The Cast Iron Integration Appliance connects CA Clarity to a variety of end-points including SAP, salesforce.com, Oracle, Lawson, PeopleSoft, QAD, Great Plains, JD Edwards, databases, XML/Web Services, other SaaS applications and more. The Integration Appliance offers pre-built connectivity to RightNow and provides access to all RightNow objects including objects with custom fields. Connecting RightNow with other end-points using the Integration Appliance is simple because:

• No installation at the end-points: Unlike software-based integration tools, there is no connectivity software to install at the endpoints
• All connectivity included in the Integration Appliance: Unlike software-based integration tools, there is no need to purchase any adapters/connectors
• Configuration, not coding: All this connectivity is accomplished without writing any code

The Cast Iron Integration Appliance enables you to graphically map data between CA Clarity and target applications. Performing data transformations with the Integration Appliance is simple because of the following:

• GUI-based transformation between source and target systems
• Automatic correctness and completeness checking (e.g., if you're mapping an alphanumeric field to a numeric field, the appliance warns you of the inconsistency)
• Drag & drop Excel-like functions (e.g. graphically concatenate multiple fields from source app into one field in the target app)
• One-click testing of data maps because the appliance automatically generates test data and cases

The Cast Iron Integration Appliance enables you to graphically define the flow of data between CA Clarity and target applications (workflow). Creating workflow rules with the Integration Appliance is simple because of the following:

• Drag-and-drop integration flow creation (e.g. graphically define how a PO should go from your ERP system to your vendor)
• Data-driven business logic (e.g. determine format and transport to send a PO depending on which vendor it should go to)
• Error-checking and handling (e.g. if the PO number is blank, you can generate a notification email)

The Cast Iron Integration Appliance provides you with a single console to manage and monitor your CA Clarity integrations. Managing and monitoring your integrations with the Integration Appliance is simple:

• Single console view – from appliance to integrations (e.g. see the details of a PO and the status of the CPU, memory, etc. in one console)
• One-click deployment of integrations (e.g. deploy an integration project from development to production in one click)
• Remote setup, upgrade and monitoring (e.g. remotely monitor the status of transactions and perform upgrades)
• Proactive alerts on data and connectivity errors (e.g. setup notification rules on how to receive messages on data, connectivity and system errors)