Driving Value for Government The Value of XML and SOA in Data Collection and Processing

1 © 2007 IBM Corporation

Driving Value for GovernmentThe Value of XML and SOA in Data Collection and Processing


Agenda Business Issues and IT Market Trends

Key Drivers for Improving Data Collection and Processing Typical Solutions and Consequence Rationale for XML Service Oriented Architecture

Data Collection and Processing with DB2 pureXML and Lotus Forms Solution Overview Complimentary Components Architecture Joint Benefits Case Study of New York State Department of Taxation and Finance

Related Product Material DB2 pureXML

Tax Demonstration






Tax Demonstration


Key Drivers for Improving Data Collection and Processing

Easy for Respondents

Cleaner Data Faster

Easy to Manage


Growing pressures

Enabling innovation: gain business insight

Increasing business flexibility

Constituent expectations

Speed of change

Market place challenges

Better customer service with complete view on customer

Inter-agency collaboration

Issues forcing change – What customers are saying

Demanding business issues

Regulation

Compliance

Security

Accountability

Legal

Challenging financial objectives

Increase revenue

Increase profitability

Reduce costs

Manage total costs of operation (TCO)

Higher development costs

Applications numbering hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands

Some monolithic

Some isolated

Some designed and performing well in meeting current business objectives, some not


Need to reduce paper handling, management and storage costs

Need to develop on-line mechanism to reduce

paperwork and improve services levels

Better customer service with more focus on constituents

needs

Operational ineffectiveness incurred by length of time to

complete submission process

Processing paper forms is labor intensive, inefficient and

slow

Demand from constituents to improve accessibility to services

Data Collection and Processing - Electronic Tax Filing Issues forcing change

$$$$


Typical Solutions for Data Collection and Processing

Relational Database

Spreadsheets, Word Processing, and Other Office Documents PDF / Paper Documents

Client / Server Applications HTML / Web Browser

ApplicationInfrastructure


XML or Non-XML

Form Document Fixed Mapping

Application

Traditional Forms and Relational Databases

XML

Shred

custID firstname lastname Phone

901 John Doe 963 222 0000

902 Peter Pan 542 212 0932

Sometimes the application generates XML but still

needs to shred to persist in relational databases

Traditional applications shred form data to pre-

defined columns in relational tables

Relational Database


Disadvantages of Traditional Forms and Relational Databases

Fragile to Develop and Maintain Changes in forms ripple through to the backend database

Changes in the database ripple through to the forms

One Size Generators makes customization difficult

Data must be normalized to fit pre-defined models Mapping can get complicated

Monolithic Data Validation locked in server side applications In the database with stored procedures

In the middle tier with procedural code

Difficult to provide access for end users






Tax Demonstration


What is XML?

XML eXtensible Markup Language Self-describing data structures XML tags describe each element and

their attributes

Benefits Flexible

No fixed format or syntax Structures can be easily changed

Platform Independent Not tied to any platform, operating

system, language or software vendor XML can be easily exchanged

Fully Unicode compliant

<? xml version=“1.0” ?><purchaseOrder id=“12345” > <customer id=“A6789”> <name>John Smith Co</name> <address> <street>1234 W. Main</street> <city>Toledo</city> <state>OH</state> <zip>95141</zip> </address> </customer>

…


Industry Trend and IT Challenge

Electronic forms (E-forms) used throughout industry and government to save paper and streamline processese-tax filing, e-permits and license application, e-grant processing

E-forms are becoming XML basedIBM Lotus Forms, XForms

Trying to solve a major issue relative to forms processing Multiple tax types – corporation, personal, withholding

Forms change from year to year

multiple schema changes multiple program changes


Benefits of XML for Tax Form Solution

Lower Development Costs XML is self-describing and reduces complexity in

application layers and evaluation of tax rules for filings

Improved developer productivity

Quicken solution development and gain cost savings

Greater Business Agility XML data model is flexible and extensible; easily

accommodates changes to data and schemas

Update applications rapidly and reduce maintenance costs

Respond quickly to dynamic conditions and get faster time to value


XML is the language of business

BankingIFX, OFX, SWIFT, SPARCS,MISMO +++

Financial MarketsFIXML, MDDL, RIXML, FpML +++

InsuranceACORDXML for P&C, Life +++

Chemical & PetroleumChemical eStandardsCyberSecurityPDX Standard+++

HealthcareHL7, DICOM, SNOMED, LOINC, SCRIPT +++

Life SciencesMIAME, MAGE,LSID, HL7, DICOM, CDIS, LAB, ADaM +++

RetailIXRetail, UCCNET, EAN-UCCePC Network +++

ElectronicsPIPs, RNIF, Business Directory,Open Access Standards +++

AutomotiveebXML, other B2B Stds.

TelecommunicationseTOM, NGOSS, etc.Parlay Specification +++

Energy & UtilitiesIEC Working Group 14Multiple StandardsCIM, MultispeakCross Industry

PDES/STEPmlSMPI StandardsRFID, DOD XML+++


XML - the Fabric of Services Oriented Architectures


Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)

Key concept of SOA is to use agreed interfaces between consumers and service providers

Consumers of a service do not need to know the implementations of the service

In typical and historical form solutions, custom programming on the server side of SOA has been devoted to mapping between relational data formats and XML formats

The implications of having XML as both exchange and storage format include the increased ability to create universal services (on the server side) leading to:

Simpler set-up and programming for both service consumer and the service provider

Reusable services mean fewer codes Increased automation Opens up systems to quick and straightforward support of forms, Web

2.0, Web Services etc


Agenda Business issues and IT market trends

Key drivers for improving data collection and processing Typical solutions and consequence Rationale for exchange and storing XML Service Oriented Architecture



Tax Demonstration


<xml>

</xml>Customers, Employees, Constituents, Suppliers

XML Data Capture and Storage – A New Generation Data Collection Solution

<xml>

Business

Processes

Analysis, Reports


Cleaner Data Faster

Easy to Manage+

<xml>

<xml>

=

DB2 9 and Lotus Forms combine open standards to create a feature-rich, robust data collection architecture for

SOA applications

XForms

XQuery

Services

Services

Services

User

Interface


XML Developer “I see a sophisticated XML

repository that also supports SQL."

SQL Developer"I see a sophisticated

RDBMS that also supports XML."

Familiar Programming Models

OptimizedStorage Models

MatureServices

Familiar Tooling

OptimizedPerformance &

Scale

DB2 9 – A New Generation Hybrid Data Server

XML integrated at all levels


Presentation Layer

Pixel-perfect for duplicating paper forms

Guided-interview, or wizard, driven

Business Logic

Capture forms processes in the form

Integrate business process workflows

Data Instances Embed multiple XML data instances Validate against external data sources and schemas W3C XForms Implementation

File Attachments Supplemental or associated eForms Other documents as part of a transaction

Digital Signatures Sign multiple, overlapping sections or complete form Use built-in signing, digital certificates or signing pads

Lotus Forms – A New Generation XML EForm


XML related projects

Tax Implementation Group for Electronic Requirements Standardization (TIGERS)

XML schema for transferring the data from software vendors through IRS master e-file gateway to states client server

Web services to communicate between vendors that submitted the data and states that collected the data

States responsible for client portion of the web services to electronically collect corporate tax data and interface needed to back end systems to process XML data

FedState1120 Project – new architecture for data collection to IRS

Personal Income Tax Property Tax


Solution Architecture

CorporateFirewall/Proxy

Internet/Intranet

LF Webform Server

Translator

LF Services Platform

Corporate Web Server

WS Application Server

WS Portal Server

LF Designer

Browser Only

Web 2.0 Deployment

XForms/XFDL Render

HTML Render

Corporate LAN

Browsers with WF Viewer

Rich Client PC

Return

Workflow Systems

WP Process Server

XML Forms

XML Forms/ XML instance

XML Forms/ XML instance

Corporate Web Server

WS Application Server

Data Web Services

<xml>

</xml>

DB2 pureXML


Driver Solution Benefits

Cleaner Data Faster

Business Agility though management of change without significant investment and time

Decreased Processing Time by eliminating manual data entry and extraneous process steps

Cost Reduction by ensuring the data is correct at the start of a process and eliminating downstream error handling

Effective Business Insight through accurate analysis across validated transaction sets

XML Data Capture and Storage Joint Benefits




Extend Beyond the Enterprise by providing browser only data capture using Web 2.0 technologies

Reduced Training by simplifying and guiding users through important decisions

User Satisfaction through faster turn around time and paperless transactions

Consistent Multi-Channel Experience by allowing the same form to be used both online and offline




Easy to Manage Reduced Development and Maintenance Costs

by reducing dependencies on relational databases and procedural programming

Simplified Design by eliminating translation and compilation layers in key parts of data collection applications

Fit with SOA Environments by facilitating data collection and lookups within automated XML processes

Common Scalable Infrastructure using a consistent storage and services architecture for multiple XML formats



Business challenge

With traditional paper-driven processes increasing costs and slowing response times, the NY State Department of Taxation and Finance sought to modernize its tax filing system through the use of e-forms. Because there are thousands of different types of forms to process and many fields are often left blank, the organization needed a consistent way to manage, input and share data while accommodating form and regulation changes.

Solution

The organization adopted XML as its standard data platform for e-forms. To efficiently manage XML data, the agency uses IBM DB2 9 with pureXML™ capabilities within a SOA. This innovative use of XML enables staff to store forms as-is without having to perform complex data transformations. This has helped greatly reduce the complexity of database design and the time and labor needed to update tax policies and forms. Agency employees can now more easily access federal tax records and support online filing.

Benefits

Reduces time and labor needed to update tax policies and forms with 2 million Web filings processed to date

Projects 5 million more filings with addition of two more applications

Decreases data management costs

“Through the use of XML data, we have more flexibility in defining new services and can more easily keep up with changing tax policies.”

—Jim Lieb, Director of Common Services, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Simplifying filing of more than 2 million returns already

Industry: Government


Usually hundreds-thousands of different tax forms

Schema Diversity

Typically not every field in a form is used

Sparse Data

Many forms change every year

Schema Evolution

A case for XML !

Tax Forms


How did XML solution address this?

col1 col2 col3 col4 col5 … col1000

134 NULL 11/23/05 NULL NULL … NULL

NULL 276 NULL NULL Yes … NULL

12 NULL NULL 99.99 NULL … NULL

NULL NULL NULL 123.23 NULL … No

…<form> <wages>134</wages> <date>11/23/05</date></form>

XML: Avoids sparsity. Proper data labeling. 2 columns, not 1000. Transformable. Extensible. Simplifies mapping.

Current relational storage,inefficient, anonymous columns, requires complex mappings in the application

New XML format:


XML Schema Flexibility/Evolution in DB2 9

No Schema One Schema Schema V1 Documents Any mix you want! & Schema V2 w/ and w/o

schema

Document validation for zero, one, or many schemas per XML column:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Most Databases only support (a) and (b). DB2 9 allows (a) through (e).


Benefits of managing XML data with DB2 pureXML for SOA

Supports End-to-End XML for SOA environments XML is used for message exchange in Web Services and Web 2.0

environments XML can be persisted and queried easily and efficiently making

SOA environments much easier to implement

Encourages the use of Pervasive XML tools and software Open source software and vendor XML tools are widely available

and used XML tools and software can be used with persisted data reducing

the amount of custom code that needs to be developed.


XML Data Management Needs Relational Maturity

XML Data Needs Protection Backup and recovery features to ensure continuity Data is protected using database security

Simplified XML Data Access Centrally store and access difficult to retrieve data SQL or XQuery can be used to retrieve data Join XML data with it’s related relational data

Search Speed Search documents quickly and efficiently using proven search

optimization engine of mature database

Optimize Existing Investments Use existing technology infrastructure and skills to store and

manage both relational and XML



Key Drivers for Improving Data collection and Processing Typical Solutions and Consequence Rationale for XML Service Oriented Architecture



Tax Demonstration


Relational schema and tables as the choice for XML

Native XML provides a simpler alternative

Object Oriented XML

Shred to Relational

RelationalJoin

Relational & Publish

SQL, XSLT

Presentation

Object Oriented

XQueryPresentation

XML

Application Server

DatabaseServer

XML

XML

Application Server

DatabaseServer

XML

XML

XML

Lotus Forms and DB2 : moving from relational (shredding) to pureXML


Application example

Purchase Order example Create orders

Select products from a product catalog

View existing orders

Based on relational tables Uses Servlet to receive form data


Architecture

DataHandler class and DB2Connection class

interact with DB2 Server to read and

write data to a DB2 database


Lotus Forms and relational database example

Maps Order and Product data into relational tables

Workplace Form API generates and consumes XML data to interact with the Form

Which means constant shredding and reconstruction of XML data, to and from the backend database.


Impact on application code: Relational vs. pureXML

Application parses and

shreds XML to fit relational

tablesSingle Insert

statement in DB2 9.Database

consumes XML

Code snippet from Lotus Forms example


Impact on application code - contd

Application constructs

XML

Database does the

work

Code snippet from Lotus Forms example



Key Drivers for Improving Data collection and Processing Typical Solutions and Consequence Rationale for XML Service Oriented Architecture



Tax Demonstration