Single Window Systems
In the OIC Member States
70
In 2010, a decision was taken to migrate the client server application model to a web based,
service oriented portal. Today, the e-GUCE Single Window architecture is a fully centralized
architecture. It hosts the agencies application with a taxonomy engine that cover end-to-end
business process needs.
Centralized / Common Architecture
The e-GUCE centralized architecture is designed to cover end-to-end (E2E) business process
integration. The strong E2E taxonomy of the e-GUCE architecture is based on nodes that are
organized into four layers: the upper tier web servers, middle application and business nodes
and the lower tier common data integration layer. The single common data layer and the
taxonomy provides more efficient data sharing among agencies and simplification of data
processing.
Interconnectivity and Interoperability
The e-GUCE presents an interoperable model of regulatory, procedural and business processes
and requirements. A “AS-IS” Business Process Analysis was performed in 2014 prior to
designing the new generation architecture and its “TO-BE” business processes. This approach
provided a dynamic integration of the different regulatory and business models applied in e-
GUCE at the planning and design stage and enhanced the ability to interconnect and
interoperate. The interoperability with the ASYCUDA ++ is limited for technical reasons.
Regarding the network capacity, e-GUCE has two fibre optic hubs for connection with the
agencies and Customs services that have enough capacity to support the network connectivity
requirements.
Integration at Data Level / Application Level
The operational data reside on a common mirrored storage system that provides data
integration and application processing in real time. The e-GUCE is based on a centralised ICT
Architecture for data submission and processing. The Extract, Transform and Load (ETL)
function is used to transform and prepare data in data warehouse for analysis and reporting
services. This process converts the extracted data into a desired form for the presentation layer.
By combining heterogeneous data sources (e-GUCE, Port system, ASYCUDA++), the operational
data is not used for reporting and analysis services and increase the e-GUCE overall system
performances.
Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery
A Business Continuity (BC) and Disaster Recovery (DR) Plan have been developed as a part of
the SW IT policies. The BC and DR infrastructure consist of two backup sites, fully mirrored with
load balancing. The DR match appropriately with the criticality of the SW business functions,
meaning that the first restoration is on the critical services and then the “less” important
services are restored. The backup policy is according to highest standards and allows