At AST, we are very proud of each of our team members and the work they do to achieve their goals. This month, we are recognizing Jennifer A. for completing her ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management and Lynn S. for becoming an Oracle E-Business Suite 12 Financial Management Certified Implementation Specialist: Oracle Receivables.  Both of these ladies have worked hard to reach these goals, while also active on their current projects.  We congratulate them on these achievements.

Keep up the great work!

AST’s President and CEO, Pravin Kumar, is featured as a prominent leader in the Naperville, IL community in this month’s edition of Naperville Magazine!  The current issue marks the 10th year of publication of Naperville Magazine, and coincidentally is being released as we are celebrating our 20th Anniversary!

In the article, we learn what Mr. Kumar attributes to his success, the value our Oracle relationship brings to AST’s clients, as well as our esteemed leader’s proudest accomplishments, role models, and motivations.

Read the full story here: http://napervillemagazine.com/2015/07/pravin-kumar-ceo-ast-corporation/

What makes AST an award-winning and go-to systems integrator for Oracle software?  Find out in this year’s special edition of the AST Almanac.  We provide an in-depth look at each of our practices and their respective Vice Presidents, some of our successful client partnerships, the industries we serve, our thought-leadership in those industries, and much more.

This 20^th Anniversary edition of the publication provides a comprehensive look at AST and its history, including the “who, what, where, when, and how” of the company’s success.  Know why AST is “Specialized. Recognized. Preferred.” in the world of Oracle systems integration and who it is orchestrating these achievements as you get to know our executive leadership.

We invite you to get to know AST, its people, principles, and partnerships better by reading through the pages of the AST Almanac, here: http://myast.astcorporation.com/20Years

What an exciting month for AST!  Not only did we celebrate our 20th birthday last week, but we also hired 8 new employees this month!  Fourof our practices have been enriched with this great new talent.  A big welcome goes out to Rajimon A., Venkata M., Ted S., and Keith V., who all joined our ERP practice, Suresh R. and Ari S., who joined our Middleware practice, Kashan K., who is new to our Managed Services practice, and Ben S. in our PMO practice.

Welcome to AST!  We are excited to witness the talent and thought-leadership you bring to the team!

Shadow BI applications are those developed and managed by non-BI professionals.  They are usually the result of business user frustrations with central BI applications, and typically lack desirable BI features. Commonly, these standalone reporting devices are built in Excel or in an Access Database and lack security, data validation rules and input from other divisions within the company.

Ben Rossi appropriately explains in this article that shadow BI applications are not the enemy.  They can provide an organization with significant insight regarding what is lacking in their enterprise solution, and may actually be essential components of streamlining company-wide BI processes.  The key to a successful implementation, however, is the full involvement of the central BI team in the system-wide adoption of such an application.

A thorough assessment of all BI applications within your firm, including shadow BI applications, is the best way to determine what your organization needs to streamline reporting efforts.  It ispossible that a shadow BI application can offer a long-term solution for an organization if implemented appropriately.  However, it is more likely that while a shadow BI project may be a sufficient short-term solution to an individual obstacle, an enterprise BI solution will be healthier for the entire organization.

AST Corporation is both pleased and humbled to be celebrating 20 years in business.  From our inception in 1995, we have fostered a culture of growth, work ethics, customer satisfaction and family values.  Our employees work hard to ensure that our customers are fully satisfied.

Whether we are implementing complex systems, creating innovative customer-centric solutions or building a new AST practice, our people play the biggest part in our success.

We want to thank our employees, customers, partners, competitors, Oracle, and everyone in the Oracle community who has helped shape AST as an organization.  We look forward to our next 20 years of success!

Companies worldwide are actively using web services, both in intranet and extranet environments. While web services offer many advantages over traditional alternatives (e.g., distributed objects or custom software), deploying networks of interconnected web services still presents key challenges, especially in terms of security and management.

Web services can be implemented using different approaches and technologies which need to be secured at the different stages of the request/response cycle between clients (relying parties such as users or applications) and service providers (companies or divisions within a company exposing web services).

Several security layers are defined between clients and web services providers. The first security layer, also known as “perimeter security” or “first line of defense,” is referred to as the demilitarized zone or DMZ. The second security layer, or “green zone” to continue with the military analogy, is located behind the inner firewall of the DMZ. In some cases, the green zone may include several security sub-layers designed to further filter access to web services. Finally, the last security layer, or “last-mile security,” is provided by agents co-located with the web services or applications to be protected.

Oracle API Gateway operates with and complements other web services security systems, in particular Oracle Web Services Manager, which focuses on the security of the web services deployed in the green zone.

In summary, with AST implementing the Oracle API Gateway customers have access to a toolbox of components that can be deployed to orchestrate the process for accomplishing any task. For example, the Oracle API Gateway can receive a web service from a client utilizing SAML security then pass the web service to a backend SOA server with a different security mechanism.  It can also initiate a file transfer from a remote server on the internet, download a file, scan for viruses and then push it into the backend server for processing.

Let’s congratulate Michael M. for being named AST’s Employee of the Month for July 2015.  Michael is being recognized for his hard work and effort in building AST’s commercial presence. Since he has started at AST, Michael has been diligently working to increase our commercial accounts.  He has been resourceful and shows endless dedication in getting AST in the door at several clients. He regularly engages with the clients and our team to ensure the close and success of commercial projects.  In just a year and a half, Michael has attracted 9 new client logos to AST! His hard work, team collaboration and dedication are great examples to follow.

Congratulations, Michael!

It’s not too late to join AST on Thursday, July 16 at 1:00 PM CT, for a FREE webinar on Letting Cloud Empower your Employees and Enhance Their Experience.

In partnership with Oracle, we will share how other organizations are updating their HR systems to support today’s tech-savvy workers.  There has never been a better time – or better tools – to modernize your HR service delivery and drive organizational success.

Move your HR services to the next generation and discover how you can quickly provide a modern, consistent experience to your employees. Let us show you how your organization can benefit from this innovative solution.

To register, click here.

AST Corporation is pleased to announce that we have been named by CIOReview magazine as one of the 20 Most Promising SOA Technology Solution Providers in 2015!  The annual list of companies is selected by a panel of experts and members of the CIOReview Editorial Board to recognize and promote technology entrepreneurship.

AST was chosen to be showcased as the cover story, which features our VP of Middleware.  The editorial shares information about our SOA practice and some of the landmark projects we have completed to date.

‘Thank you’ to the hard-working employees who have made this recognition possible and who continue to foster AST’s growth and success on a daily basis!

View the article online at: http://magazine.cioreview.com/June-2015/SOA/