I keep expecting someone to mention that there is also open source AS2 software, but I haven't seen anyone hit that point. Forgive me if I missed it...
That's not what we use here, I can't vouch for the capabilities of any of them, and I absolutely can't help you with any of them if that's the way you go - but hey, I just thought in fairness it should be mentioned as an option. ;) Search for them on Sourceforge. Travis- -----Original Message----- From: Ricardo Johnson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 1:20 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [EDI-L] AS2 Adam, AS2 vs traditional EDI is a very important topic, so I'll give it a shot because I believe the decision has to do with managed services vs in-house EDI, a key decision in fact. Traditional EDI implies the use of Value Added Networkd or VANs to exchange messages. VANs allow companies to outsource some or all of their EDI tasks. They can distribute numerous messages to multiple trading partners with different communications protocols; they can coordinate exchanges, track messages, acknowledge deliveries, ensure confidentiality, translate EDI, and many other related services. Of course, all these services come with a fee, so VANs can be expensive. On the other hand, AS2 is an in-house solution, and only a partial one for it only deals with communications. In fact, AS2 does not address many critical in-house EDI tasks like: mapping, translating, and integrating. Implementing AS2 alone may not seem as expensive, even though you still have to pay for software (sometimes per no.of seats/trading partners), annual maintenance fees, and staff to install, operate, and run it on a daily basis. However, if you don't already have an EDI translator, you may end up spending 3 to 4 times as much to put one in place, a must for EDI. For instance, the software Art claims to be so 'inexpensive and easy' costs $6.500 for the AS2 piece alone, plus $6,200 for the translation piece. That's $12,700 in software license fees alone. If you add up the maintenance fees (20%/year), the consultant fees (ask Art), and the staff to run it all in-house, you'll quickly realize you're dealing with a major investment. So the question is: Will it pay off? My take: Unless you already have an EDI translator in-house and EDI capable staff, I would probably not invest in AS2 unless I exchanged a large volume of transactions and I could justify investing in both AS2 and EDI translation based on a detailed cost/benefit analysis. If you don't already have EDI translation capabilities in-house and you only exchange a few messages with a couple of trading partners then I would suggest you use a VAN or a Service Bureau until you have the volume necessary to justify the investment. Finally, many VANs offer AS2 software for free (or included in their fees) to communicate with them. So much like cell phones, you might get to try the technology and learn from using it before you decide which software to buy.Ricardo --- On Wed, 9/17/08, Adam West <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: Adam West <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [EDI-L] AS2 To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 10:05 AM THank you for all the respones. I was referring indeed to the Vans vs. AS2 issue and apologize for a bad post. To recap, I think it would be cost benefit for AS2 in the long term. SOme of the variables are how large your transactions are per partners. If anyone could speak of the savings in detail that would be great. Cheers, Adam www.amsterdamcentral.net --- On Wed, 9/17/08, Klaus-Dieter Naujok <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: Klaus-Dieter Naujok <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [EDI-L] AS2 To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 3:16 PM On Sep 16, 2008, at 5:34 PM, Ricardo Johnson wrote: > If you think the phrase "..If you want it to be inexpensive and > easy, invest in Softshare ECS.." is not trying to sell anything or > 'was merely commenting on a huge misconception. .' then obvioulsy I'm > over reacting. Nevertheless, I do know when someone is trying to > sell something and I also imagine that there may be others in the > group that would like to sell other stuff too, but they don't out of > respect for the group. Ricardo, I fully share your sentiments regarding the constant promotions by Art of his services and product offerings which are skillfully crafted with in his responses. You are correct that a large number of active participants could do the same, but are reframing form doing so out of respect. In closing, I don't think we will ever change Art, he is what he is. Klaus [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ ... Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix: <SALES>, <JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC> Job postings are welcome, but for job postings or requests for work: <JOBS> IS REQUIRED in the subject line as a prefix.Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ ... Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix: <SALES>, <JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC> Job postings are welcome, but for job postings or requests for work: <JOBS> IS REQUIRED in the subject line as a prefix.Yahoo! Groups Links ------------------------------------ ... 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