Integrate ISV Applications with SaaS Offerings on Cloud

Abstract

Opening up a SaaS based cloud application for interactions with partners is an important aspect of Cloud Computing. This is a win-win situation for both: the Cloud Service Providers (CSP) and the integration partners aka Independent Service Vendors (ISV). The intention is to use the Cloud Application as a platform and try to create a partner eco-system around the platform. The CSPs can select companies or solutions that add high business value to the platform in turn increasing value of partnering solutions. Bringing these partners on-board is a lengthy process that usually involves administrators and/or Customer Service Representatives (CSR) making multiple changes at multiple places. This paper discusses all aspects of Partner offering management including steps and possible tools to make this process a self-serviced one. Catalog management - Offering management deals with adding a new partner application to the Cloud Service Provider''s catalog (provisioning) and then to all the aspects of Catalog management. Catalog management includes adding/deleting/importing/exporting offerings, managing offering related attributes, managing access controls etc. Once the new service is provisioned, it becomes available to customers of Service Providers. This paper discusses offering management and its various aspects in detail. Platform integration points - The partner application admins need to provide access points for their applications in from multiple places in Cloud Service Provider''s application like menu items, navigational elements, banners, footers etc. These access points may then be globally visible or have limited visibility to users by organization. We will discuss a Menu Item management service which helps integrate partner applications at various integration points by providing the necessary APIs. We will also describe how custom menu items can be created by an Organization Admin to launch vendor applications. Handshake between partner application and CSP offering: The handshake allows partner application and Cloud service Provider''s offering to work together. There must be a licensing agreement between these two applications to access each other''s data and services. A range of solutions can be used for this purpose, starting from a simple authentication mechanism to Oauth.