IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Create processes in IBM Process Designer > Modeling processes
Integrating with web services, Java and databases
You can configure IBM BPM processes to communicate with an external system to retrieve, update, or insert data. And, external applications can call into IBM BPM to initiate services. You can manage inbound and outbound communication with external systems using undercover agents, web services, and integration services.
IBM BPM supports both outbound and inbound integration as described in the following table:
Supported integration types Integration type Description Required IBM BPM components Outbound IBM BPM communicates with an external system to retrieve, update, or insert data. Integration service, IBM Case Manager Integration Service, or Undercover Agent Inbound An external system calls into IBM BPM to initiate a service. Undercover Agent and Web Service
- Create outbound integrations
Outbound integrations enable business process authored in Process Designer to interact with other systems, such as a web service, a content management system, or an external database. Depending on the system that you are integrating with, you can implement the integration service using an Integration Service implementation or an IBM Case Manager Integration Service implementation.- Create inbound integrations
For inbound integrations that involve an external system or application calling into IBM BPM to kick off a service, you need to build several IBM BPM components and corresponding services.- Web services compatibility
Web services conform to a flexible architecture that allows variation in web services implementations. This variation unfortunately can lead to compatibility problems.