial regulatory reporting and

Oracle ERP domain.

If you’d like to know more about Unified Mobile

Application Solutions, please reach out to us at

[email protected]

We’d be happy to hear from you!

Saurabh BahreeSenior Mobility Consultant/ Scrum Master

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hereby notified that the use, circulation, quoting, or reproducing of this report is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.

A global leader in digital transformation for enterprise providing end-to-end

mobility, omni-channel, IoT and cloud solutions. Armed with a large team of

experts in consulting, UX design, application development, integration and

testing, along with experience delivering projects worldwide, in mobility and

cloud, we offer a wide range of services across industry verticals. We deliver services

to the world’s top brands, fortune 1000 companies, Multinational companies and

emerging start-ups. We have offices in the United States, UK and India.

www.rapidvaluesolutions.com

+1 877.643.1850

www.rapidvaluesolutions.com/blog

[email protected]

©RapidValue Solutions March, 2017

Unified Mobile Application to Integrate SalesForce, Oracle EBS, Taleo, Outlook & Kofax Modules

Technology

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