IBM Sterling Transformation Extender is the one suite of tools you need for any-to-any data transformation. You can handle everything from easy JSON template and schema structures and CSVs to super complex industry formats such as HIPAA, SWIFT MT, NACHA, HL7 FHIR, SEPA, NCPDP, SAP and ISO20022. And what's more - there are several validation modules to help you debug and report on bad data.

Now you have a choice of design tooling options and hybrid cloud deployment options using certified containers.

------------------------------
Kristen Park
Senior Analyst
Higher Logic
Chapel Hill NC
------------------------------

#pinnedtotop

can you help me better understand ITX?

IBM Sterling Transformation Extender is the one suite of tools you need for any-to-any data transformation. You can handle everything from easy JSON template and schema structures and CSVs to super complex industry formats such as HIPAA, SWIFT MT, NACHA, HL7 FHIR, SEPA, NCPDP, SAP and ISO20022. And what's more - there are several validation modules to help you debug and report on bad data.

Now you have a choice of design tooling options and hybrid cloud deployment options using certified containers.

------------------------------
Kristen Park
Senior Analyst
Higher Logic
Chapel Hill NC
------------------------------

#pinnedtotop

Yes, the best way to look at ITX is, as is said above, it is "one-suite of tools" where you can move from the business requirement down to an implementation of standard processes to manage all aspects of integration, with little or no need to include programming i.e. Java etc. Your choice! There is a tool that allows you to define the  "parameters" of your data, "Type Trees" that explain how the data items are delimited etc. so that ITX can immediately understand what parts of your data stream are actual data, and how it is organised into groups and sub groups etc. Simple to understand is XML using XSD schemas, however, just as easy are flat files, delimited or fixed width, and for data such as HIPAA, EDI and SWIFT messages, they have their type trees provided "out of the box".

With these, you are then able to use another tool to "map" from input structures to output structures using drag and drop, also add common routines to transform or reorganise data (you can even do this in the Type Tree if you like!). Then, building up from simple to complex, you can describe any type or sequence of data and map it between formats and new sequences, in a coherent and easy to follow and subsequently enhance, set of processes. It's entirely up to you how you do the configuration with the tools, using yours, and industry standards and best practices.

Data sources can be any "adaptor" that is currently available in the market place, common ones are databases, where you can configure an SQL query and provide parameters from your mapping process, as well as REST and SOAP requests, both to serve requests from calling processes, and call the services as well.

The beauty with ITX, is you really don't need to write any code, it is already written for you in routines that you link together! You just need to configure a definition of how the data looks and can be understood, and then select the processes you want to use to manipulate the data, supplying the necessary parameters that are needed.

In terms of implementing a mechanism, for instance, where you translate data from SWIFT messages to an internal format, as an example, the from and to data mappings can be set up as "metadata" or "master data" (which are common terms). All your mapping process needs to do is look up the mappings in a database and apply the correct selection to the output data. This allows the "business" to control their own mappings in a CRM system for instance, adding new values as they come available, therefore no changes in ITX are needed. This considerably reduces time and cost over other systems by not having to re-develop, re-test and re-deploy program code, for instance if a new "item" i.e. "fund code" is introduced, it can be added to the database, and the ITX processes you have developed will just pick it up and use it. This does require some "business analysis" but the payback is a coherent, normalised and easy to understand system which reduces COO and increases ROI overall. All in all ITX provides a very elegant solution to modern day integration requirements! 

I hope this is useful by way of an introduction :-)

can you help me better understand ITX?

IBM Sterling Transformation Extender is the one suite of tools you need for any-to-any data transformation. You can handle everything from easy JSON template and schema structures and CSVs to super complex industry formats such as HIPAA, SWIFT MT, NACHA, HL7 FHIR, SEPA, NCPDP, SAP and ISO20022. And what's more - there are several validation modules to help you debug and report on bad data.

Now you have a choice of design tooling options and hybrid cloud deployment options using certified containers.

------------------------------
Kristen Park
Senior Analyst
Higher Logic
Chapel Hill NC
------------------------------

#pinnedtotop

Thank you so much Chris Clews,

How can I practice on my local machine while studying? For example, is it possible to get the installation file for ITX Design Studio so I can install it on my computer?

Yes, the best way to look at ITX is, as is said above, it is "one-suite of tools" where you can move from the business requirement down to an implementation of standard processes to manage all aspects of integration, with little or no need to include programming i.e. Java etc. Your choice! There is a tool that allows you to define the  "parameters" of your data, "Type Trees" that explain how the data items are delimited etc. so that ITX can immediately understand what parts of your data stream are actual data, and how it is organised into groups and sub groups etc. Simple to understand is XML using XSD schemas, however, just as easy are flat files, delimited or fixed width, and for data such as HIPAA, EDI and SWIFT messages, they have their type trees provided "out of the box".

With these, you are then able to use another tool to "map" from input structures to output structures using drag and drop, also add common routines to transform or reorganise data (you can even do this in the Type Tree if you like!). Then, building up from simple to complex, you can describe any type or sequence of data and map it between formats and new sequences, in a coherent and easy to follow and subsequently enhance, set of processes. It's entirely up to you how you do the configuration with the tools, using yours, and industry standards and best practices.

Data sources can be any "adaptor" that is currently available in the market place, common ones are databases, where you can configure an SQL query and provide parameters from your mapping process, as well as REST and SOAP requests, both to serve requests from calling processes, and call the services as well.

The beauty with ITX, is you really don't need to write any code, it is already written for you in routines that you link together! You just need to configure a definition of how the data looks and can be understood, and then select the processes you want to use to manipulate the data, supplying the necessary parameters that are needed.

In terms of implementing a mechanism, for instance, where you translate data from SWIFT messages to an internal format, as an example, the from and to data mappings can be set up as "metadata" or "master data" (which are common terms). All your mapping process needs to do is look up the mappings in a database and apply the correct selection to the output data. This allows the "business" to control their own mappings in a CRM system for instance, adding new values as they come available, therefore no changes in ITX are needed. This considerably reduces time and cost over other systems by not having to re-develop, re-test and re-deploy program code, for instance if a new "item" i.e. "fund code" is introduced, it can be added to the database, and the ITX processes you have developed will just pick it up and use it. This does require some "business analysis" but the payback is a coherent, normalised and easy to understand system which reduces COO and increases ROI overall. All in all ITX provides a very elegant solution to modern day integration requirements! 

I hope this is useful by way of an introduction :-)

can you help me better understand ITX?

IBM Sterling Transformation Extender is the one suite of tools you need for any-to-any data transformation. You can handle everything from easy JSON template and schema structures and CSVs to super complex industry formats such as HIPAA, SWIFT MT, NACHA, HL7 FHIR, SEPA, NCPDP, SAP and ISO20022. And what's more - there are several validation modules to help you debug and report on bad data.

Now you have a choice of design tooling options and hybrid cloud deployment options using certified containers.

------------------------------
Kristen Park
Senior Analyst
Higher Logic
Chapel Hill NC
------------------------------

#pinnedtotop