Persuasion Overview

StreamServe Persuasion is a product suite consisting of several components working together. The main components are:

• Design Center - A Graphical Design environment for configuring the StreamServer
• StreamServer - The runtime backend for data transformations and system integration
• StreamServe Component Framework (SCF) the foundation layer for StreamServer and other applications.
• StreamStudio - A web-based front-end for the web-centric tools
• Control Center - For managing Persuasion applications

The main features of Persuasion are:

• Connects to business applications
• Extracts and transforms critical business data
• Composes and enhances resulting business documents
• Optimizes business processes and use of business data
• Presents the universal communication in various formats
• Delivers documents in the format and channel of the recipient’s choosing

StreamServer

StreamServer is the engine that powers StreamServe Persuasion. It is the component that handles the collection and transformation of input data, and the delivery of output documents.

StreamServer processes incoming data and transforms it into a StreamServe internal message format that allows highly efficient and fast processing. During the processing phase, data can be sorted and re-arranged, and additional data can be retrieved and integrated using Web Service, ODBC, LDAP or API calls. Upon completion of the processing phase, the data is transformed into the required output format and sent through the appropriate communication channel. The StreamServer can run several StreamServer applications, where each StreamServer application is dedicated to a specific configuration. Part of The StreamServer are:

Connectors

The StreamServer offers several out-of-the box connectivity options to help you extract information from your back-end systems. The connectivity is mainly provided by connectors on both the input and output side but also by filters and scripting.

• System Connectivity (Filesystems, Network, etc...)
• Application Connectivity (Mail, Fax, LDAP, etc...)
• Database Connectivity (JDBC, ODBC, etc...)
• Web Connectivity (HTTP, FTP, etc...)
• APIs (COM, JAVA, etc...)
• Microsoft Connectivity
• Archive Connectivity 
• Lotus Notes Connectivity
• SAP Connectivity
• Lawson M3 Connectivity
• Adobe LiveCycle Connectivity
• etc...

Agents

Document data transmitted to StreamServe can appear in various forms. It can be in the shape of a data stream or page-oriented format. Stream-oriented input data is not formatted but structured in records or fields. Page-oriented input data is formatted and must be processed page by page. The data streams contain the data without information for interpretation. For example, print-ready data streams are usually page-oriented, while XML is a typical example of stream-oriented input.

StreamServe Persuasion is able to intelligently recognize input data. It can look into the content of input streams, interpret it and trigger actions dependent on the data content. For example, StreamServe Persuasion can recognize the name of a document, address details, and the language used. This can be done for both fixed and dynamically positioned data.

Agents are used within the StreamServer to recognize and tokenize input file formats. This is a key component in transforming inbound data in various formats to a common internal format. There are several different agent (also known as Event) types:

• PageIN - for text matrix data, typically matrix printer formats
• PreformatIN - for PDL-type data. (ex: PDF, AFP, EMF, etc...) 
• StreamIN - for text line data, record, csv, field-based, etc...
• XMLIN - for XML input data

Processes

 Processes are used to shape the outbound data in various ways. This is done by formatting internal data formats according to user configurations from Process Tools in DesignCenter.

• PageOUT - for paginated data in PDL and text formats.
• StoryTeller - for paginated data in PDL formats. Replaces PageOUT
• XFAOUT - for paginated data in PDL formats. Uses Adobe XFA templates.
• StreamOUT - for text line data (record, csv, etc...)
• XMLOUT - for XML output data
• MailOUT - For e-mails.

Post Processing

StreamServe Persuasion contains a set of components that enable document post-processing and distribution to be centralized, independently of where and when the actual documents are produced. Documents produced at different geographical locations and at different times can be collected and scheduled for printing at specific times.

StreamServe Post Processing allows for the sorting of documents by, for example, recipient address, and bundling of documents to put all documents for the same recipient in one envelope. Manual handling is minimized by automatically applying OMR codes to control the mailing machines. Optimized inclusion of pre-printed inserts allows for customized envelope contents, while ensuring that each recipient receives only one insert of each type.

In cases where large amounts of documents have to be produced at specific times - for example, in the case of monthly invoice batch runs - the benefits from the sorting capabilities provided by StreamServe Post Processing are clearly visible.

Post Processing supports customized printing of booklets where pages must be printed in the correct order for the result to be logically arranged.

Also, sheets can be printed with identical columns, such as in the case of labels or perhaps business cards. Support for folding marks, form overlays, sheet borders and rotating partitions are just some enhancements that provide true production printing capability, especially when combined with the AFP printer driver.

 Drivers

 Drivers are used by the StreamServer to serialize the output from the processes to a final format. There are many supported output formats including:

• Print (AFP, PCL, PS, etc..)
• Electronic Document (PDF, XPS, EMF, HTML etc...)
• Image (gif, png, tiff, etc...)
• Label Printer formats.
• Text (plain, XML, record, csv, etc...)

Scripting  

To implement complex, dynamic processes relating to document creation, StreamServe Persuasion provides a powerful scripting language for use in addition to standard functionality. This scripting language offers a multitude of programming features and supports the usage of variables, conditions, loops and the invocation of internal or external functions.

StreamServe Scripting Language is an interpreted procedural language. It can be described as a simplified version of Perl, with some likeness to C. It contains a range of functions that can be used to:

• Personalize output by adding advanced conditional processing
• Carry out calculations, such as totaling numbers in a specified column, setting new offsets and positions, assigning numbers to invoices or freight documents
• Apply logic to control the process flow
• Extract information from fields in the data stream, and from other sources than the output processed (e.g. ODBC, LDAP, COM)
• Manipulate strings, numbers, time data, connector numbers, etc.

With the power of this scripting language and the standard configuration tools, the possibilities to configure the StreamServe solution and the document templates to meet specific needs are almost unlimited.

DesignCenter

Design Center provides the central design-time user interface for configuring the communication processes. Design Center provides a user-friendly graphical interface that allows the creation of communication processes easily and efficiently. It supports multiple environments with different configurations, enabling different users to work on (parts of) the same projects.

Within Design Center users define various parameters, such as:

• Source of incoming data (Input Connectors)
• Types of data to be received (Event Tools for configuring Agents)
• Structure of the output that will be produced (Process configuration Tools)
• Destination(s) to which the output should be distributed (output connectors)

Control Center

Control Center is an application for administering and monitoring the StreamServer Application Domains and the applications contained within them. It also monitors services running on several computers as well as remotely connecting to StreamServer running on both Microsoft and UNIX platforms.

StreamStudio

StreamStudio is a suite of Web-based applications designed for end users – IT staff and business users – who require easy and fast access to content, and are responsible for internal and external service delivery as well as customer communication across all communication channels and touch points.

StreamStudio Administrator—Users and roles

Enables simple and easy customizing of roles and permissions to protect against accidental or intentional misuse of critical data residing in documents. It also provides powerful tools for controlling document flow and access.

StreamStudio Composer—Text management

StreamStudio Composer is a Web-based text-management application that allows users to easily and efficiently personalize business documents generated by StreamServer. End users who are involved in the document-creation process can now deliver personalized marketing messages on enterprise documents such as account statements, invoices, and a variety of critical customer correspondence.

StreamStudio Composition Center – Correspondence Management

Composition Center helps companies in all industries transform business communications into powerful selling tools. Composition Center accomplishes this by providing those employees who interact with customers the ability to create, personalize, and present targeted content on a wide variety of business correspondence, including customer letters, account statements, billing notices, and many more.

StreamStudio Dispatcher—Distribution control

StreamStudio controls the preferred distribution method of each document recipient, enabling them to establish or change their own preference whenever they wish.

StreamStudio Collector—Archiving

StreamStudio Collector is a document-storage solution that saves copies of business documents automatically as they are produced. It provides identical views of customer statements, invoices and more. Once stored, documents can be viewed, recalled, or re-sent in a matter of seconds, without the need to re-create the source data.

StreamStudio Reporter—Job tracking

StreamStudio Reporter monitors all jobs processed through the StreamServe Persuasion environment. Jobs can be tracked end-to-end, reprocessed, viewed, and otherwise managed. Users can search, view, reprocess, resend and delete jobs from the repository.

Output Center

Output Center enables the management of the entire print environment, including job spooling, delivery scheduling, centrally managing queues and printers, tracking devices and jobs, and rerouting jobs to an alternate printer in case of device failure. It supports PCL and PostScript/PDF printers from a variety of manufacturers using industry standard PJL, IPP and SNMP. After data is received by the StreamServer and transformed (i.e. reformatted, translated, personalized),  it can be routed via Output Center if it is designated as a print job.

E-Invoice Center

E-Invoice Center enables creation and delivery of Value Added Tax (VAT)-compliant electronic invoices—designed in StreamServe—regardless of which country the invoice is being sent from or to