When exchanging electronic documents between business partners, there are popular standard protocols which most organizations can support. Protocols such as FTP, SFTP, AS2 and a few others are the most common. Just as we have talked about software modernization, internet protocols are evolving as well.
Recently I asked one of REMEDI’s principal B2B Integrator architects what he encounters across industries and what new emerging trends he sees in internet protocols.
“Offering a suite of B2B gateway protocols to your Trading Partners can improve adoption and maximize automation. The last major protocol to change the way companies move data securely was AS2, and while you may think not much has changed, it has. If you are running an earlier version of B2B (<= 5.2.4.2) you are susceptible to a growing number of common security vulnerabilities.
We are beginning to see a trend where established ecommerce partners are demanding higher levels of security, like:
– TLS1.2 (replacing SSL) for channel encryption
– SHA256 (replacing SHA1) for payload encryption
– Certificate Authority Signed Certificates (replacing Self-Signed)
– Larger Certificate Keys Lengths (1024 > 2048 > 3072) and strict expiration policies”
Protocols available to you may vary by software package and version, however, when we deploy a new instance of IBM’s B2B Integrator, these popular protocols are supported with the deployment of the Remedi Framework. One of the benefits of the Remedi Framework is that if a client doesn’t have a need for, let’s say, AS2 today support for AS2 will be available in the Framework when they do need it. Each new release from AS1 to AS2 and now to AS4 offers new additional benefits for different e-commerce applications. Some standards are specific to certain industries. For example, the GISB/NAESB standard which was created specifically for the Energy industry. No matter which of the protocols your trading partner community is utilizing, security and reliability are among the top concerns.
The good news is, IBM’s B2B Integrator software with REMEDI’s Framework architecture supports these new and emerging trends. If you have questions about internet protocol support for your e-commerce system, I can help. Feel free to contact me at 614-436-4040 or http://www.remedi.com/contact-remedi
