Question
Virtusa Ltd
NL
Last activity: 3 Apr 2024 12:50 EDT
Support for Traditional / Non Pega UI in Constellation UI
We have a new application that we want to build and chose to build on Constellation. The challenge is, we have integrations with systems like Siebel and some dashboards built on other technologies. Instead of launching the dashboards and other UI in a new tab, is there a support for including them within the constellation UI? 1. Is mashup still the way to go about?
2. What is the support extended explicitly from constellation and Pega in including non pega UI?
Maantic Technologies Pvt Ltd
US
Hope you are doing well.
While Constellation offers robust capabilities for building applications, integrating existing systems and dashboards built on other technologies requires careful consideration. Here's an analysis of your options:
1. Mashups:
Traditionally, mashups were a popular approach for combining functionalities from different applications into a single interface. However, with the evolution of web technologies and frameworks, more sophisticated and flexible integration methods have emerged.
Cons of using Mashups:
Technical complexity: Implementing mashups can be technically complex, requiring expertise in various technologies and potentially leading to maintenance challenges. Security concerns: Integrating external systems through mashups can introduce security vulnerabilities if not implemented correctly. User experience: Mashups often result in a fragmented user experience due to disparate UI elements and navigation patterns.
2. Modern Integration Approaches:
Instead of mashups, consider these modern approaches for integrating external systems and dashboards within your Constellation application:
a) APIs and Microservices:
Hope you are doing well.
While Constellation offers robust capabilities for building applications, integrating existing systems and dashboards built on other technologies requires careful consideration. Here's an analysis of your options:
1. Mashups:
Traditionally, mashups were a popular approach for combining functionalities from different applications into a single interface. However, with the evolution of web technologies and frameworks, more sophisticated and flexible integration methods have emerged.
Cons of using Mashups:
Technical complexity: Implementing mashups can be technically complex, requiring expertise in various technologies and potentially leading to maintenance challenges. Security concerns: Integrating external systems through mashups can introduce security vulnerabilities if not implemented correctly. User experience: Mashups often result in a fragmented user experience due to disparate UI elements and navigation patterns.
2. Modern Integration Approaches:
Instead of mashups, consider these modern approaches for integrating external systems and dashboards within your Constellation application:
a) APIs and Microservices:
Leverage APIs exposed by Siebel and other systems to fetch data and functionality. Develop microservices within Constellation that interact with these APIs and provide a unified interface to your application. This approach promotes modularity, scalability, and maintainability.
b) Single Sign-On (SSO):
Implement SSO solutions to allow seamless access to external dashboards and systems without requiring separate logins. This enhances user experience and security.
c) iFrames:
Embed external dashboards within your Constellation UI using iFrames. This offers a quick integration method but may have limitations in terms of responsiveness and user experience.
d) UI Integration Frameworks:
Explore UI integration frameworks like OpenFin or Finsemble that enable embedding external applications within a single interface. These frameworks offer advanced features like context sharing and synchronized navigation.
Recommendation:
It's recommended to avoid traditional mashups and explore modern integration approaches like APIs, microservices, and SSO solutions. These methods offer better flexibility, scalability, and security while providing a more cohesive user experience.
Ultimately, the decision should be based on a thorough analysis of your specific requirements and constraints.
Thank You!
Virtusa Ltd
NL
@Megha007 Thanks for the detailed explanation of different approaches and the recommendation. However, one question that I couldn't get my head around is, how is authentication solved using iframe or any other approach? If I'm not wrong, an external URL with auth params is used to launch an iFrame, but in this case, I want the SSO of the existing application to be used to authenticate the content from say, dashboards, so even if I have an iFrame, the authentication is still a question. If I use Microservices, the dashboards as you know are visual representations and the reason to go for the third-party reports and dashboards is because of the UI and other parameters. so If I create the microservices, I might get the required response data but not the entire UI, and the rendering of it, should be done again at our UI which defeats the purpose I have third party integration. How to solve this?
Pegasystems Inc.
GB
In Pega Platform '23, you can define a custom bearer grant type when configuring an OAuth 2.0 client registration for custom authentication for Constellation embedding. This eliminates the need for reauthentication and provides an enhanced user experience that does not require pop-ups and browser redirects. For iFrame concerns, iFrame is a standard and the security is something that the web page author implements. To prevent clickjacking, you can configure CSP directives like X-Frame-Options and frame-ancestors. If the goal is to maintain the UI of the third-party dashboards, using iFrames with the appropriate security measures might be a better approach than microservices, as microservices would only provide the data, not the UI.
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Pega Web Mashup security concerns
What's new in security '23 > Support for seamless access to web embeds in Con
@Sam Alexander can you help with this question?