You want to modernize your EDI application (AS2, OFTP2, GUI)?

Good reasons to modernize your EDI application

EDI is one of the oldest and most stable transmission paths in the IT environment. Once installed, an EDI solution usually runs cleanly and reliably in the background for years. But even with such a classic middleware topic there are always technical innovations that simplify and improve the handling of data conversion and transmission. For example, the step of the protocols AS and OFTP to the next generation. It is therefore necessary to inspect the existing EDI solution from time to time to check whether it still supports existing standards or needs to be modernized. Mapping has also changed a lot in terms of user comfort; not every system offers the same functionality here.

When talking about Applicability Statement (AS) as one of the most common specifications of the EDIINT standard, then basically only version 2. compared to versions AS1 (uses the SMTP protocol) and AS3 (FTP protocol), AS2 meets very high encryption and signature standards with regard to authenticity and integrity of messages.

EDI modernization: How to!

Anyone still using OFTP, the standard recommended by the VDA, the Association of the German Automotive Industry, for electronic commerce between the automotive industry and its suppliers, whose news situation will soon become very thin: By the end of 2018, Deutsche Telekom will switch off all ISDN lines as part of its all-IP strategy. OFTP is based on ISDN. Strictly speaking, version 1 can also communicate via TCP/IP, but in reality the data traffic runs via ISDN (owed to the greater eavesdropping protection in direct transmission). OFTP 2, on the other hand, has its own encryption rules and uses the TLS/SSL encryption protocols as standard, so it can communicate via the web. Switching to OFTP 2 also has tangible monetary advantages: With ISDN, each connection costs fees and line capacities must be available. No wonder that OFTP 2 is now largely in use in the automotive sector.

When modernizing the EDI landscape, it is therefore important to ensure that the new EDI software can handle all common protocols. But additionally the old ones, because there will still be some companies that communicate with OFTP or via telebox. With a modern solution, the company becomes more flexible with regard to its transmission paths and becomes independent of a provider. i‑effect® as a comprehensive solution uses all currently used protocols and can even access the X.400 network via Telekom's so-called AS2 gateway - without the need for ISDN!

A lot has also happened in mapping. Where in the classic green screen this is still something for veteran mainframe experts, i‑effect® is oriented towards modern standards of usability, touch technology and intuitive operation. In the EDI converter, the user draws the required fields from the source system on the left into the middle area where the mapping takes place. Here the data is assigned its direction, adjusted as required (removing leading zeros, changing the date format, rounding...) and then converted into the target format of the recipient. The converter finds all specifications and instructions in the mapping to create the new file in the desired standard format. Users of i‑effect® can do the mapping themselves via the Map GUI or they book this as a service at menten.