BMC Helix Innovation Suite integration methods and options

Use the integration methods and options to integrate the BMC Helix Innovation Suitewith third-party applications.

BMC Helix Innovation Studio integration methods

The following table lists the different methods to integrate BMC Helix Innovation Studio with third-party systems:

AR System integration methods

AR System is designed to be used with the other tools and products to create an integrated solution. AR Systemincludes many integration points, making it feasible to integrate with the other systems.

The following table lists the technologies available for integration with the AR System:

AR System integration options

You can integrate the Action Request System with an external application by using the following options based on the type of interaction:

Action Request System client
Action Request System server
Database server
Mid Tier

The following image provides a quick overview of the different integration options available with the Action Request System:

Integrate Action Request System client with third-party applications

Action Request System to a third-party application—Integration with the AR System client involves accessing data from an external application in real-time. It can include retrieving data from a form and passing it to another application, which the user can use to perform additional functions or launch an application to read data from the AR System database.
Third-party application to Action Request System —Often, a third-party application launches a Mid Tier and directs it to display specific data.
For example, a network management system can include a graphical map of all the network devices. You want to view the list of open tickets on a device. You select a device from the map and select
List Open Tickets from a menu. This activity launches a Mid Tier, establishing a connection between the AR System and the third-party client. The Mid Tier displays the results of all the open tickets for the device. As a network technician, you can view all the open tickets without knowing the source or client application details.

Integrate Action Request System server with third-party applications

Integration with the AR System server involves data sharing to and from the server. An integration workflow can directly initiate a server request. Some examples of integration workflow are as follows:

A Run Process action sends a notification to the technician.

A third-party application submits a new request or queries the status of an existing record from the server.
A system management agent running on a computer discovers a new sound card and sends a message to a remote management application.

Such activities submit a request in the asset management application in the AR System.

The AR System users are unaware of the new request submitted. But when a user runs an asset report, the latest asset information is included in the report.

Integrate the database AR System and third-party applications

The following modes of integration involve the database directly:

A third-party application reading the AR Systemdatabase
AR System reading an external database
AR System writing to an external database

Reading a database - Any application that can issue SQL commands with the appropriate permissions can read and retrieve data from the AR System tables. For more information, see Integrating.

Writing to a database - You can use Direct SQL to write data into the AR System database. In addition, you can also use a workflow to execute a SQL command script, passing any AR System data as parameters to the script.

You can also use the View and Vendor forms included in the AR System forms to access data from the external databases.

Important

The AR System does not allow third-party applications to write or modify the database to avoid data corruption.

Integrate the Mid Tier with AR System and third-party application

A Mid Tier provides integration capabilities for the AR Systemto interface with third-party products. For example, the Mid Tier allows the AR System to access external data or vice versa.

The AR System allows applications to expose interfaces as web services, allowing AR System applications to consume external web services. You can also use the data visualization field for external web content integration.