AIRPLUS AND BOI

A success story

20 years of success and confidence.

For more than 20 years AirPlus has been using TABEX to securely and efficiently carry out such a high number of transactions.TABEX is the product group of BOI Software Entwicklung und Vertrieb GmbH (BOI) for
high-performance table access and audit-proof table management.

AirPlus has developed two web-based applications ASPIS and EASY, which access data in TABEX tables and relational database tables.

These applications require user authentication as well as write access from Java applications to data stored in TABEX tables.

AirPlus approached BOI with these specific requirements. Mrs. Rendón-Valencia, TABEX4 manager at AirPlus International in the department “JX IO Transaction Processing Applications“, summarizes the main
requirements:

“For us, it was crucial that audit-proof logging of data maintenance can also be performed in Java applications without further programming. In addition, any changes made through Java write access
should be logged in the centralized TABEX4 revision log.“

BOI has generalized the requirements of AirPlus and developed the TABEX4 JAVA APPLICATION ENGINE (JAE) as a new product of the TABEX4 product portfolio in close coordination with AirPlus.

Customer profile

  • Leading provider for travel cost and acquisiton management
  • Employees: 1,174 (2013)
  • Billing turnover: 11.8 billion EUR (2013)
  • Serving of over 41,900 corporate customers in 60 countries
  • 145 billion transactions per year (2013)

Cooperation on highest level.

One product, tailored to the requirements of an international company.

TABEX4 application development at AirPlus

TABEX4 JAVA APPLICATION ENGINE

Easy-to-handle, reliable and safe.

JAE is a Java application programming interface for easy implementation of distributed Java application for the maintenance of TABEX tables by using the TABEX4 functionality.

The comfortable Java interface extends the functionality of TABEX for read and write access to table data via TCP/IP on distributed platforms.

By using TABEX4 JAVA APPLICATION ENGINE, read and write access to table data is possible from any Java environment such as web applications (Java, JSP), GUI applications or server batch applications.

Advantages of JAVA APPLICATION ENGINE:

  • Distributed and audit-proof maintenance of central table data (e.g. on the mainframe) using Java applications.
  • Easy implementation of web applications and GUI applications by using the BOI Java classes of the JAE.
  • Possibility of automation of table maintenance by distributed Java programs on all system platforms.
  • User authentification of JAE ensures that only authorized users are allowed to run JAE Java applications.
  • Moving applications from the mainframe to distributed platforms and therefore saving on hardware and software costs.

TABEX4 JAVA APPLICATION ENGINE can be used to develop Java programs which use simple Java methods for access and automated maintenance of TABEX tables.

Benefits of JAVA APPLICATION ENGINE
 

Key numbers

TABEX4 facts at AIRPLUS

 

1.200

TABEX tables

170

TABEX user

2

Administrators ensure the reliable use of TABEX4

1

Developer implements and adapts the in-house TABEX applications

In addition to these advantages JAE offers the same advantages which are offered by the TABEX4 web frontend – the TABEX4 Table Manager:

 

  • Secure login to TABEX4: The password is encrypted.
  • Authorized access to table data: A user can have read and/or write access to tables. The TABEX4 authorization system checks these access rights.
  • The processing of the table is transaction oriented. Multiple update operations can be performed and stored together. During the transaction, tables are locked for other applications.
  • Data checks can be implemented by check routines stored in TABEX4 tables. The check logic of TABEX4 prevents that invalid data is stored in the database. The definition of the check tables is done with the TABEX4 Table Manager.
  • Audit-proof table maintenance: All data changes made by Java applications are automatically logged in the central TABEX4 revision log. This also does not require to write a single line of Java code.


The following data are saved in the revision log:

  • Who made the change?
  • What kind of changes were made (insert, change, delete)?
  • Which data records were changed?
  • Additional information if needed

„The introduction of JAVA APPLICATION ENGINE was simple and straightforward“

Fr. Rendón-Valencia
TABEX4 manager at AirPlus International

 

The future

After a short trial period, the JAVA APPLICATION ENGINE is in productive use at AirPlus since autumn 2014.

“Our request, the authorization check of users, was easily implemented. The complete logging and documentation of business processes is very important at AirPlus International to reconstruct changes.“,  emphasizes Mrs. Rendón-Valencia. “And it’s equally important that data checks defined in TABEX4 Table Manager can be used in our decentralized web applications and do not need to be specially programmed.“

Continuous innovation is a strength of BOI. The TABEX4 product portfolio is continuously developed and adapted to new technologies.

TABEX and Java future plans

Java is becoming increasingly important for our customers. Therefore, BOI is currently developing a Java cache solution, the TABEX4 JAVA TABLE CACHE (JTC) which provides the performant TABEX acces in a Java cache. This helps our customers to adapt their complex table management – partly based on heterogenous IT platforms – optimally to current requirements.

TABEX4 JAVA TABLE CACHE implements the automated replication of table data (TABEX tables or relational database tables) to multiple distributed Java caches for high-performance Java access.

With this product, BOI takes one more step towards decentralization and integration of Java applications. Like TABEX4 with its Common DataSpace/SHS technology, TABEX4 JAVA TABLE CACHE provides the
distributed high-performance read access to versioned table data from Java applications, while the content of the Java cache is automatically
updated with the source.

Find here the success story of AirPlus and BOI as pdf for download.