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Enterprise Integration

Overview

Intelligent Open Network (ION) is part of Infor OS; the technology platform of Infor. Infor ION provides the flexibility you need to make an often-complex web of enterprise systems work together. ION contains an API Gateway for a full System Integration.

The below features of Infor OS are the most used for integration

  • ION Connect
  • API Gateway

ION Connect

The main purpose of ION Connect is to deliver business documents from one place to another. With ION Connect you can establish connections between applications, both Infor applications and third-party applications.

You can configure ION Connect through the ION Desk. In ION Desk you can model document flows between applications. Such flows can represent a business process, but also more technical flows can be defined. For example, to map data from a third-party application to a standard business object document as used by an Infor application, you can also use filtering or content-based routing.

From the ION Desk, you can deploy your models to the ION Service by activating them. The ION Service will then make sure that documents are handled in accordance with your activated models. ION Desk also provides management screens to monitor the behaviour of the ION Service and to help in troubleshooting when needed.

Watch the video below for a full example of integration using ION Connect

API Gateway

The ION API Gateway is a NodeJS reverse proxy application.  In the simplest terms, ION API gateway accepts incoming HTTP requests from clients (web-apps, mobile-app, fat-clients, etc.), passes the request on to the proper target server, and returns the target server’s response back to the client.

In addition to simply passing requests and responses through, the ION API can add value for adjusting or enriching the request and response via the use of policies.   Policies can, for example, add headers to the request or log values from the response.

The following features describe the API Gateway

  • Pass-through (Proxy)
  • Orchestration
  • Hybrid
  • Backend as a service (BaaS)

Pass-through (Proxy)

The API Gateway receives requests from clients and delivers them to the proper target API. Clients know and invoke only one baseURL endpoint even if the target API can be different between the request and the response you can do other activities in the API Gateway for example applying policies for transforming or modifying the payload and the header of the request/response.

Orchestration

To reduce the complexity and management of invoking multiple different APIs, you can use the ION API Flow. Note that the ION API Flow is different compared to Document Flow and/or Data Flow, it is composed only of the ION API connection point plus decision components. You can define your own input parameters and output parameters and invoke multiple and different APIs, and the response of one API can be used as input for another API. After the design, you can deploy the ION API Flow that generates an endpoint in a dedicated API Suite (API Flow suite) that can be invoked by a client who provides one input and receives one output no matter the number of API calls done internally.

Hybrid

The ION API Gateway is a cloud-based service where you can host all public APIs and Infor products APIs. With the Hybrid service, we gave you the possibility to expose an internal API over the internet protected with the OAuth2 security. The only requirement is the Enterprise Connector which is the bridge between your internal API and the cloud

Backend as a service

If you want to create a new API which invokes other APIs through the programming language, BAAS, is the right choice. With BAAS you can choose between Java or Typescript languages, create your project in Visual Studio Code using the BAAS extension, and deploy the project in your tenant that creates a new API for you in the API suite

Want to learn more?

Quick Reference

There are numerous valuable resources available to enhance your understanding of the Infor Platform. One of the most helpful tools is a quick reference sheet, which can provide a concise overview of key information. You may find the following Cheat Sheets particularly useful for your learning and reference purposes.

Topical Videos

Seeking details on a particular feature or want a brief summary? These concise videos might be exactly what you need. Take a look at our playlist on YouTube.

Written Guides

Product documentation serves as the primary reference for understanding specific product functionalities. For online, searchable, and user-friendly resources, refer to the following documentation.

Community

Collaborating with peers in your sector offers a valuable opportunity to learn and assist others. Dive into the Infor OS Community today!