Service oriented architecture (SOA) implementation framework for heterogeneous information systems integration

Heterogeneous information systems (IS) creates difficulties to automatically integrate data in different IS environment. These situations have increased operating and maintenance costs as well as wasteful data storage, which is caused by data redundancy. Since the emerging of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), the latest trend in IS development, many researchers have proposed various SOA conceptual models and frameworks. The main objective behind these efforts was to provide a guideline for a successful SOA adoption. In Malaysia, higher learning institutions have taken some initiatives to implement SOA-based systems to improve the quality of IS performance. However, most of the existing SOA frameworks available are still lacking of good design to support an integration of heterogeneous IS. In order to fill this gap, this study was conducted to seek for an opportunity to enhance the existing SOA implementation frameworks of heterogeneous IS integration. A consolidation of the existing related frameworks and consensus from experts yield a new SOA framework. A case study approach in a Malaysia public university was applied to test and validate the framework by conducted prototyping experiments with the focus on several student information systems. The evaluation from the users shows that the proposed framework has met SOA criteria like service based, data update in real time and accessibility. This finding has been proven with successful prototype experiments. With the findings and results of this study, an enhancement of SOA implementation framework was fulfilled by focusing on integrating heterogeneous IS. This is a new contribution SOA domain in the context of heterogeneous IS integration in Malaysia public universities

Embarking service-oriented architecture into student information systems

Most organizations have more than one information system (IS) for their data and activity management. In Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), the Computer Centre is responsible for various IS related to students.However, none of these systems are fully interoperable in heterogeneous IS because they are using different types of database and programming language. This causes difficulties to automatically integrate data in the heterogeneous IS.As a result, the person in charge at each IS needs to do manual selections to get data from other IS. Consequently, the same tasks will be repeated since they have to enter and re enter similar data into different IS.In addition, this situation is increased the operation and maintenance cost, and waste the data storage space caused by the redundancy of data. Even though UUM has an IS that uses an integration tool for updating required data from the main student IS, it is still unable to update concurrent data on real-time and it needs one tool installed for each two IS to be integrated.This study aims to propose a conceptual model of the heterogeneous IS integration based on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) concept.A case study approach was applied involving student IS in UUM because IS in a university are large, distributed and quite difficult to involve the whole IS with very limited time and cost.In validating the proposed conceptual model, this study uses experimental of prototyping and experts review. With the finding and result of this study, it is expected to produce a valid conceptual model of student IS based on SOA concept.Further, the model could serve as a guideline to related organizations in adopting SOA concept in improving the management of their IS integration