Assessing an Interface Engine

General Criteria for Assessing/Selecting an Interface Engine

Deciding on the purchase of interface/integration engine software normally follows a process similar to purchasing other key applications in an enterprise environment. Because these are technical products largely invisible to end-users, the organizational issues related to selection are more limited, generally to the information systems department and key technical contacts for applications involved. The decision-making cycle can therefore be shortened somewhat. In some cases, organizational affiliations can narrow the selection down to just a few vendors or even one preferred alternative further limiting the amount of time spent analyzing details. While no replacement for a request for proposal, the following criteria may be useful in differentiating among products for a particular application. In each category, a short list of relevant functions is included:

Configuration	Intuitive (preferably graphical) configuration tools Straightforward message configuration based on wizards or templates Support for version management of various message configurations Message validation and troubleshooting tools Large suite of default message types Flexible and comprehensive data manipulation functions available on a per-field basis Support for call-outs—custom, user-defined logic executed based on certain message conditions Message routing based on user-defined conditions including database lookups within the engine or in other systems
Administration	Intuitive (preferably graphical) administration tools Queue monitoring/management Communication fault monitoring/management Simple start/stop/recover operations
Technology	Guaranteed message delivery Support for standard communication protocols (TCP/IP) Support for numerous communication link types—Ethernet, token-ring, serial, SNA Ability to accommodate systems without standard interfaces Native support for HL7 Open architecture—based on commonly accepted technologies (UNIX, NT)—and able to offer some choice of hardware platform Flexible and open database connectivity options Support for high-availability
Support	Formal training available at regular convenient intervals Help desk support for day-to-day operations 7x24 support options for enterprise operations Professional services available to speed time to production or solve particularly complex problems
Extras	Availability of useful ancillary functions—master patient index, eligibility manager, security Object-orient extensions or capabilities with support for composite applications

Interface Engine Vendors in Healthcare

A number of companies offer interface/integration engine technology, more than would be useful to try to catalog here. In healthcare, some companies clearly dominate. Others, while not market leaders, offer sound technology with a healthcare focus. A few of the common players are listed in alphabetical order and linked here with some comments.

Quovadx	Market leader with experience both within and outside healthcare Offers both store-and-forward and publish-and-subscribe products. Reputation for excellent support Graphical tools Formerly healthcare.com
eWebit (Eclipsys)	Powerful technical approach Graphical tools
Sybase	Formerly New Era of Networks (NEON) including Century Analysis, Inc. (CAI) Powerful, complex technology Track-record supporting high-availability configurations Graphical tools
SeeBeyond	Market leader with a healthcare focus and extensive experience both within and outside healthcare Powerful technical approach Graphical tools
OPENLink^TM	This product is well known among Siemens (formerly SMS) clients. Like the others, it offers a powerful technical approach and graphical tools. For organizations running Siemens applications, this option is especially powerful because of careful integration already built in.

A good starting place for additional insight into enterprise application integration is the messageQ web site. If any of the links on this page is inaccurate or has changed, please send a message and it will be corrected.

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