When I started Intalio ten years ago, I wanted to build a Transactional Workflow System. Intalio’s CTO Assaf Arkin did not like the term “workflow,” which he felt carried too much legacy, hence we re-branded our product a Business Process Management System (BPMS). That was back in June 2000. Since then, the term BPM has been largely over-exposed, and failed to describe the completeness of our vision. Later on, Gartner came up with the concept of a Business Process Platform, and we adopted it, although quite reluctantly. More recently, Cordys started talking about a Business Operations Platform, and this terminology really resonated with me. To a large extent, what we’re building is akin to a Business Operating System, but this term has been used to describe many different things (Cf. Wikipedia), and the word “System” fails to describe a platform that could be used across organizations’ boundaries (for what used to be called B2B). Therefore, we shall call our product a Business Operating Platform.
The concept for a Business Operating Platform is close not only to the product developed by Cordys, but also Oracle’s Fusion Middleware and SAP‘s NetWeaver. This should not come as a sur…
When I started Intalio ten years ago, I wanted to build a Transactional Workflow System. Intalio’s CTO Assaf Arkin did not like the term “workflow,” which he felt carried too much legacy, hence we re-branded our product a Business Process Management System (BPMS). That was back in June 2000. Since then, the term BPM has been largely over-exposed, and failed to describe the completeness of our vision. Later on, Gartner came up with the concept of a Business Process Platform, and we adopted it, although quite reluctantly. More recently, Cordys started talking about a Business Operations Platform, and this terminology really resonated with me. To a large extent, what we’re building is akin to a Business Operating System, but this term has been used to describe many different things (Cf. Wikipedia), and the word “System” fails to describe a platform that could be used across organizations’ boundaries (for what used to be called B2B). Therefore, we shall call our product a Business Operating Platform.
The concept for a Business Operating Platform is close not only to the product developed by Cordys, but also Oracle’s Fusion Middleware and SAP‘s NetWeaver. This should not come as a surprise: after all, Cordys was started by Jan Baan, founder of the company that developed the Baan ERP. Baan, Oracle, and SAP have developed the three most successful ERP systems in the world, and as such know a thing or two about enterprise architecture. Originally, all three ERP systems were built on top of an Operating System, a standards-based Relational Database Management System (RDBMS), and a proprietary Application Server. Today, next-generation enterprise applications should be built on top of a Business Operating Platform, which components will be discussed in this article.
In order to better understand what makes a Business Operating Platform, let’s take a look at what makes a modern Operating System such as GNU/Linux. Such an Operating System is made of a Kernel Space and a User Space (libraries and applications). An excellent introduction to the Anatomy of the Linux Kernel was recently given by M. Tim Jones and published on IBM developerWorks. Here are the components of the Linux Kernel, and how they match the components of the Intalio Business Operating Platform (Intalio|BOP):
Process Management
A multi-threaded kernel like the Linux kernel is architected around a pretty advanced Process Management infrastructure. By “process” we do not mean the processes used by businesses to run their operations, but the “threads” of computing that keep a CPU busy most of the time. In a similar fashion, Intalio|BOP is architected around a process engine (Intalio|Server, itself based on Apache ODE), which is an implementation of the BPEL industry standard for process execution.
Memory Management
Next to the Process Management unit is a Memory Management unit responsible for managing the transient data used by execution threads. By transient, we mean data which life-cycle is bound to the life-cycle of processes they relate to, as opposed to persistent data, which is usually stored in files onto the File System (Cf. next component). Similarly, the Business Process Management component of a Business Operating Platform is responsible for storing the transient data used by business processes. But unlike an operating system, a BPM system usually stores transient process data in a persistent manner onto a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS), for two main reasons: One, it allows the system to scale better by “passivating” idle process instances into the database. Two, it brings reliability to the system, by ensuring that no process instances are lost should the process engine go down or be turned off. Nevertheless, both concepts of transient data management are essentially the same. Intalio|Server can be deployed against virtually any relational database, using OpenJPA as persistence layer.
Virtual File System
The Virtual File System is responsible for managing the persistent data used by the operating system and the applications it runs. Similarly, a Business Operating Platform includes a Document Management System (DMS) responsible for managing the documents used by business processes. Documents can be either structured (using XML Schema) or unstructured (stored as plain files). Combined with a Content Management System (CMS), the DMS becomes a full-blown Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system, which is a first-class component of the Business Operating Platform. In the case of Intalio|BOP, we are using Apache Sling as content repository and the JSR-170 as standard interface.
System Call Interface
An operating system’s kernel provides a System Call Interface that allows processes running in the User Space to make calls to system services for starting a new process instance or reading a file for example. Similarly, a Business Operating Platform provides a set of interfaces for deploying new processes, accessing documents (JSR-170), or monitoring the overall platform (SNMP, JMX). While no standard API has been defined for process engines yet (one ought to develop one at some point…), Intalio|BOP provides platform interfaces using Java API‘s as well as REST and WSDL services.
Device Drivers
Device Drivers allow an operating system to make use of peripherals such as disk drives, a keyboard, or a mouse. Similarly, a Business Operating Platform provides a set of protocol adapters and application connectors allowing processes to be integrated with third-party systems and applications. While many attempts have been made at developing standards for application connectors (JCA, JBI), none ever really succeeded on the marketplace (even though SCA looks promising). Intalio|BPO provides a set of connectors based on the JBI and WSDL technologies, and is planned to support SCA by using Apache Tuscany.
Network Stack
While some resources (peripherals) are directly attached to the computer and can be accessed through a Device Driver, many (including other computers) are remote and can only be used through a Network Stack. Similarly, most third-party systems and applications used for the execution of business processes can only be accessed while crossing firewall boundaries. In such cases, integration happens through Web Service interfaces, using the WSDL industry standard. Intalio|Server is based on the BPEL process execution language, which itself relies on WSDL for Web Service invocation. Nevertheless, a RESTful version of BPEL is currently being developed by Intalio, and will be supported by Intalio|Server in some future release. In either case, Web Service interfaces are provided by an underlying Enterprise Service Bus (ESB). For this purpose, Intalio|BOP includes a component called Intalio|ESB, which itself is a combination of multiple open source projects, including Apache Axis2, Apache ServiceMix, and Apache Synapse. Intalio|ESB itself can be deployed on top of a Message Bus in order to support multi-site deployments.
These six primary components make the Linux Kernel. Interestingly, the Linux Kernel does not have any notion of registry, at least one similar to the Windows Registry. Instead, configuration files are stored in specific directories (/etc or /usr/local/etc), in a much more losely coupled manner. While many will argue that the absence of a registry is one of the design elements that make the GNU/Linux operating system more robust than many alternatives, businesses need some kind of registry where all processes and related artifacts can be stored and looked up. Such a registry is one of the services to be offered by Intalio|BOP alongside several others that are analogous to the services offered by the GNU/Linux operating system at the User Space level.
Registry
While many operating systems offer some kind of Registry, a Business Operating Platform should offer a Master Object Registry (MOR) that would record all artifacts, including data objects, processes, rules, services, user interfaces, etc. In order for it to scale and support the kind of queries that developers and users might need to perform, the registry should be based on strong Semantic Web technologies, namely RDF, RDFS, and SPARQL. For this purpose, Intalio|BOP will use the Jena Semantic Web Framework as underlying infrastructure for Intalio|MOR (to be made available in a future product release).
User and Security Management
Most operating systems provide a way to manage users and their entitlements. Nevertheless, such security services are usually fairly limited to coarse-grain resources (files and applications), and cannot scale to very large numbers of users and entitlements. A Business Operating Platform must overcome such limitations, and provide a way to define complex entitlements related to any resources or artifacts, for an unlimited number of users and groups. Furthermore, since a Business Operating Platform is responsible for orchestrating business processes which execution might span multiple applications, it must also provide Single Sign-On services (SSO). Intalio|BOP is currently based on the Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS). Future releases will add support for OpenID and XACML.
Windowing Framework
Most operating systems developed since 1984 (year when Mac OS was first released) provide some kind of windowing framework offering a graphical interface to end users. Similarly, a Business Operating Platform must support the development of user interfaces, but these must be accessible over the Internet through a standard web browser, rather than being bound to a particular computer or client-side operating system. While many Rich Internet Application (RIA) frameworks have been released over the past few years (Flash, JavaFX, Silverlight, etc.), the most ubiquitous is AJAX, which uses a combination of asynchronous JavaScript and XML for providing interactive web applications. AJAX is more a programming style than an actual framework, and is supported by multiple implementations, such as Google Web Toolkit (GWT) or the Dojo Toolkit. For its part, Intalio|BPO makes extensive use of GWT, while providing a graphical IDE for the development of AJAX applications — Intalio|AJAX (based on TIBCO General Interface).
User Desktop
All graphical operating systems provide a desktop giving users access to their documents and applications. In a similar fashion, a Business Operating Platform must include an Enterprise Information Portal offering a single point of entry for all resources offered to end users, from task lists to document repositories and administration tools. Such a portal should also facilitate the collaboration among end users, allowing them to easily share resources such as processes, tasks, or documents. For this purpose, Intalio|BOP includes a component called Intalio|Portal based on the Liferay open source project, and supporting the JSR-168 industry standard. Intalio|Portal also includes Liferay Social Office for social collaboration inside the enterprise and across extended value chains.
Administration Tools
Most operating systems provide administration tools for configuration and tuning purposes. Similarly, a Business Operating Platform should provide tools for managing its various components, as well as the applications and processes it supports. While the various components of Intalio|BOP all provide some fairly advanced administration tools, each has its own interface, making it more difficult than it should be to have a complete view of the system. In order to remedy such a limitation, Intalio|BOP will soon provide a unified management interface, shared by all components of the platform. Furthermore, it will offer an implementation of ITIL V3 processes for Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation, and Continual Service Improvement.
System Monitoring Tools
Most operating systems also provide monitoring tools tracking various metrics such as CPU utilization or memory allocation. In a similar fashion, a Business Operating Platform must provide a Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) framework offering real-time information about the status of processes, activities, and transactions, through the definition of custom Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and the presentation of real-time dashboards. For this purpose, Intalio|BOP includes a component called Intalio|BAM, based on the Eclipse BIRT open source project.
Integrated Development Environment
Any operating system provides libraries and Integrated Development Environments allowing developers with various skillsets to build custom applications on top of it. Similarly, a Business Operating Platform must offer a set of development tools that can be used by business users, architects, and developers alike. For its part, Intalio|BOP offers 3 development environments, each targeted at a specific user: Intalio|Business Edition for business users, Intalio|Community Edition for process analysts and systems architects, and Intalio|Developer Edition for software developers. Each edition provides a specific view on the overall platform, while relying on a common runtime engine — Intalio|Server.
These are the components that make a Business Operating Platform, alongside others that do not have a close match within modern operating systems. Among them, we could mention a Business Rules Engine (BRE) or Business Rules Management System (BRMS), a Complex Event Process (CEP) or Event Stream Processing (ESP) engine, and a Data Integration engine. These components are either part of Intalio|BOP today (Intalio|BRE), or will be added to the platform in the near future.
From an architecture standpoint, a Business Operating Platform should respect the following principles if it is to be used for business-critical applications and deployed in a large-scale production environment:
Web-based User Interface
While web-based user interfaces cannot match the interactivity and richness of dedicated client applications yet, the gap is closing extremely fast, and all user interfaces of a Business Operating Platform should be web-based within 2 to 3 years. In the case of Intalio|BOP, the only rich client component of the platform is Intalio|Designer, which is based on the Eclipse workbench. Nevertheless, many components of Intalio|Designer are first packaged as web-based applications, then embedded within the Eclipse workbench. Such is the case for the IDE of Intalio|AJAX and the editor of Intalio|BRE (Intalio 6.1). Moving forward, the next generation of the Eclipse platform (e4) will enable the platform for use on emerging web-based runtime technologies, and the BPMN modeler of Intalio|Designer will be migrated to a web-based interface, possibly using the extremely promising Oryx platform.
On-demand and On-premise Deployment
In order to support the widest range of usage scenarios, a Business Operating Platform should support deployments both on-premise and on-demand. On-demand deployments should be based on a multi-tenant architecture making proper use of virtualization technologies (Cf. On Multi Tenancy) in order to offer virtually unlimited scalability both horizontally (many customers per data center) and vertically (many users per customer). Intalio|BOP is available for deployment both on-premise and on-demand.
Grid Architecture
A true Business Operating Platform should be considered as core building block for any Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering. As such, it must support deployment on a grid infrastructure, allowing scalability to thousands of servers or more. In order to provide such a level of scalability, Intalio|Server is currently being packaged on top of Shoal and Apache Hadoop, while Intalio is working with an open source database vendor to support the collateral deployment of thousands of database servers on a single grid.
Open Source
Last but certainly not least, a Business Operating Platform should be made available under Open Source licenses. I write licenses (plural), because not one single license could be used to put such a massive platform together (as far as I can tell). But a combination of compatible licenses could. The primary reason why a Business Operating Platform should be made available under Open Source licenses is that it will support the development of business-critical applications that will be used for decades to come, and the risk of vendor locking or product discontinuation associated with the use of proprietary closed-source software is simply too great. For its part, the core components of Intalio|BOP are licensed under the Apache, BSD, Eclipse, GPL v3 (plus AGPL and LGPL), and MIT licenses, which are compatible with each other.
Developing the first Business Operating Platform is Intalio’s mission, are we’re working very hard to make it a reality as soon as possible. It will be made possible by a combination of smart acquisitions, collaborative product management, and self-empowerement. If this sounds like fun, join us for the ride!
