I have started Open Source GIS (Gentran Integration Suite) Error Reporting / Status Reporting BPML Project. Project URL: http://github.com/burmjohn/gentran-integration-suite-bpml/tree/master Through the URL above you can download, fork, and contribute to the project.  If you have any questions please let me know, I'll do my best to help.  There is nothing to download yet, however I hope to have something up shortly. What is Git and Git hub? http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives...rogrammers.php Don't worry about not knowing how to use a revision control system, we will be primarily communicating through the forums on the website and suggestions / additions and downloads can be done through there. Whats the purpose of the project? To create a rock solid error / status reporting module that will aid in day to day GIS operations.   My initial goals were to have the system log the errors in a database, as well as email the error off to the admin (or support desk) depending upon your setup.  The reason for logging the errors to a database is so you can leverage external uses, such as a web page with a quick display of errors, or a desktop application that displays the most recent errors and statuses.   This is something that should definally be discussed in more detail. Let us know what you think! Since we are in the initial planning stages, ...

Check out Craigs "Back to Basics with EDI 101" post at the Invois blog here: http://blogs.inovis.com/2008/09/11/back-to-basics-with-edi-101/ Craig covers the basics of EDI, why it exists, communications, and standards.  Its a great read for those new to the EDI world. Basically, at the core, EDI is a way of sending data back and forth between two entities. It can be two companies, two universities, or two hospitals; even two divisions of the same big company or corporation. EDI is used in a large number of industries - from retail sales and automotive manufacturing, to banks, hospitals, insurance and so many other industries and uses...

A member of the site emailed this into us today, its an upcoming Webcast on eBridge and BizTalk. Empower Your Business Process: Transact and Integrate with EDI eBRIDGE has partnered with Microsoft® to bring you an informative webcast on how eBridge integration can streamline your business process and increase the value of your Microsoft Dynamics™ ERP by eliminating timely and costly manual data entry. This presentation will demonstrate how a complete EDI document exchange and integration system is achieved with the ePortal Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform from eBRIDGE Software. Through the power of BizTalk® Server, the ePortal handles all data routing, communication, translator and mapping services. Document transactions can be viewed from any station that accesses the internet. Click here to register for the Webcast.

Transitioning from Gentran to GIS... From what I hear this is going to be quite a big task migrating from Gentran, partly because its a whole different beast. I am in Lowell, MA this week to attend the GIS Fundamentals class, its a 5 day class that covers quite a bit of the main functions of the software. Today was day 1, and it was filled with a solid introduction of the basics and benefits of the Gentran Integration Suite. In addition to the introduction we covered the Graphical Process Modeler (GPM) and dove into BPML (Business Process Modeling Language) concepts and functions. After the introduction was finished I felt I had a strong understanding to what GIS can do. It made me really start to think of all of the logic and business processes that we currently have in place on our AS/400 that are "hard coded" which take place after the translation process. It seems GIS will be able to handle all of the various checks and balances we have in place before dumping an order into our system. For example, on a 850 purchase order we check to see if a customer's store exists in our customer master file or if that customer ...

 I saw this post on one of the mailing lists I belong to, its something to bookmark for the future if you are in the job market for a tech and or EDI related job. Web-based Job Boards http://www.dice.com http://www.nettemps.com http://www.monster.com http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/ http://careers.msn.com/ EDI Consulting Firms http://www.edispecialists.com http://www.remedi.com http://www.sterlingcommerce.com IT Recruiting Firms http://www.miraclesoft.com http://www.sogeti.com http://www.ttinc.net http://www.teksystems.com https://portalqa.manpower.com/wps/portal/USCampus http://www.oxfordconsulting.com and many others. - Cast a wide net. Set up automatic searches on the job boards so you will be emailed daily with listings. Do not limit your searches to telecommuting opportunities as this limitation doesn't seem to be used consistently. Select Contract-1099/Independent & Contract-W2. - Decide whether you want to publish your resume. Doing so will subject you to many phone calls from many people across the world, all of whom you need to carefully vet before committing. Placing very prominent words to the effect, "Telecommuting Contracts Only" wherever appropriate and in the header of each resume page may eliminate inquiries for full-time and contract on-site positions but probably not. - Visit the forums on Dice.com. Dice was probably the first IT contractors job board and can be a good source of advice for first time contractors. While work at home contracts aren't common, I'm noticing more and more lately. I have recently been asked to lead a five person development and implementation team from my office for the first time in my career. Perhaps people are realizing it isn't always necessary for workers to be on-site to be productive. Credit: ...