Support for multiple channels

The IBM(R) Branch Transformation Toolkit for WebSphere(R) Studio provides an architecture for building applications that are deliverable on multiple channels. Enterprises within the banking and financial services industries have successfully deployed the toolkit in various topologies as the infrastructure for enterprise systems with high transaction volumes. While the following topologies are specific to the banking and financial services industries, for which the toolkit was originally conceived, the ability of the toolkit to handle multiple business distribution channels is generic and can apply to other industries.

Bank teller
A bank teller application topology consists of a number of client workstations with financial devices attached. The workstation downloads the client applicationon on request from a Web server. The client applications, which mainly deal with presentation and local financial device handling, have access to the branch server (that is, the solution application server) using the HTTP or SSL protocols.

The solution application server provides common services such as electronic journaling and parameter tables to the client workstations, as well as access to the transactional logic of the back-end enterprise servers. A toolkit server application can also be deployed on the physical server for a regional or central data center without changes to the application.

Internet banking
In an Internet banking topology, users obtain access to financial services through a Web browser (or other device) connected to the Internet. The user interface is normally HTML with additional technologies such as JavaScriptâ„¢, DHTML, or XML. In such an environment, the solution application server is able to process requests from Web browsers (or other devices that issue HTTP requests), obtain the proper data from enterprise servers, and generate the appropriate view for the client device to display using HTML pages for Web browsers or XML messages for those devices that support it. The application server is usually located at the central site, and is protected by a firewall.
Kiosks
The toolkit can be used in kiosks or ATMs that run Internet technologies such as a Web browser and Javaâ„¢. In this environment, the client usually is a Java application (or applet). In addition to the presentation logic, the client application manages the financial devices normally present in a kiosk (such as MSR/E, chip card reader, receipt printer, passbook printer, bar code readers, and touch screen displays) using the financial device services that the toolkit provides. The kiosk connects to the application server using the HTTP or SSL protocols. In some cases, kiosks are located in branches, which handle them as branch workstations. Kiosks can also be connected directly to the server through public or private lines.
Mobile terminal
Users equipped with laptops running a Web browser can connect to corporate toolkit servers using the SSL protocol. In this scenario, the toolkit server is usually located at the central site and is protected by a firewall. It is also feasible to have mobile users connected to the branches to which they belong.

The following diagram illustrates these business distribution channels:

Image showing the bank teller, Internet banking, kiosk, and mobile terminal business distribution channels interacting with the solution application server and host