IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Services and service-related functions > Access external services with adapters > Configure and using adapters > IBM WebSphere Adapters > Enterprise Content Management

Overview of WebSphere Adapter for Enterprise Content Management

With WebSphere Adapter for Enterprise Content Management, you can create integrated processes that include the exchange of information with a Content Management Repository, without special coding. The adapter is built with the open source specification for content repositories called Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS).

Using the adapter, an application component (the program or piece of code that perform a specific business function) can send requests to a Content Management Repository, for example, to create a new Document or a Folder in a Content Management Repository or update an existing document Content Management Repository in a Content Management Repository software or receive event notifications from the server, for example, to be notified when a new Document or Folder is created, deleted. Since the adapter has been built on the Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) specification, it creates a standard interface to the data access interface on any Content Management Repository so that the application component does not have to understand the lower-level details such as the implementation of the application or the data structures.

WebSphere Adapter for Enterprise Content Management complies with the Java™ Platform, Enterprise Edition (JEE) Connector Architecture (JCA) version 1.5. JCA 1.5 standardizes the way application components, application servers, and enterprise information systems which implement the CMIS specification, interact with each other. WebSphere Adapter for Enterprise Content Management makes it possible for JCA-compliant application servers to connect to and interact with a Content Management Repository. Application components running on the JCA-compliant server can then communicate with the Content Management Repository in a standard way using business objects.

The following example assumes that you are setting up an adapter using IBM Integration Designer and deploying the module that includes the adapter to IBM BPM or WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus.

In this example, an organization uses FileNet Content Engine version 4.6.0 as the Content Management (CM) tool for most of its business operations. Employee data of the organization is stored securely in the Content Engine. The Employee data can be modified, retrieved, or created afresh. An application component might be able to use this function as part of an overall business process.

For example, information about new hires in the organization can be stored in the Content Engine without specific coding. User information can also be updated to reflect promotions.

With the WebSphere Adapter for Enterprise Content Management, you can automatically generate an interface to the data interface of FileNet Content Engine to hide the lower-level details of the function. Depending on how you want to use the adapter, you can embed it with the deployed module, or install the adapter as a stand-alone component, to be used by more than one application. The adapter is deployed to IBM BPM or WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus. The application component directly interacts with the adapter, and not with FileNet Content Engine.

The adapter module, which you generate with the external service wizard of IBM Integration Designer, uses a standard interface and standard business objects. The adapter takes the standard business object sent by the application component and starts the appropriate function on the Content Engine. The adapter then returns a standard business object to the application component. The application component does not have to interact directly with the CMIS services; it is the Adapter for Enterprise Content Management that calls the service and returns the results.

To create data for a new employee, the application component will send a standard business object with the information of the new employee to the Adapter for Enterprise Content Management. The application component will receive, in return, the results (success or failure along with the Object Identity, ID) in a standard business object format. The application component is not required to know that how the function worked or how the data was structured. The adapter then interacts with the actual Content Management Repository system.

The WebSphere Adapter for Enterprise Content Management is designed to connect to all Content Management Repositories which implement the CMIS interface. For this release, the adapter will be connecting to FileNet Content Engine.

WebSphere Adapter for Enterprise Content Management documentation