CUSTOMER SUCCESS

Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen

Renowned research department at the
University of Gießen makes the leap from
Oracle Forms to Oracle APEX in record
time using FORMS 2 APEX Modeler

Replacing the Oracle Forms Application

Migrate in a
resource-saving way

Maintain and evolve application independently

Migration tool FORMS 2 APEX Modeler plays an important role

As far as the speed factor is concerned, among other things, the tool-based approach of PITSS remains without competition on the market. Thus, our self-developed FORMS 2 APEX Modeler was able to win the trust of the Institute for Medical Informatics.

Since time was also a scarce resource for our customer, he could only benefit from the intelligent migration automatisms of the FORMS 2 APEX Modeler, which accelerated the technology change. Thus, the conversion from an outdated Oracle Forms application to the latest and future-proof Oracle APEX version was accomplished almost at the push of a button, and the customer was able to limit himself to the reprogramming of the functionalities that are not convertible due to conceptual differences between Forms and web applications for the majority of the masks to produce a functional application.

The results speak for themselves

In migration and modernization projects carried out using the PITSS tool-based approach, nothing less than unsurpassed efficiency can be expected. This is also confirmed by the current project figures:

• 390 Forms modules were transferred to Oracle APEX in only 4 weeks in a partially automated way – assessment, migration analysis and APEX training included.
• The originally estimated development times were noticeably reduced by the optimal solution finding and the automated migration.

“PITSS and the FORMS 2 APEX Modeler helped us with a problem that seemed difficult to solve at first sight within a very short time. Our previous Forms application got a solid and promising basis for the part implemented with APEX.”

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Your contact

Uta Daniels
Assistant of Sales Management
udaniels@pitss.com

+49 711/914-012-27

CUSTOMER SUCCESS

More modern, more effective,
less expensive

German IT provider SV Informatik optimizes
business processes for insurance company
SV SparkassenVersicherung through web
services with PITSS.CON

SV Informatik is the IT service provider for SV SparkassenVersicherung and its association partners. SV SparkassenVersicherung covers all types of insurance, is the No. 1 in building insurance in the region and is one of the major public insurers.
In a state-of-the-art, market-leading insurance company, all processes with customers, agencies, partners and internal specialist departments are successfully guaranteed by IT in day-to-day business. High demands on IT systems therefore result from centralized and decentralized networking, immense data processing, manifold correspondence, customer-oriented services and automated processing. There is no business process at SV Sparkassen Versicherung that is not supported by powerful IT – set up and managed by SV Informatik.

“With PITSS.CON the modernization of SV SparkassenVersicherung can
be perfectly planned, evaluated and accelerated!”

“If we want to change our applications or integrate new functionalities, thanks to PITSS.CON we know exactly where to start and whether we have taken all effects into account. This means we are not only faster in dependency analysis, but also error-free and more effective. We can quickly adapt new business challenges to help win customers and increase sales for SV SparkassenVersicherung. With PITSS.CON, we achieve significant cost savings in the form of effectiveness gains, both in further development and in maintenance.”

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Your contact

Uta Daniels
Assistant of Sales Management
udaniels@pitss.com

+49 711/914-012-27

CUSTOMER SUCCESS

PITSS.CON Multi-Language edition
paves the way to globalization
for Sensis.

When Sensis, a successful software
provider in the field of waste management,
designed an application as an in-house solution
for a German-based company, multilingualism
was not an issue either in the data model or in
the implementation of the interfaces.

Allow critical apps to be multilingual

Required simplicity and efficiency

Allow critical apps to be multilingual

Challenge

Sensis has been a force in the German market for 11 years and has developed a comprehensive industry solution for waste management with its Oracle Forms-based software TRAS. Municipal city cleaning companies, numerous landfills and recycling plants, as well as large waste disposal companies are among their satisfied customers.

In the age of globalization and the influx of small and medium-sized companies on the international market, Sensis identified a need to make their business-critical application multilingual. Thankfully, this task that can often lead to an enormous effort has been efficiently solved with the PITSS.CON Multi-Language edition.

For years, Sensis has relied on the services and consulting expertise of PITSS. We have come to know and appreciate the benefits of the PITSS.CON repository-based approach to software development [shortly after we] founded our company. Since then, we have stayed true to the tool across its various versions. So it was logical for us to use the functionality of PITSS.CON in the language changeover for multilingualism as well, which saved us time and money.

Solution

In a 2-day workshop, PITSS introduced the Sensis development team to the concept of multilingualism. PITSS demonstrated how simple and efficient it was to introduce multilingualism to the existing application.

PITSS.CON automated the entire implementation, from the identification of all necessary text modules, such as headings, lead texts, labels and text messages within the PL / SQL code, to the provision of a database backend. In order to be able to include the text modules with all their translations, the interface of the application was dynamically linked to the backend at all points. This resulted in all texts being displayed according to the set language at runtime.

Essentially, Sensis still had to translate the actual extracted texts. For this step, PITSS.CON supported with various options, from the interactive translation function within PITSS.CON, as well as the extraction of all text modules to the translation by a service provider.

Results

It wasn’t long before Sensis saw the first positive results. Shortly after the successful implementation of the multi-language function, Sensis succeeded in winning over their first international customer. The application is now optimally prepared for any number of languages, which only need to be maintained in the database backend. Soon, they can conquer their next foreign-language market.

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Your contact

Uta Daniels
Assistant of Sales Management
udaniels@pitss.com

+49 711/914-012-27

CUSTOMER SUCCESS

REMONDIS IT implements
multilingualism of its global
applications with the multi-language
solution from PITSS

One of the world’s largest recycling, service and
water service providers can dynamically and quickly
set up its applications in different languages with PITSS ML

Initial Situation

Globally deployed Oracle Forms large-scale application, which maps all core processes of the company, must be available in the respective local languages.

Challenge

The application previously worked with the outdated Oracle Translation Hub, which was replaced by PITSS.CON Multi-Language. Language extensions must be possible without any problems.

Solution

PITSS.CON Multi-Language replaced the Oracle Translation Hub. In the process, the data was transferred automatically. The rollout was successful and in several.

“As a globally acting and highly networked company, our ERP solution must be easily available in the respective national languages and quickly adaptable. With PITSS.CON Multi-Language, we succeeded in doing just that. The data was read in by the PITSS tool and output in the applications of the respective countries in the correct language. We were very impressed with the performance of the PITSS tool.”

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Your contact

Uta Daniels
Assistant of Sales Management
udaniels@pitss.com

+49 711/914-012-27

CUSTOMER SUCCESS

Volkswagen

PITSS helped Volkswagen migrate business critical application from Oracle Forms version 3 to version 11g, Oracle ADF and MS. NET.

And thanks to PITSS.CON, they performed their important Oracle Forms migration a price lower than anybody expected. Due to our work with Volkswagen, their business-critical systems are upgraded and will be easier to update in the future. This PITSS.CON project led the business to a true Volkswagen success story.

Upgrade Oracle from Version 3 to 11g

Easier to Install Updates in the Future

Upgrade Completed in a Fraction of the Time

Volkswagen Application Modernization

The VW application was in use since 1994, and was repeatedly expanded to provide new functionalities. Based on Oracle Forms version 3, their application also supported handheld devices and barcode scanners, and completely fulfills the complex requirements for automotive logistics.

We gave PITSS full responsibility for the migration and did not use the tool internally ourselves. The extremely quick deployment of the first test version made it clear just how important efficient automation is. All the deadlines were met; even those that we had classified internally as barely feasible.

Since migrating to Oracle Forms 11g with the help of PITSS, their hardware and software risks are now a thing of the past. As a result, 14 of the 19 VW sites where the application is used were successfully migrated in 2013, and the rest followed in 2014.

PITSS Delivers High-Quality Oracle Forms Service

Immediately after receiving the order, PITSS impressed with an enormously quick project start. After the kickoff in July 2012, the first working version of the application, which consisted of around 350 Forms modules, was already available for testing purposes at the beginning of September.

After adjusting the various associated C programs, VW was responsible for quality assurance, including comprehensive testing and acceptance workshops with the users.

The PITSS team performed the Oracle Forms migration using PITSS.CON, a powerful Oracle based development platform that is used for the modernization and development of Oracle Forms and Reports applications.

A hardware incompatibility with Oracle Forms 11g became apparent at the end of the test cycles and could not be solved by an automation tool like PITSS.CON. We had to find a special solution for the approximately 25 Forms modules that run on the mobile devices.

Modern and mobile: Oracle ADF and MS NET

PITSS met the January deadline without any problems because the mobile devices were not used in Portugal. However, a solution had to be developed by early summer that fulfilled all of the requirements for the wide range of handheld devices.

In addition to support for new devices and operating systems such as Android, iOS, etc., all the old devices also had to remain functional. This meant that even the now obsolete platform Microsoft Windows CE 5 had to remain functional.

Support for a wide variety of platforms was only one challenge the PITSS team faced. PITSS recommended a certified runtime environment based on Oracle best practices.

PITSS protected VW’s investment to reduce future developments and the need for migration, as well as ensured an attractive interface. After all, end users are now used to modern apps for mobile phones and expect an appropriate user interface.

At first glance, Oracle ADF Mobile offered the necessary functions. In principle it also ran under the mobile version of Internet Explorer for Windows CE 5, however not completely as desired.

Therefore, PITSS decided to use a combination of Oracle database, ADF application and a .NET user interface. The Forms functionality migrated with the help of PITSS.CON in three layers: a thin .NET user interface and a thick database and ADF-layer; all in a development period of just two months.

The PITSS team significantly contributed to the fact that we were able to meet the scheduled international rollout dates, something we strongly doubted was possible due to the surprise with the handheld devices.
PITSS proved to be a very reliable and flexible service partner. Our users are also extremely satisfied with the new version of ATLAS Dezentral. We have received nothing but positive feedback.

Sustainable Oracle Forms Modernization

In the course of migrating to Oracle Forms 11g, we improved the authentication and access protection mechanisms and brought them up to company standards. This added security alone is greatly appreciated by VW. The company now enjoys a considerable increase in reliability and high availability. Since the application now runs on virtual machines just like all the other applications, it can be installed on the standard hardware in VW’s data center.

Modernization easily fulfilled the high-availability requirements for such a business critical application. Thanks to redundancy across multiple locations, the system is now protected against a regional disaster. This means that the production lines will never come to a standstill because we do not know where to send the finished vehicles.

We are finally able to once again use Oracle’s current standard technology and will be able to easily implement future version updates. All the project goals were achieved in what I consider to be record time. And the best part: it was all possible for just one third of the budget VW originally calculated.

About the Volkswagen Group

The Volkswagen Group with its headquarters in Wolfsburg is one of the leading automobile manufacturers in the world and the largest carmaker in Europe. In 2012, the Group increased the number of vehicles delivered to customers to 9.276 million, which corresponds to a global passenger car market share of 12.8 percent. In Western Europe, nearly a quarter of all new cars come from the Volkswagen Group. Twelve brands from seven European countries belong to the Group: Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN.

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Your contact

Uta Daniels
Assistant of Sales Management
udaniels@pitss.com

+49 711/914-012-27

CUSTOMER SUCCESS

ENHANCING LEGACY
APPLICATIONS THROUGH
INNOVATIVE FUNCTIONALITIES

Power South Energy Cooperative, headquartered in Andalusia, Ala., is an electricity generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative. Power South’s field inspectors needed a way to take photographs, collect GPS coordinates, and fill out reports in the field without a laptop. This project was an Oracle Forms modernization that provided support for offline work and data synchronization. PowerSouth chose Oracle ADF Mobile as the development platform for the project because it offered simplified mobile development and easy integration with native device features providing field inspectors with all the functionality required on a mobile tablet.

Not only does the application collect rich coordinate and photographic data, it ensures high data quality through an excellent user interface built with an iterative design approach. Power South’s inspectors now do their work faster and with higher data integrity, leading to more reliable reporting and business intelligence. Power South’s internal team is better prepared to support tablet (iOS) technology going forward.

Collect Data Valuable to Their Organization

Create an Intuitive, Easy-to-Use Interface

Capable of Working Both Online and Offline

Organization

The intended users of the Power South mobile application are inspectors internal to Power South. These inspectors needed the ability to replace the existing paper report and Oracle Forms Application with native device functionality running on an iPad. The ability to collect meter reading data on equipment, take pictures of the equipment, collect GPS coordinates for the location of the equipment and refer to the prior inspection report for each piece of equipment were essential to the solution.

The Business Drivers

Power South had prior experience with mobile devices for data gathering in the field. Their team had previously assembled some impressive Forms-based solutions accessed via handheld Windows laptop computers. However, these machines were an order of magnitude more expensive than iPads and did not provide camera or GPS capabilities. Learning about Oracle ADF Mobile spurred Power South to consider a new iPad-based solution to bring all these needs into one device.

Why PITSS?

Power South asked PITSS to propose a new solution with Oracle ADF Mobile, emphasizing that the application required an intuitive, easy to use interface. In addition to the camera and GPS location capabilities, the application had to be easy to use and intuitive for a variety of users. The iPads would need to operate in full daylight, so a high contrast, visually clear layout would be important. Lastly, the application needed to work offline, so it would be necessary to store locally all relevant tables from the server when working in a disconnected mode.

PITSS began by reviewing the existing Forms application and proposing a new set of application design wireframes for review. After discussions and review the application wireframes were finalized. (See “Interface Design and Application Views” below for more detail.) The wireframes were used to guide the initial development and once an initial version of the interface was developed, a series of iterative build-and-review steps began. This iterative process would continue until the mobile application was complete

Leveraging Oracle ADF Mobile, we were able to transition our employees to use new mobile devices (iOS) leveraging the latest device capabilities and allowing for offline work.

Hardware / Software Architecture

The mobile user interface is an Oracle ADF Mobile application running on an iPad communicating over VPN-secured wireless internet to an Oracle WebLogic server configured for Oracle ADF. The iPads use a VPN client application available from the Apple App Store, configured to connect to Power South’s network.

The application had to function when inspectors worked at remote sites without data coverage so an “offline sync” process was required. All the relevant inspection records, equipment tables, photographs, and meter readings had to be stored on the iPad and refreshed and synchronized when a VPN-secured internet connection became available.

This offline mode was accomplished with the following components:

• Web Service: The ADF application on the WebLogic server exposed a SOAP-based web service to view objects on each relevant entity.
• Sync User Interface: When online, the iPad user begins a one-button “Sync” operation to upload all completed inspections to the web service and then download the latest records. This keeps the iPad up to date with server state.
• Java customization code: In the Java code, the application leverages the AdfmfJavaUtilities class to programmatically access the web service for this upload/download process. The customization code includes model and collection classes for the record types in the web service. This allows the data to be provided through Java Bean-backed DataControls in the AMX page views.
• SQLite Encrypted Database: The Java customization classes interact with a local SQLite encrypted database for persistence. SQLite was deemed the ideal long-term storage method because of its table-based approach and the ability to query data with SQL, mirroring the structure of data in the server and reporting environment where the data originates.

Key Software Design Considerations

Configuration driven interface: PITSS developed an innovative approach that allowed them to dynamically show information on a page, based on dynamic requirements. This is used in both list components as well as outside of lists. This provides control over which AMX page elements are shown and when.

Managing photographs: Generically using large images in mobile applications can be costly and influence performance and storage aspects of mobile applications. Images captured as files use up device storage and images captured as Base64 strings are very processor-intensive to show on screen.

To avoid this problem PITSS leveraged the support for using Java in Oracle ADF Mobile and created a Java component to handle Base64 encoding and decoding. A PhotoUtil class handles the logic of capturing photographs with the normal ADF Mobile APIs, writing the files to disk, and updating the relevant data models. The same class is used when synchronizing with the server. It is used to encode image files as Base64 Strings for upload and to decode Base64 Strings from the server to write as local files. With this process, the mobile application is never showing Base64 images or dealing with the upload and download of file attachments.

About PITSS

PITSS modernizes, customizes, migrates, and extends the life of valuable legacy systems. Using data, proprietary software, and deep-dive analysis, we reduce the cost and scope of your digital transformation effort by focusing on the highest ROI processes first. Then, we pave the complete road between you and your new horizons with confidence and expertise. Our full-stack team of experienced UI/UX designers, developers, engineers, technical leads and project managers can guide you through each step of a project. No one knows Oracle Forms like we do—we can take you from planning, to pilot, to the cloud and beyond.

Ask without obligation

Your contact

Uta Daniels
Assistant of Sales Management
udaniels@pitss.com

+49 711/914-012-27