Ascom

Contact:
Ascom
Belpstrasse 37
3000 Bern 14
Switzerland
www.ascom.ch

Tools Used:
CORBA®, C++™, Orbix®, Java®, Windows NT™.

Description:
Ascom, a global supplier of telecommunications and automated service solutions, has used IONA Technologies' Orbix to incorporate an integrated software architecture in their latest range of Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs). The award-winning solution uses Orbix to enable different internal TVM sub-systems, including those for payment, printing, alarm and display, to communicate with each other.

The CORBA-based infrastructure, powered by Orbix, allows Ascom's TVMs to be easily integrated with diverse central management systems at customer sites, offering a comprehensive systems integration solution to Ascom's customers, which include New Jersey Transit, LTA Singapore and British Rail.

In line with recent technological advances in service automation, TVMs have progressed from single, stand-alone devices to becoming part of complex TVM networks. With each network consisting of a series of diverse TVM software applications, Ascom sought a means of enabling complete interoperability between the different components. Furthermore, to ensure maximum efficiency in terms of TVM maintenance and manageability, Ascom also required a system which guaranteed the easy integration of TVM networks with external customer management systems.

"With the future of service automation lying firmly in integrated systems, designing and deploying separate applications for each individual TVM is no longer an option," commented Beat Keller, head of R&D, Traffic division at Ascom. "We needed a software architecture which was highly adaptable to the individual requirements of our customers across the globe and which offered tight system integration capabilities. With Orbix at the core, we can deliver automated service machines which are highly scalable and which can easily be implemented in a wide range of industries."

"Organizations focused on delivering advanced, integrated IT solutions can no longer afford to ignore the inherent benefits of building CORBA applications," commented Noel Toolan, Senior Vice President of Market Development at IONA Technologies. "Ascom has used Orbix to develop a unique software architecture which allows traditional vending machines to scale from stand-alone products to distributed component-based solutions. Ascom's choice of Orbix as the communications infrastructure for their TVM systems is a measure of the robustness and scalability of Orbix in delivering the comprehensive solutions to mission critical network environments."

Ascom has used Orbix to integrate a range of software components implemented using the C++ and Java programming languages, with Windows NT as the default platform. The platform and language independence of Orbix allows Ascom to remain flexible in their choice of TVM software applications according to individual customer needs and also ensures system scalability through the rapid implementation of new TVM services.

With global headquarters in Bern, Switzerland, Ascom is an international telecommunications and service automation group with 12,000 employees worldwide. Ascom operates in selected segments of the telecommunications, cash handling and transport revenue systems industries, offering products, systems and customer-focused solutions.