Liaison ECS Server and Delta - Web Services
Posted by Robin Smith on Sat, Jan 28, 2012 @ 09:44 AM
The majority of companies that have purchased Liaison's ECS Server software do traditional EDI, a few also use the software for moving data within their organizations, and a few also use the software for web services.
ECS Server has a nice little hidden secret - it can do web services right out of the box!
What are Web Services? Put very simply they are APIs (Application Program Interfaces) that can be accessed using the HTTP protocol over a network to automate the flow of data between applications or web sites. The data format used in most cases is XML however there are other data format protocols as well.
So if you are an ECS and Delta user, what would you use Web Services for if all you are doing is EDI? As the Internet penetrates ever deeper into business and we deal with ever increasing volumes of data, all sorts of applications, both on premise and in the cloud have APIs. If you ship product using one of the big courier companies - UPS, FedEx, or Purolator they all have APIs to their platforms. So rather than manually keying data, that data can be automatically moved up and down. There are close to 5000 published APIs today. Don't believe me, check out Programmable web.
If you use a CRM such as Salesforce.com or Dynamics CRM or even Goldmine, with ECS and Delta you can integrate the data flows using web services. If you have an online store with a commercial service provider such as Volusion, 3dCart, Amazon, Magento, EBay or Shopatron you can automate the data flow between your storefront and your in-house accounting system using ECS and Delta.
So don't look at ECS and Delta as just an EDI system but rather as an E-Commerce middleware platform. It’s a powerful one to boot. Need some ideas, download our eBook.
