Lotus Expeditor

• Composition: Provides support for building and deploying composite applications containing components of virtually all types - from Java™ Foundation Class Swing and text terminal to native or Web views like Java Server Pages or IBM Lotus Forms components.
• Client integration: Enables access to multiple data sources through the managed client using various technologies such as transactional messaging, Web services, synchronized databases, portlets and more.
• 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.
• Support for disconnected access , mobile access and client access via a Web browser.
• A choice of programming models for developers. Rich client and Web-based user interface support enable developers to write Eclipse - and OSGi™ - based software or Web-based applications that run locally.
  

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.