Custom data connectors

When you define a process in SAP Signavio Process Governance, you often include your own data in the process definition, such as the list of options for a form field. This works well for small lists that don’t change often or that belong to the process, such as a list of document statuses in a document approval process. However, fixed lists in the process definition become difficult to maintain when the data changes frequently or includes a large number of items, such as a list of products or customers.

Use a custom data connector to populate choice options from an external database
Use a custom data connector to populate choice options from an external database

With SAP Signavio Process Governance, you can also integrate dynamic structured data from other IT systems into your workflows. The workflow system fetches data from a third-party system using a connector, which you implement and host yourself.

Connector deployment scenario for connecting to a corporate internal system
Connector deployment scenario for connecting to a corporate internal system

This diagram shows a typical scenario, with a connector that sends data from an internal database to SAP Signavio Process Governance (SaaS), via the Internet. The connector web service runs in your corporate network’s demilitarized zone (DMZ), which your IT department configures to provide more security than allowing SAP Signavio Process Governance to connect directly to your internal network.

A connector provides a web service that translates between the external system and SAP Signavio Process Governance. The connector implements a defined interface, which SAP Signavio Process Governance uses to access data in a format it can use. SAP Signavio Process Governance and the connector communicate over HTTP or HTTPS, which makes it possible to implement connectors in any programming language.