Open-source ERP software vendor xTuple today released a new tool said to allow customers to more easily integrate the xTuple system with third-party applications.
The xTuple Connect product adds real-time integration, message transformation, and business rules to what had been rather rudimentary, batch-oriented integration tools built into the xTuple ERP system, said Ned Lilly, xTuple’s CEO, in an interview with Managing Automation.
“We are having more demand from customers who want to integrate with external systems,” Lilly said. “xTuple Connect takes integration to the next step by adding a rules engine that allows customers to get very detailed in terms of how they deal with data coming from outside of xTuple.”
xTuple Connect comprises two elements: EDI profiles of trading partners and external systems that are integrated with xTuple, and a rules engine that runs on a separate server. The system is able to receive messages in multiple formats, such as XML, EDI, and CSV, and automatically transform them into formats that the xTuple system recognizes. The tool, for example, can automatically receive and translate bill-of-material information, transmitted as XML files, from a product lifecycle management (PLM) application and update the xTuple BOM in real time.