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Outbound Integrations from IFS using Middleware

Basic integrations can be configured using Event Actions of type ‘REST Call’ which are used to invoke a REST API in another system or middleware.

outbound_middleware

A limitation is that the body of the outgoing message can only use parameters available in the Event. It cannot construct a complex/structured message containing e.g. a purchase order header and lines. (In some cases, there may be an operational report containing relevant data, for instance for purchase orders.)

Another limitation is that IFS cannot handle any response from the downstream system.

But if there is an enterprise service bus or external middleware such as Dell Boomi, the middleware can fetch additional required data from IFS, before combining and sending to the downstream system.

outbound_middleware2

Likewise, the middleware can capture the response from the downstream system and if required pass that back by calling existing REST APIs in IFS.

Tip: If defining custom events, it can be a good idea to include a custom attribute with the current database id, and use that as a condition on the Events to prevent messages that are generated in a non-production system from being sent to production system end points in the external system. This could happen when non-production databases are replaced with a copy of the production database for testing purposes.