A workflow process is a sequence of steps that automates a business function. Some workflow processes (also known as business processes) allow your company to integrate Siebel Energy with back-office systems, including databases. You can implement integration with third-party systems by using the following resources and techniques:

• Prebuilt workflows. Some prebuilt workflow processes are included in the sample database distributed with Siebel Energy, along with prebuilt integration objects in the Siebel Tools repository. If a workflow process mentioned in this chapter is not in your Siebel application's sample database, it may be available on request. To request a workflow process, please contact Siebel Professional Services.
• Manual integration. Your company can automate the integration between Siebel Energy and other applications manually. To automate the integration between Siebel Energy and other applications manually, you normally use both Siebel Business Process Designer and Siebel eBusiness Application Integration (eAI).
• UAN integration. Siebel Systems' Universal Application Network (UAN) is a separate product that defines a library of business processes to integrate external applications with Siebel applications. This library consists of business process flows, common objects, and transformation maps that run on third-party integration servers. Your company can use the design tools provided by the integration server vendors to model and configure the business processes, common objects, and transformation maps as needed. After they have been designed, these processes are imported into the integration server for deployment. For more information about UAN, or to purchase UAN, please contact Siebel Sales.

This chapter explains integration using prebuilt sample workflows that may be provided with your Siebel application or that may be available on request. This chapter contains the following sections:

• Business scenarios that illustrate how sample integration workflow processes can be used to automate or partially automate a business process.
• Descriptions of sample integration workflow processes that are available in the Siebel Energy sample database.
• Details of two sample workflow processes to help you understand how a workflow process is set up. Refer to these samples when you design your own integration workflow processes.

This chapter does not give detailed information about Business Process Administration or application integration in general. For information about these topics, see Siebel Business Process Designer Administration Guide and the Siebel eAI guides, available on the Siebel Bookshelf.

NOTE:  The integration workflow processes discussed in this chapter are not Application Services Interfaces (ASIs), although they serve a similar function.