Lotus Expeditor

• Migliora la reattività dell'azienda e aumenta la produttività dei dipendenti fornendo un desktop composito che include e integra diverse applicazioni, tra cui: Microsoft ActiveX, Java Swing, SWT, IBM WebSphere Host Access Transformation Services, IBM WebSphere Portal IBM e Workplace Forms.
• Aumenta la produttività fornendo accesso ad applicazioni di business, sempre, dovunque, con o senza connettività di rete.
• Consente di ridurre i costi di gestione, permettendo agli amministratori di implementare e gestire le applicazioni remote.
• Maggiore flessibilità mediante il riutilizzo delle risorse, riducendo il TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) grazie alla scelta di un approccio SOA. Le funzionalità client fornite sono già incluse in altre offerte IBM, come IBM WebSphere Portal, IBM Lotus Sametime, IBM Workplace Forms e IBM WebSphere Application Server.
• Semplifica l'estensione delle applicazioni ai client grazie a un modello di programmazione familiare.
• Consente di evitare problemi legati alle limitazioni dei vari fornitori grazie all'utilizzo di modelli di programmazione basati su standard OSGiTM Alliance e Eclipse Foundation. Alternativa valida al client Microsoft .NET, Lotus Expeditor fornisce la flessibilità dell'architettura SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) e degli standard aperti basati sulla piattaforma Eclipse (Eclipse è una comunità open source dedicata all'implementazione di una piattaforma di sviluppo universale).
• Consente di accelerare lo sviluppo e l'implementazione di una soluzione di applicazioni client gestite mediante servizi e strumenti dei Business Partner IBM.

• Composizione. Fornisce un software client gestito universale per SOA (Service Oriented Architecture). Questa soluzione può essere utilizzata per sviluppare e implementare applicazioni composite che includono tutti i tipi di componenti, da Java Foundation Class Swing, terminali di testo, Microsoft Visual Basic, ActiveX e applet a viste Web o native, come Asynchronous JavaScript e XML (Ajax), Adobe PDF, Java Server Pages, IBM WebSphere Portal e i componenti di IBM Workplace Forms. Così, è possibile creare una vista grafica integrata e un workflow integrato all'interno delle applicazioni composite, utilizzando i processi contenuti nelle applicazioni back-office. Il toolkit di Lotus Expeditor include un editor delle proprietà che consente di semplificare e accelerare l'integrazione dei componenti all'interno delle applicazioni composite.
• Integrazione. Gli utenti hanno sempre a portata di mano le informazioni necessarie, con la possibilità di accedere a più origini dati mediante il client gestito utilizzando diverse tecnologie, come:
  • Web services (JSR 172 e Apache Axis – JSR 101).
  • IBM DB2 Everyplace.
  • WebSphere Portal (portlet JSR 168).
  • IBM WebSphere Business Integration Adapter (e il proxy client SCA).
• Accesso disconnesso. Aumenta la produttività fornendo accesso non in linea alle applicazioni, tramite i dati e la logica di business locale. Supporto per WebSphere Portlet Factory al fine di sviluppare portlet client gestiti in modalità non in linea.
• Accesso mobile. Consente ai dipendenti di accedere alle informazioni enterprise anche quando non in azienda, tramite laptop, PDA e smartphone supportati dal client per dispositivi Lotus Expeditor (US).
• Implementazione gestita da server. Consente di ridurre i costi di manutenzione e di implementazione grazie alla possibilità di gestire e attivare le applicazioni client remote da server.
• Interfacce utente basate sul Web e rich client. Possibilità di riutilizzare le competenze e aumentare la produttività degli sviluppatori, grazie a una vasta gamma di modelli di programmazione disponibili. L'ambiente di sviluppo client include un software client gestito e un contenitore di servlet che consentono agli sviluppatori di creare applicazioni basate sul Web o su Eclipse, gestite localmente.

IBM® Lotus® Expeditor software is IBM's client integration framework. It assists developers in integrating a wide variety of client and server applications to optimize the information that your employees need to accelerate your business processes. Expeditor is used in production by bank tellers, call centers, government employees, insurance adjusters, and in other customer care applications, worldwide. Use it to extend your IBM Lotus or IBM WebSphere® or other legacy applications such as Microsoft .NET. Lotus Expeditor software supports laptops, desktops, kiosks, branch office integration hubs and mobile device clients. It provides the flexibility of service oriented architecture (SOA) and a standards-based programming model from the OSGi™ alliance and the Eclipse foundation. Lotus Expeditor software also includes Lotus Expeditor integrator software which provides a local concentrator and integration hub for transactional messaging for satellite locations of an enterprise such as retail outlets or remote offices.

IBM Lotus Expeditor software provides a desktop client integration solution to build composite applications and extend managed clients to a variety of devices. It also provides an integration hub for distributed locations. Built on Eclipse and OSGi technologies, Lotus Expeditor is an open, standards-based alternative to Microsoft® .NET clients. Lotus Expeditor software augments the Eclipse Rich Client platform with security, middleware, and an integration framework to provide customers with a supported product that has been proven in production on millions of desktops. The software toolkit plugs into your existing Eclipse or IBM Rational® Application Developer environment to help developers rapidly build and deploy applications. The software can be used to extend other IBM offerings like IBM Sametime, IBM Lotus Notes, IBM Lotus Symphony, IBM Forms and IBM WebSphere Application Server software.

Lotus Expeditor software provides client and the corresponding server-side connectors for the following capabilities:

Composition: Provides support for building and deploying composite applications containing components of virtually all types - from Java™ Foundation Class Swing, text terminal, Microsoft Visual Basic and ActiveX and applets to native or Web views like Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax), Adobe PDF, Java Server Pages, and IBM Lotus Forms components. As a result, you can create a visually integrated view and integrated workflow within the composite application - using processes contained in your back-office applications. The Lotus Expeditor toolkit includes many composition functions to help simplify and speed the development and deployment of composite applications developer productivity. See the developer productivity page for details.

Client integration: Helps bring information to your users' fingertips by enabling access to multiple data sources through the managed client using various technologies such as:

Transaction integration hub. Provides, with Lotus Expeditor Integrator software, a lightweight local concentrator and integration hub for transactional messages at each remote location and then provides intelligent routing and filtering of business events and data to the IBM WebSphere Message Broker software at the central site.

Disconnected access support: Help increase productivity by providing offline access to applications through local business logic and data.

Mobile access support: Enable employees to access enterprise information when away from the office, through laptops, PDAs and smartphones that are supported by the Lotus Expeditor client for devices. With Lotus Expeditor software you can extend SOA-based composite applications to a managed client environment on various supported devices. In addition, Expeditor software enables location APIs that developers can use to provide geographic-specific information in their applications.

Server-managed deployment: Help reduce deployment and maintenance costs by enabling client applications to be remotely deployed and managed from the server.

Rich client and Web-based user interface support: Promote reuse of skills and help increase developer productivity by offering developers a choice of programming models. The client developer environment includes managed client software and a servlet container, enabling developers to write Eclipse - and OSGi™ - based software or Web-based applications that run locally.

Client access via a Web browser: Citrix Presentation Server environment support in Lotus Expeditor software means that users can use a browser from existing lower-powered workstations to access Lotus Expeditor software based applications.

Security features: Lotus Expeditor software also includes many client security features including credential (key) store, enterprise single sign-on, two-factor authentication, enhanced Web services security, RSA encryption and integration with eTrust® SiteMinder® and Tivoli® Access Manager for e-Business (WebSEAL) for authentication. Lotus Expeditor software also supports Signed Features, is FIPS 140-2 compliant, provides local encryption of the Microbroker software, and time stamping for signed plug-ins.

Here are examples of how Lotus Expeditor software can be used to extend your existing and future IBM Lotus, IBM WebSphere or Eclipse infrastructures to a managed client environment.