1 Overview of CX Industries Framework

Overview

This chapter provides an overview of Oracle CX Industries Framework and the tasks you must perform to integrate applications.

CX Industries Framework serves as a platform for seamless integration of applications. You can use this framework to integrate your application with other Oracle applications and third-party applications, which includes cloud services and on-premise systems. It connects the applications and coordinates their interactions to deliver flexible digital experiences. It uses data from various sources, supports TM Forum Open APIs, and provides REST APIs for you to configure and extend tailored experiences.

CX Industries Framework supports both synchronous and asynchronous interactions between the integrated applications. It hosts all the TM Forum Open APIs on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure API Gateway to secure and optimize the API interactions. It also ensures high availability and resiliency by using the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Load Balancing service. Here are the key tasks that you can accomplish with this framework:

  • Add your own built applications to the topology
  • Integrate applications with external applications
  • Route requests from the TM Forum Open APIs to the corresponding run time applications
  • Publish data from events to the corresponding run time applications
  • Setup non-TM Forum APIs as custom APIs
  • Use custom adapter to connect to non-TM Forum external applications

Before You Start

Here are some points to consider before you get started with your application setup:

  • If you're using your existing corporate directory service as the primary identity provider, federate your directory with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Refer to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Documentation for information about how to federate your directory with other identity providers.
  • If you're integrating a non-TM Forum external application, build an adapter for the external application to connect and interact with your application.
  • If you're integrating an on-premises system, connect your cloud network to your on-premises network by using a virtual private network connection or FastConnect. Refer to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Documentation for information about setting up VPN connect or FastConnect.

    Note:

    Your application is automatically provisioned and deployed in your environment. You can use it as an independentservice or configure it to work with your existing applications based on your business needs. You can contact Oracle Consulting Services for help with building or adding your own applications and configuring your application to work with existing applications.

Where You Perform Setup Tasks

Use the CX Industries Framework REST APIs to perform all your setup tasks.

Here are the REST APIs you can use to set up your implementation:
  • apis: Use this API to get a list of all the TM Forum (TMF) and user-defined APIs (TMF or non-TMF) that are accessible through CX Industries Framework. You can also use this API to add, modify, or delete user-defined APIs. For example, you can add a user-defined API to:
    • Use a non-TMF API for routing billing requests to your billing software.
    • Configure an adapter for a non-TMF external application to connect and interact with your communications applications. This can be for billing, customer care, customer data management, or other purposes based on your need.
  • systemDescriptors: Use this API to define the target domain and the target application you want to integrate with your communications applications. For example, you can use this API to integrate a custom tax engine, billing software, or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software with your communications applications. You can also use this API to update or remove target application details.
  • connectionDescriptors: Use this API along with the systemDescriptors API to specify how to connect to your target application. You must specify the endpoint for each external application. The endpoint can be an API or an adapter deployed in your target application. You can also use this API to update or remove endpoint details.
  • listenerRegistrations: Use this API to register the target application to listen to events. You can configure multiple applications to register for the same event. You must specify the event types to be notified to the target application and the endpoint to listen to the events. You can also use this API to modify or delete listeners.
  • gatekeepingRules: Use this API to review or update gatekeeper rules. This rule provides a mapping to the gatekeeper for routing requests and publishing events. It ensures that only the events generated by gatekeepers are published to event listeners.

    These events aren't republished to the gatekeepers which generated them. The gatekeeper rules are autogenerated when you integrate an application. You can use this API to set an external application as a gatekeeper or to update the API resources for an internal or external application.

  • routingCriteria: Use this API to update the routing conditions for non-TMF APIs only.
  • utilityConfigurations: Use this API to view and update the utility configurations. For example, you can update the general settings, such as setting the inactive time period, using this API. You can also view and update other default utility configurations.

Setup Tasks List

This table summarizes the tasks you can do to set up your application and where you can find more information on the task. You can use this table as a checklist to understand the sequence of the tasks.

Table 1-1 Checklist to Setup Tasks List

Setup Activity Tasks Read More
Secure access to your application
  • Create Confidential application
  • Set up authentication protocol
 Secure Access To Your Application
Create users and associate roles
  • Create user accounts.
  • Review, edit, lock, or delete existing user accounts.
  • Assign predefined roles to user accounts.
  • Set password policies.
 Create Users and Assign Roles
Integrate external applications
  • Integrate external customer data management, billing, or other applications as needed.
  • Register the external applications to listen to events as needed.
 Integrate External Applications
Set up gatekeepers for event publishing Create rules for the gatekeepers (internal or external) to route requests or publish events to event listeners based on your business needs. Set Up Gatekeepers

Get Help from Oracle

You can find answers to your questions about CX Industries Framework using the resources in My Oracle Support.

If you still couldn't find answers to your questions, seek help from Oracle by creating a service request that includes all your questions. Sign in to the My Oracle Support Website and create a service request. Be sure to include the necessary details and log files.