Claims:CLAIMS
What is claimed is:
1. A method comprising:
executing a computing platform engine (170) on at least one server (1021) of a computing system (100); and
in accordance with the execution of the computing platform engine (170), providing a collaborative ecosystem for creating and integrating a plurality of applications across a plurality of products (2601-P) and a plurality of data sources (402) within the computing system (100), the plurality of applications related to functionalities enabled by the products (2601-P), the plurality of data sources (402) being in a backend of the computing platform engine (170), and the collaborative ecosystem provided based on:
providing a capability to: create a new Application Programming Interface (API), test a functionality associated with at least one existing API, and define a process relevant to the functionality based on at least one of: the new API and the at least one existing API in accordance with execution of an API exchange (212) of the computing platform engine (170);
in accordance with execution of an API studio (214) of the computing platform engine (170):
building domain objects (418) on top of the plurality of data sources (402) within the computing system (100) to enable linking of data within the plurality of data sources (402) into a common domain object pool such that any application of the plurality of applications built on top of a data source (402) of the plurality of data sources (402) is capable of interacting with the common domain object pool;
orchestrating the domain objects (418, 512) to create a composed API (420) relevant to the at least one of: the new API and the at least one existing API; and
building an experience API (422) on top of the composed API (420) to provide for a seamless and integrated user experience based on requiring a user to solely interact with the domain objects (418) instead of the plurality of data sources (402) in the backend;
providing a capability to build custom components (506) and leverage built-in components (504) based on execution of an experience studio (216) of the computing platform engine (170) to enable building user experiences on top of the at least one of: the new API and the at least one existing API;
through execution of an integration and orchestration studio (218) of the computing platform engine (170),
standardizing interaction of the plurality of applications with one another in the collaborative ecosystem; and
eliminating a need for coding with respect to standardizing the interaction of the plurality of applications in the collaborative ecosystem and connecting to the plurality of applications at a level of a plurality of channels configured to consume the at least one of: the new API and the at least one existing API through support of a plurality of messaging formats, transport protocols and communication protocols; and
providing a sandbox (220) as part of the computing platform engine (170) to provide a one-stop, single authentication access to each of: the API exchange (212), the API studio (214), the experience studio (216) and the integration and orchestration studio (218) of the computing platform engine (170).
2. The method of claim 1, comprising the plurality of data sources (402) comprising at least one of: a mainframe data source (404), a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) (406), a NoSQL database (408), a feed (410), a file (412), a legacy system (414) and a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) data source (416).
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising effecting, through the experience API (422), a compliance standard.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, through the experience studio (216), a capability to test a created at least one of: a page and a form on the fly in accordance with generating a script required for the created at least one of: the page and the form to execute from a perspective of a frontend of the computing platform engine (170).
5. The method of claim 1, comprising providing, through the sandbox (220), a multi-tenant platform to create the new API and test the at least one of: the new API and the at least one existing API.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, through the computing platform engine (170), at least one of:
a run-time environment (702) to test a configuration via the sandbox (220); and
a capability to export the configuration for testing in an environment external to the sandbox (220).
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
deploying, in the sandbox (220), at least one product (2601-P) of an entity (250) associated with the computing platform engine (170); and
enabling, through the deployment, the user to define an application on top of the at least one product (2601-P) of the entity (250).
8. A server (1021) of a computing system (100) comprising:
a memory (1741); and
a processor (1721) communicatively coupled to the memory (1741), the processor (1721) configured to execute instructions to:
execute a computing platform engine (170), and
in accordance with the execution of the computing platform engine (170), provide a collaborative ecosystem for creating and integrating a plurality of applications across a plurality of products (2601-P) and a plurality of data sources (402) within the computing system (100), the plurality of applications related to functionalities enabled by the products (2601-P), the plurality of data sources (402) being in a backend of the computing platform engine (170), and the collaborative ecosystem provided based on:
providing a capability to: create a new API, test a functionality associated with at least one existing API, and define a process relevant to the functionality based on at least one of: the new API and the at least one existing API in accordance with execution of an API exchange (212) of the computing platform engine (170),
in accordance with execution of an API studio (214) of the computing platform engine (170):
building domain objects (418) on top of the plurality of data sources (402) within the computing system (100) to enable linking of data within the plurality of data sources (402) into a common domain object pool such that any application of the plurality of applications built on top of a data source (402) of the plurality of data sources (402) is capable of interacting with the common domain object pool,
orchestrating the domain objects (418, 512) to create a composed API (420) relevant to the at least one of: the new API and the at least one existing API, and
building an experience API (422) on top of the composed API (420) to provide for a seamless and integrated user experience based on requiring a user to solely interact with the domain objects (418) instead of the plurality of data sources (402) in the backend,
providing a capability to build custom components (506) and leverage built-in components (504) based on execution of an experience studio (216) of the computing platform engine (170) to enable building user experiences on top of the at least one of: the new API and the at least one existing API,
through execution of an integration and orchestration studio (218) of the computing platform engine (170),
standardizing interaction of the plurality of applications with one another in the collaborative ecosystem. and
eliminating a need for coding with respect to standardizing the interaction of the plurality of applications in the collaborative ecosystem and connecting to the plurality of applications at a level of a plurality of channels configured to consume the at least one of: the new API and the at least one existing API through support of a plurality of messaging formats, transport protocols and communication protocols, and
providing a sandbox (220) as part of the computing platform engine (170) to provide a one-stop, single authentication access to each of: the API exchange (212), the API studio (214), the experience studio (216) and the integration and orchestration studio (218) of the computing platform engine (170).
9. The server (1021) of claim 8, wherein the plurality of data sources comprises at least one of: a mainframe data source (404), an RDBMS (406), a NoSQL database (408), a feed (410), a file (412), a legacy system (414) and a SaaS data source (416).
10. A non-transitory medium, readable through at least one server (1021) of a computing system (100) and comprising instructions embodied therein that are executable through the at least one server (1021) of the computing system (100), comprising instructions to:
execute a computing platform engine (170) on the at least one server (1021) of the computing system (100); and
in accordance with the execution of the computing platform engine (170), provide a collaborative ecosystem for creating and integrating a plurality of applications across a plurality of products (2601-P) and a plurality of data sources (402) within the computing system (100), the plurality of applications related to functionalities enabled by the products (2601-P), the plurality of data sources (402) being in a backend of the computing platform engine (170), and the collaborative ecosystem provided based on:
providing a capability to: create a new API, test a functionality associated with at least one existing API, and define a process relevant to the functionality based on at least one of: the new API and the at least one existing API in accordance with execution of an API exchange (212) of the computing platform engine (170);
in accordance with execution of an API studio (214) of the computing platform engine (170):
building domain objects (418) on top of the plurality of data sources (402) within the computing system (100) to enable linking of data within the plurality of data sources (402) into a common domain object pool such that any application of the plurality of applications built on top of a data source (402) of the plurality of data sources (402) is capable of interacting with the common domain object pool;
orchestrating the domain objects (418, 512) to create a composed API (420) relevant to the at least one of: the new API and the at least one existing API; and
building an experience API (422) on top of the composed API (420) to provide for a seamless and integrated user experience based on requiring a user to solely interact with the domain objects (418) instead of the plurality of data sources (402) in the backend;
providing a capability to build custom components (506) and leverage built-in components (504) based on execution of an experience studio (216) of the computing platform engine (170) to enable building user experiences on top of the at least one of: the new API and the at least one existing API;
through execution of an integration and orchestration studio (218) of the computing platform engine (170):
standardizing interaction of the plurality of applications with one another in the collaborative ecosystem; and
eliminating a need for coding with respect to standardizing the interaction of the plurality of applications in the collaborative ecosystem and connecting to the plurality of applications at a level of a plurality of channels configured to consume the at least one of: the new API and the at least one existing API through support of a plurality of messaging formats, transport protocols and communication protocols; and
providing a sandbox (220) as part of the computing platform engine (170) to provide a one-stop, single authentication access to each of: the API exchange (212), the API studio (214), the experience studio (216) and the integration and orchestration studio (218) of the computing platform engine (170).
, Description:COLLABORATIVE ECOSYSTEM FOR BUILDING APPLICATIONS THROUGH A COMPUTING PLATFORM ENGINE EXECUTING IN A COMPUTING SYSTEM

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY
[0001] This disclosure relates generally to computing systems and, more particularly, to a collaborative ecosystem for building applications through a computing platform engine executing in a computing system.

BACKGROUND
[0002] An entity associated with an enterprise computing platform may have critical data on data sources in legacy systems. Said legacy systems may have to be directly accessed to retrieve data therefrom. Even if the entity utilizes an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) in an enterprise architecture thereof, the ESB may be based on a thick client-based studio that is not conductive to collaboration (e.g., among partners, service providers, development teams, sales teams). Also, the ESB may require an end user to write lots of software code to solve complex design patterns and may provide abstraction solely through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

SUMMARY
[0003] Disclosed are a method, a non-transitory medium and/or a server of a collaborative ecosystem for building applications through a computing platform engine executing in a computing system.
[0004] In one aspect, a method includes executing a computing platform engine on one or more server(s) of a computing system, and, in accordance with the execution of the computing platform engine, providing a collaborative ecosystem for creating and integrating a number of applications across a number of products and a number of data sources within the computing system. The number of applications is related to functionalities enabled by the products, and the number of data sources is in a backend of the computing platform engine. The collaborative ecosystem is provided based on providing a capability to: create a new Application Programming Interface (API), test a functionality associated with one or more existing API(s), and define a process relevant to the functionality based on the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s) in accordance with execution of an API exchange of the computing platform engine.
[0005] The collaborative ecosystem is also provided based on, in accordance with execution of an API studio of the computing platform engine, building domain objects on top of the number of data sources within the computing system to enable linking of data within the number of data sources into a common domain object pool such that any application of the number of applications built on top of a data source of the number of data sources is capable of interacting with the common domain object pool, orchestrating the domain objects to create a composed API relevant to the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s), and building an experience API on top of the composed API to provide for a seamless and integrated user experience based on requiring a user to solely interact with the domain objects instead of the number of data sources in the backend, and providing a capability to build custom components and leverage built-in components based on execution of an experience studio of the computing platform engine to enable building user experiences on top of the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s).
[0006] Further, the collaborative ecosystem is provided based on, through execution of an integration and orchestration studio of the computing platform engine, standardizing interaction of the number of applications with one another in the collaborative ecosystem, and eliminating a need for coding with respect to standardizing the interaction of the number of applications in the collaborative ecosystem and connecting to the number of applications at a level of a number of channels configured to consume the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s) through support of a number of messaging formats, transport protocols and communication protocols, and providing a sandbox as part of the computing platform engine to provide a one-stop, single authentication access to each of: the API exchange, the API studio, the experience studio and the integration and orchestration studio of the computing platform engine.
[0007] In another aspect, a server of a computing system includes a memory and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory. The processor is configured to execute instructions to: execute a computing platform engine, and, in accordance with the execution of the computing platform engine, provide a collaborative ecosystem for creating and integrating a number of applications across a number of products and a number of data sources within the computing system. The number of applications is related to functionalities enabled by the products, and the number of data sources is in a backend of the computing platform engine. The collaborative ecosystem is provided based on providing a capability to: create a new API, test a functionality associated with one or more existing API(s), and define a process relevant to the functionality based on the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s) in accordance with execution of an API exchange of the computing platform engine.
[0008] The collaborative ecosystem is also provided based on, in accordance with execution of an API studio of the computing platform engine, building domain objects on top of the number of data sources within the computing system to enable linking of data within the number of data sources into a common domain object pool such that any application of the number of applications built on top of a data source of the number of data sources is capable of interacting with the common domain object pool, orchestrating the domain objects to create a composed API relevant to the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s), and building an experience API on top of the composed API to provide for a seamless and integrated user experience based on requiring a user to solely interact with the domain objects instead of the number of data sources in the backend, and providing a capability to build custom components and leverage built-in components based on execution of an experience studio of the computing platform engine to enable building user experiences on top of the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s).
[0009] Further, the collaborative ecosystem is provided based on, through execution of an integration and orchestration studio of the computing platform engine, standardizing interaction of the number of applications with one another in the collaborative ecosystem, and eliminating a need for coding with respect to standardizing the interaction of the number of applications in the collaborative ecosystem and connecting to the number of applications at a level of a number of channels configured to consume the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s) through support of a number of messaging formats, transport protocols and communication protocols, and providing a sandbox as part of the computing platform engine to provide a one-stop, single authentication access to each of: the API exchange, the API studio, the experience studio and the integration and orchestration studio of the computing platform engine.
[0010] In yet another aspect, a non-transitory medium, readable through one or more server(s) of a computing system and including instructions embodied therein that are executable through the one or more server(s) of the computing system, is disclosed. The non-transitory medium includes instructions to: execute a computing platform engine on the one or more server(s) of the computing system, and, in accordance with the execution of the computing platform engine, provide a collaborative ecosystem for creating and integrating a number of applications across a number of products and a number of data sources within the computing system. The number of applications is related to functionalities enabled by the products, and the number of data sources is in a backend of the computing platform engine. The collaborative ecosystem is provided based on providing a capability to: create a new API, test a functionality associated with one or more existing API(s), and define a process relevant to the functionality based on the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s) in accordance with execution of an API exchange of the computing platform engine.
[0011] The collaborative ecosystem is also provided based on, in accordance with execution of an API studio of the computing platform engine, building domain objects on top of the number of data sources within the computing system to enable linking of data within the number of data sources into a common domain object pool such that any application of the number of applications built on top of a data source of the number of data sources is capable of interacting with the common domain object pool, orchestrating the domain objects to create a composed API relevant to the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s), and building an experience API on top of the composed API to provide for a seamless and integrated user experience based on requiring a user to solely interact with the domain objects instead of the number of data sources in the backend, and providing a capability to build custom components and leverage built-in components based on execution of an experience studio of the computing platform engine to enable building user experiences on top of the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s).
[0012] Further, the collaborative ecosystem is provided based on, through execution of an integration and orchestration studio of the computing platform engine, standardizing interaction of the number of applications with one another in the collaborative ecosystem, and eliminating a need for coding with respect to standardizing the interaction of the number of applications in the collaborative ecosystem and connecting to the number of applications at a level of a number of channels configured to consume the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s) through support of a number of messaging formats, transport protocols and communication protocols, and providing a sandbox as part of the computing platform engine to provide a one-stop, single authentication access to each of: the API exchange, the API studio, the experience studio and the integration and orchestration studio of the computing platform engine.
[0013] Other features will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The embodiments of this invention are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:
[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic view of a computing system, according to one or more embodiments.
[0016] Figure 2 is a schematic view of components of a computing platform engine of the computing system of Figure 1 and integration thereof with one or more ecosystems, according to one or more embodiments.
[0017] Figure 3 is an architectural view of an Application Programming Interface (API) exchange of the computing platform engine of Figure 2, according to one or more embodiments.
[0018] Figure 4 is an architectural view of an API studio of the computing platform engine of Figure 2, according to one or more embodiments.
[0019] Figure 5 is a schematic view of an experience studio of the computing platform engine of Figure 2, according to one or more embodiments.
[0020] Figure 6 is a schematic view of enterprise integration through an integration and orchestration studio of the computing platform engine of Figure 2, according to one or more embodiments.
[0021] Figure 7 is a schematic view of a developer sandbox of the computing platform engine of Figure 2, according to one or more embodiments.
[0022] Figure 8 is a process flow diagram detailing the operations involved in a collaborative ecosystem for building applications through the computing platform engine of the computing system of Figure 1, according to one or more embodiments.
[0023] Other features of the present embodiments will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] Example embodiments, as described below, may be used to provide a method, a non-transitory medium and/or a server of a collaborative ecosystem for building applications through a computing platform engine executing in a computing system. Although the present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments.
[0025] Figure 1 shows a computing system 100 (e.g., a distributed computing system), according to one or more embodiments. In one or more embodiments, computing system 100 may include a number of servers 1021-N communicatively coupled to one another through a computer network 104 (e.g., a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Local Area Network (LAN) and/or a short range network (e.g., WiFi®, Bluetooth®)). Other forms of computer network 104 are within the scope of the exemplary embodiments discussed herein. In one or more embodiments, computing system 100 may also include a number of client devices 1061-M communicatively coupled to the number of servers 1021-N through computer network 104. As implied above, computer network 104 may, in some embodiments, encompass a wide variety of computer networks.
[0026] In one or more embodiments, computing system 100 may be a traditional computing system with data centers, a cloud based computing system or a hybrid computing system. In one or more embodiments, computing system 100 may provide one or more computing environment(s) through a computing platform 150 thereof. Computing platform 150, as discussed herein, may encompass hardware, software, operating systems, applications including browsers and/or virtualized environments (e.g., virtual machines representing operating systems, virtual storage). It should be noted that elements of computing system 100 may be virtualized to provide for efficiency, reduced latency and/or simplified data center level control. Figure 1 shows a computing platform engine 170 (e.g., a comprehensive engine enabling capabilities and functionalities provided through computing platform 150) executing on a server 1021 and components (e.g., computing platform engine components 1702-N; computing platform engine components 1761-M) thereof executing on other servers 1022-N and client devices 1061-M. In one or more embodiments, computing platform engine components 1702-N and computing platform engine components 1762-M may be stored in corresponding memories to be executed on processors associated therewith.
[0027] Examples of client devices 1061-M may include but are not limited to desktop computers, laptops, notebooks, smart devices and mobile phones. Other client devices 1061-M including thin clients are within the scope of the exemplary embodiments discussed herein. Each client device 1061-M may represent a type of a channel for accessing capabilities provided through computing platform engine 170.
[0028] Figure 2 shows components of computing platform engine 170 and integration thereof with one or more ecosystems, according to one or more embodiments. In one or more embodiments, ecosystems 202 to integrate with may include but are not limited to marketplaces 204, financial technology companies 206 and Independent Software Vendor (ISV) partners 208. Figure 2 shows a banking and/or a financial technology implementation within computing system 100 for example purposes. It should be noted that while exemplary embodiments discussed herein pertain to banking/financial technology, concepts associated therewith are extensible to areas outside banking/financial technology; computing system 100 may be representative of any information technology system and may solve technical problems of seamless integration, modernization of information technology solutions, increased user experience and efficiency. In the process, in one or more embodiments, computing system 100 may provide for reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for an organization implementing computing system 100 in the short-term and the long-term.
[0029] In one or more embodiments, in a preferred implementation, computing platform engine 170 may enable transitioning of a traditional version of computing system 100 based on monolithic applications into a system based on Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and microservices. In one or more embodiments, computing platform engine 170 may also enable exposure of rich functionalities of products of an entity or products utilized thereby through foundational APIs that are consumable through various channels (e.g., mobile phones, desktop computers). Further, in one or more embodiments, computing platform engine 170 may provide for reduced coding on behalf of an end-user (e.g., a developer, a customer of a bank) of computing platform 150. Still further, in one or more embodiments, computing platform engine 170 may provide for modernization of legacy applications associated with an entity.
[0030] For the purpose of modernizing legacy applications discussed above, as shown in Figure 2, computing platform engine 170 may include an API studio 214, which is built in accordance with an "API first" architecture based on Domain Objects and Object-Relational Mapping (ORM). In one or more embodiments, in order to couple an "experience layer" (user experience; to be discussed below) seamlessly to an API layer of the architecture associated with computing system 100, and then to the Domain Objects and the backend, to eliminate raw coding (e.g., coding to establish connections and perform validations), and to enable end-users (e.g., customers of an entity utilizing computing platform engine 170, partners) to consume APIs securely and seamlessly via multiple channels, portals and/or applications, computing platform engine 170 may include an experience studio 216, which provides a framework therefor.
[0031] In one or more embodiments, to increase agility within computing system 100, to create composable and extensible customized software based technical solutions, to reduce the need for raw coding, and to promote collaboration across partners, customers and development teams of an entity in order to provide for innovative solutions, computing platform engine 170 may include an integration and orchestration studio 218. In one or more embodiments, integration and orchestration studio 218 may eliminate integration-layer level coding; integration and orchestration studio 218 may include a visual studio for simplifying and standardizing integration of software components within computing platform 150.
[0032] In one or more embodiments, in order to effect standardization across products, comply with standards (e.g., global standards), to publish APIs, and to create API related documentation, computing platform 150 may include API exchange 212. In one or more embodiments, in addition to the abovementioned components, computing platform engine 170 may provide a sandbox for partners, developers and/or customers of an entity to utilize pre-created APIs, to create new process APIs and/or business flows, and to create new ecosystems 202; the aforementioned sandbox is shown in Figure 2 as developer sandbox 220. Figure 2 also shows example products 2601-P of an entity 250; said entity 250 may be regarded as being associated with one or more servers 1021-N of computing system 100. Alternately, entity 250 may be a subscriber of capabilities provided through computing platform 150; said capabilities may require the aforementioned one or more servers 1021-N.
[0033] In one or more embodiments, products 2601-P of entity 250 may expose APIs that are configured through API exchange 212. Entity 250, for example, may be a financial technology product development company. Figure 2 also shows an ecosystem 280 of a customer 270 (e.g., a banking institution) of entity 250 including channels 282, back office 284 and payments 286 (e.g., payment systems). It should be noted that components of ecosystems 202 and ecosystem 280 are merely shown as examples. Other components are within the scope of the exemplary embodiments discussed herein. In one or more embodiments, computing platform engine 170 may enable the aforementioned ecosystems to come together to create applications.
[0034] Figure 3 shows an architecture 300 of API exchange 212, according to one or more embodiments. In one or more embodiments, as discussed above, API exchange 212 may allow developers, analysts and/or product owners to create API specifications (e.g., build into product, use tools to specify functionalities in a formal, open-API standard document and publish externally). In one example implementation, API exchange 212 may provide a portal to enable an end-user to log in as a developer, analyst, product owner et al. In one or more embodiments, functionalities associated with products 2601-P of entity 250 may be available as APIs through the portal. The portal may also allow for API documentation (e.g., functionalities) and product specification to be searched based on keywords. Further, the portal may enable a developer to test out functionalities associated with the available APIs. In the scenario of multiple APIs being called out to perform an operation, the developer may utilize the test environment to test said APIs. The developer may also be able to create new APIs and include them as part of a set of APIs to realize the aforementioned operation.
[0035] As shown in Figure 3, architecture 300 may include API consumers 302 that are consumers of APIs provided through API exchange 212. In one or more embodiments, API consumers 302 may include service providers 304 delivering software based services in a consistent manner, customers 306 consuming the APIs through various channels (e.g., mobile applications, portals, systems) and partners 308 consuming the APIs, again, through various channels (e.g., mobile applications, portals, systems). Other API consumers 302 are within the scope of the exemplary embodiments discussed herein. In one or more embodiments, customers 306 may include existing customers and prospective customers of, say, entity 250.
[0036] In one or more embodiments, as shown in Figure 3, API consumers 302 may interact with an entity cloud component 310 associated with entity 250. In one or more embodiments, entity cloud component 310 may include API endpoints 312 published through API exchange 212. In one or more embodiments, API endpoints 312 may facilitate channel communication with a system, and may be touchpoints during communication with a server 1021-N through an API. In one or more embodiments, API endpoints 312 may be published as part of the API documentation discussed above. In one or more embodiments, an API exchange portal 314 may facilitate the aforementioned publication of API endpoints 312 and may provide an environment for creating new APIs, and testing new and existing APIs.
[0037] In one or more embodiments, entity cloud component 310 may also include integration component 316 to enable integration between dissimilar products interfaced with API exchange portal 314 and API endpoints 312. In some embodiments, integration component 316 may be a component provided through integration and orchestration studio 218. For example, integration component 316 may enable integration of products 2601-P associated with/of entity 250, as shown in Figure 3 by way of open APIs 3501-P corresponding to products 2601-P, with existing products and/or solutions associated with customer 270. Figure 3 further shows external systems 320 including banking applications 322 (e.g., business applications of customer 270) and third-party systems 324 (e.g., including third-party applications/products); integration component 316 may enable integration of external systems 320 with existing products 2601-P of entity 250. Such integration may involve the use of Message Queues (MQ) 326, Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) 328, Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) 330 and the Representational State Transfer (REST) 332 standard. Other protocols and standards are within the scope of the exemplary embodiments discussed herein.
[0038] Figure 4 shows an architecture 400 of API studio 214, according to one or more embodiments. In one or more embodiments, API studio 214 may enable developers to rapidly build APIs. In one example scenario, said architecture 400 may be proposed to customer 270 by entity 250 as a way of leveraging data sources 402 within existing platforms associated with customer 270. For example, core banking applications of customer 270 may be built on mainframes 404 and some data may be associated with Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) 406 and/or NoSQL databases (example of which includes object databases 408). Other example data sources 402 may include but are not limited to feeds 410, files 412 (e.g., accessible through File Transfer Protocol (FTP)), legacy systems 414 and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) 416.
[0039] In one or more embodiments, API studio 214 may enable building of domain objects 418 on top of data sources 402. In one or more embodiments, domain objects 418 may be virtual objects including attributes associated therewith. For example, an account holder with customer 270 may have an account number, account name, opening date, last 10 transactions and other attributes associated with an account object. Domain objects 418 may enable building of a virtual account object and linking thereof to any data source 402 in the backend. An example product 2601-P of entity 250 may already include APIs to link to the backend of customer 270. In the case of data existing in mainframes 404 (e.g., AS/400 platforms), API studio 214 may provide requisite connectors to link the virtual objects (e.g., domain objects 418) to mainframes 404. Thus, in one or more embodiments, domain objects 418 may enable customer 270 to arrange data thereof in various platforms into a common domain object pool such that any application built on top of legacy systems (or any data source 402 in a backend) can interact with the aforementioned domain object pool.
[0040] For example, when a customer onboarding module is created using API studio 214, a lot of composed APIs 420 may be created in a middle layer associated with orchestration. As part of the orchestration, a number of domain objects 418 may be called. For example, to create an account holder, credit checks and authorizations may have to be performed on the account holder in a "prospective customer" state thereof and documentation thereof stored later. This may expose a number of domain objects 418, which are then to be orchestrated to create the customer onboarding process or a composed API 420 (e.g., a new or existing API discussed with reference to API exchange 212) therefor. Also, in one or more embodiments, the process of building experience APIs 422 on top of composed APIs 420 to provide for a seamless and integrated user experience may be eased because of the sole interaction requirement with domain objects 418 instead of the backend.
[0041] In one or more embodiments, API studio 214 may aid the journey of modernization of customer 270 (e.g., a banking institution) based on a layered architecture 400 thereof. In one or more embodiments, in specific contexts, experience APIs 422 may also be associated with compliance standards across geographic regions. In one or more embodiments, API studio 214 may include appropriate orchestration engines to link domain objects 418 to multiple data sources 402 at the backend. For example, a request may be sent to mainframes 404 and a response thereto received; however, the message may be converted into a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format understandable and interpretable across APIs. Thus, in one or more embodiments, domain objects 418 may enable building composed APIs 420 and experience APIs 422 without regard to the underlying platforms of customer 270. Further, in one or more embodiments, although API studio 214 may exist on a cloud, configurations may be exported externally and appropriate executions may be enabled on the premises of customer 270.
[0042] Thus, in one or more embodiments, API studio 214 may be amenable to traditional, cloud and hybrid implementations. Figure 5 shows experience studio 216, according to one or more embodiments. In one or more embodiments, experience studio 216 may include an User Experience (UX) designer 502 to enable end-users (e.g., developers) to build complex applications, user experiences and User Interfaces (UI). In one example implementation, UX designer 502 may be backed by Angular platform developed by Google, Inc. Here, several Angular components may be provided in UX designer 502 to enable the end-users to build custom components. As shown in Figure 5, UX designer 502 may include built-in components 504 and custom components 506. In one or more embodiments, UX designer 502 may also include an orchestration component 508 to link the frontend to the backend. This orchestration may be represented by APIs 510 (e.g., backend APIs) and domain objects 512 (analogous to domain objects 418). In one or more embodiments, UX designer 502 may also include a publisher component 514 to publish a form (and/or a page) as, for example, an Angular component, and be tested "on-the-fly." Thus, in one or more embodiments, UX designer 502 may also generate the entire script required for a page/form to execute properly from the perspective of the frontend (e.g., frontend of computing platform engine 170) and then tested. In a preferred implementation, UX designer 502 may be a drag-and-drop designer.
[0043] In one or more embodiments, the "on-the-fly" testing capability provided by UX designer 502 may enable a page to be created, linked to the backend and tested "on-the-fly." Figure 6 shows enterprise integration through integration and orchestration studio 218, according to one or more embodiments. In one or more embodiments, integration and orchestration studio 218 may serve as middleware to integrate disparate applications (e.g., running on different technologies, messaging standards and/or transport protocols) and may eliminate a need for coding therefor. Figure 6 shows integration and orchestration studio 218 as being a middleware layer between products 604/products 2601-P and channels 602 in an ecosystem associated with customer 270 (e.g., a banking institution). In one or more embodiments, channels 602 associated with customer 270 may include retail banking 612, card (e.g., credit card, debit card) transactions 614, corporate banking 616 and third-party payments 618. Again, it should be noted that other channels are within the scope of the exemplary embodiments discussed herein.
[0044] Customer 270, for example, may utilize products 604 (e.g., legacy product applications) on legacy systems 622 and products 2601-P associated with entity 250. In one or more embodiments, integration and orchestration studio 218 may enable customer 270 to standardize the way in which two applications in the ecosystem thereof interact with each other. As shown in Figure 6, integration and orchestration studio 218 may enable connecting to legacy systems 622 based on a wide variety of ways including but not limited to Java Messaging Service (JMS) 624, AS/400 Data Queues 626, SOAP/FTP 628, Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) 630 and REST APIs 632, and connecting to products 2601-P by way of, again, REST APIs 634 and JMS 636.
[0045] Further, as shown in Figure 6, integration and orchestration studio 218 may support a wide variety of messaging formats and transport protocols (and/or communication protocols) to connect to applications at the level of channels 602. For example, connection to retail banking 612 may be based on REST APIs 638, connections to card transactions 614 may be based on ISO 8583 640, connection to corporate banking 616 may be based on JMS 642 and files/SFTP 644 and connection to third-party payments 618 may be based on Extensible Markup Language (XML) 646, MX 648, MX/JMS 650 and REST APIs 652. In accordance with the integration enabled through integration and orchestration studio 218, any two applications in the ecosystem may connect to one another and may access the backend (e.g., of legacy systems 622). In one or more embodiments, customer 270 (and even partners and developers) may define business process flows through integration and orchestration studio 218 without the need for software coding therefor.
[0046] It should be noted that components across cloud and traditional platforms may be integrated through integration and orchestration studio 218. Figure 7 shows developer sandbox 220, according to one or more embodiments. As known to one skilled in the art, "sandbox" may refer to an isolated software environment that enables testing, monitoring and execution of software programs without affecting the system in which the aforementioned software programs are configured to execute. In one example implementation, developer sandbox 220 may be provided in a cloud environment (e.g., Amazon Web Services(R) (AWS) Cloud). Here, each customer (e.g., customer 270), each partner, service delivery teams, sales teams and/or development teams of entity 250 may be onboarded to developer sandbox 220 as tenants. Thus, developer sandbox 220 may provide a multi-tenant platform in which users can build/customize APIs, build experiences and perform integration. In one or more embodiments, as shown in Figure 7, developer sandbox 220 may include all other components of computing platform engine 170, viz. API exchange 212, API studio 214, experience studio 216 and integration and orchestration studio 218.
[0047] In one or more embodiments, developer sandbox 220 may provide a run-time environment 702 to enable the tenants to test configurations. As known to one skilled in the art, the way computing system 100 is set up for a particular solution and the resources and components (e.g., hardware and/or software) of computing system 100 that provide for the particular solution may be defined as a "configuration." Referring back to Figure 1, configurations 190 may be stored in a memory 1741 of server 1021 (Figure 1 shows server 1021 as including a processor 1721 communicatively coupled to memory 1741; memory 1741 may also include computing platform engine 170 stored thereon and configured to be executed on processor 1721). It should be noted that configurations 190 may also be distributed across servers 1021-N of computing system 100 (e.g., an enterprise cloud computing system, an enterprise traditional computing system, an enterprise hybrid computing system). Each configuration 190 may be associated with a particular solution for, say, customer 270. In one or more embodiments, developer sandbox 220, by way of run-time environment 702, may enable a tenant to test one or more of the aforementioned configurations 190 and APIs discussed above with regard to other components of computing platform engine 170. In one or more embodiments, developer sandbox 220 may provide a capability to export configurations 190 to be tested in environments external to computing platform engine 170.
[0048] In one or more embodiments, developer sandbox 220 may also include a run-time manager console 704 (e.g., a software and/or a hardware administrative component) to control utilization and provisioning of run-time environment 702. For example, each customer (e.g., customer 270) of entity 250 may have a run-time environment 702 provisioned thereto. In certain embodiments, even products 2601-P of entity 250 may be deployed in developer sandbox 220. This may enable customer 270 to define applications on top of products 2601-P. In the case of a shared agreement existing between customer 270 and entity 250, products associated with customer 270 may also be deployed in developer sandbox 220 along with products 2601-P.
[0049] Thus, in one or more embodiments, developer sandbox 220 may provide a one-stop base for all other components of computing platform engine 170. In one example implementation, developer sandbox 220 may be accessible through a web portal into which a user may log in. The user may have an account created therefor and log in with the appropriate credentials in accordance with a role (e.g., a developer, a customer, a partner) thereof. Just by logging (e.g., a single authentication process) into developer sandbox 220, all product components (API exchange 212, API studio 214, experience studio 216 and integration and orchestration studio 218; product components other than developer sandbox 220) of computing platform engine 170 may be accessed. Thus, a requirement of individually logging into product components (API exchange 212, API studio 214, experience studio 216 and integration and orchestration studio 218) of computing platform engine 170 may be dispensed with.
[0050] It should be noted that computing platform engine 170 may be made available as a suite of products and that API exchange 212, API studio 214, experience studio 216 and integration and orchestration studio 218 may be regarded as products within the suite. In this interpretation, developer sandbox 220 may be regarded as a one-stop conduit to access all products within the suite of products that is computing platform engine 170. Only one log in may be required of a user to access all products within the aforementioned suite. In implementations of computing system 100 involving dynamic authentication, only one click (or, a double click) may be required of a user to access all products within computing platform engine 170 by way of developer sandbox 220.
[0051] Figure 8 shows a process flow diagram detailing the operations involved in a collaborative ecosystem (e.g., ecosystem 202, the ecosystem of Figure 6) for building applications through a computing platform engine (e.g., computing platform engine 170) executing in a computing system (e.g., computing system 100), according to one or more embodiments. In one or more embodiments, operation 802 may involve executing the computing platform engine on one or more server(s) of the computing system. In one or more embodiments, operation 804 may involve, in accordance with the execution of the computing platform engine, providing the collaborative ecosystem for creating and integrating a number of applications across a number of products (e.g., products 604, products 2601-P) and a number of data sources (e.g., data sources 402) within the computing system.
[0052] In one or more embodiments, the number of applications may be related to functionalities enabled by the products, and the number of data sources may be in a backend of the computing platform engine. In one or more embodiments, in accordance with operation 804, the collaborative ecosystem may be provided based on providing a capability to: create a new API, test a functionality associated with one or more existing APIs, and define a process relevant to the functionality based on the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s) in accordance with execution of an API exchange (e.g., API exchange 212) of the computing platform engine, and, in accordance with execution of an API studio (e.g., API studio 214) of the computing platform engine, building domain objects (e.g., domain objects 418) on top of the number of data sources within the computing system to enable linking of data within the number of data sources into a common domain object pool such that any application of the number of applications built on top of a data source of the number of data sources is capable of interacting with the common domain object pool, orchestrating the domain objects to create a composed API relevant to the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s), and building an experience API on top of the composed API to provide for a seamless and integrated user experience based on requiring a user to solely interact with the domain objects instead of the number of data sources in the backend.
[0053] In one or more embodiments, in accordance with operation 804, the collaborative ecosystem may further be provided based on providing a capability to build custom components and leverage built-in components based on execution of an experience studio (e.g., experience studio 216) of the computing platform engine to enable building user experiences on top of the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s), and, through execution of an integration and orchestration studio (e.g., integration and orchestration studio 218) of the computing platform engine, standardizing interaction of the number of applications with one another in the collaborative ecosystem, and eliminating a need for coding with respect to standardizing the interaction of the number of applications in the collaborative ecosystem and connecting to the number of applications at a level of a number of channels (e.g., channels 282) configured to consume the new API and/or the one or more existing API(s) through support of a number of messaging formats, transport protocols and communication protocols.
[0054] Additionally, in one or more embodiments, in accordance with operation 804, the collaborative ecosystem may be provided based on providing a sandbox (e.g., developer sandbox 220) as part of the computing platform engine to provide a one-stop, single authentication access to each of: the API exchange, the API studio, the experience studio and the integration and orchestration studio of the computing platform engine.
[0055] It may be appreciated that the various systems, methods, and apparatus disclosed herein may be embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable medium (e.g., a hard disk, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Video Disc (DVD), a Blu-ray disc®) and/or a machine-accessible medium compatible with a data processing system (e.g., computing system 100, servers 1021-N), and/or may be performed in any order.
[0056] The structures and modules in the figures may be shown as distinct and communicating with only a few specific structures and not others. The structures may be merged with each other, may perform overlapping functions, and may communicate with other structures not shown to be connected in the figures.
[0057] Although the present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.