WO2021124367A1

WO2021124367A1 - Procedure and apparatus for configuring and deploying software packages of a digital banking system

Info

Publication number: WO2021124367A1
Application number: PCT/IT2020/050311
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paolo SPADAFORA
Original assignee: Epiphany Srl
Priority date: 2019-12-17
Filing date: 2020-12-16
Publication date: 2021-06-24

Abstract

An automatic procedure is described for configuring and deploying at least one software package on a software package platform of at least one bank (DBP), comprising the phases of at least requesting and obtaining one draft software package ("draft"), installing one candidate software package ("candidate"), buying one release software package ("release") and installing a purchased software package ("purchased"). Moreover, an apparatus is described which is able to present a support platform for the development of software package (SDK ) available and receiving at least one input for a request to access the features of a software package platform (DBP) through a software package management system (MKP).

Description

PROCEDURE AND APPARATUS FOR CONFIGURING AND DEPLOYING SOFTWARE PACKAGES OF A DIGITAL BANKING SYSTEM

Scope

The present invention relates to an automatic procedure and an apparatus for configuring and deploying software packages of a digital banking system.

Moreover, the present invention relates to a computer program comprising computer program code means adapted to perform all or part of the steps of the above-mentioned automatic procedure when such program is executed on at least one computer, this computer program contained on a support readable by such a computer.

In general, the present invention relates to: banking activities, e.g., interest calculation, credit approval, mortgages, home banking or online banking services, office automation, finance, insurance, tax strategies.

In particular, the present invention relates to arrangements for software engineering, software deployment.

Prior art

US Patent Application 2006/0195816 A1 relates to a method and system for implementing online financial institution services through a single physical and logical platform for implementing global online banking applications in an environment where applications are built from a single basis origin and adapted to various rules and business languages associated with different regions, countries and enterprises. Separate web apps are created for each individual company based on context attributes, and application servers running context-dependant web apps provide the interface between customers and banking functionality. The platform is based in part on the reuse of appropriate components to achieve integration, as well as on the sharing of core services. Due to the independent nature of the company-specific components, each company may require different versions of the application software and may update or implement new components without affecting existing business components.

U.S. Patent 9,489,110 B2 relates to apparatus, computer readable media, methods and systems for the automatic distribution of applications and components of an infrastructure, capable of performing the processing of the selection of an operating system and the processing of the selection of an application, create a stencil based on the operating system.

Thus, a user can create a completely new draft, for example, not based on an existing draft, or can modify an existing draft. The user can also associate an application group with the draft, as well as a draft tag indicating that the draft has not yet been approved for deployment. The processing device may have a graphical user interface that allows a user to select an operating system, OS, and at least one draft application. The user can select one of the different operating systems to be used.

A draft may have multiple modes. A draft can be in draft mode after it has been created and before it is reviewed. In draft mode, a reviewer can label and test the draft. A draft is in active mode after being approved by an auditor. Draft in active mode can be used by the user to create and deploy a server, application, or other infrastructure components. A draft is in obsolete mode after being removed or made obsolete by a later version. In obsolete mode, a user is unable to access the draft if not authorized.

Draft may be tagged on a server or a group of servers. The encoding action may involve the deployment of an application and infrastructure as defined in a draft. Re-encoding may result in the application/infrastructure being modified based on the new draft being tagged on a particular application and/or server. A draft may include a tag indicating whether a draft has been tested and approved for distribution. Tags include , for example, "draft" for a draft that has not yet been reviewed, "ready for test" for a draft that has been submitted for review but has not yet been tested and "approved" for a draft that has been tested and approved.

US Patent 10,127,030 B1 relates to a central management system for container-based application distributions for its occupants (tenants). In many cases, an application can be deployed on multiple containers with each container providing a microservice to support the application. In general, application containers can be deployed on managed resources of the central management system, managed resources can reside on cloud provider systems.

Presentation of the invention

In an extremely dynamic context such as banking, it is observed today a continuous and unstoppable change of the reference directives. For example, the EU Directive 2015/2366 called PSD2 has revolutionized the payment market by promoting the emergence of new actors and services transformed into the financial landscape, as well as the needs of the final user, also dictated by the continuous evolution of smart and future-oriented technologies. However, we are still in the very early stages of a new era called "open banking". The reasons which have led to the realization of a system of modernization of the banking software infrastructures are to be sought in the will to devise and develop a software platform able to cover all possible needs expressed by the banking context at 360°, and to distinguish itself from any other solution for a series of highly innovative characteristics aimed at preventing, rather than following, the demands of the market not currently matched.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a modernization of a banking software infrastructure through a platform using components suitable for integration and for sharing of the main services, allowing each company to request different versions of the application software, by updating or implementing new components without affecting the existing company components, taking into account the method and the system of US patent 2006/0195816 A1.

A further object is to manage a new or existing application by using tags in draft mode, after being created and before being reviewed, in active mode after being approved by an auditor, in order to be used by the user to create and distribute a service, an application or other infrastructure components, or in obsolete mode after being removed or rendered obsolete by a later version, taking into account the systems of US patent 9,489,110 B2.

A further object is to manage an application distributed on several containers with each container which provides a microservice to support the application, taking inspiration from the system of US patent 10,127,030 B1.

The above and other objects of the invention, as will appear from the following description, are achieved by an automatic procedure and an apparatus for configuring and deploying software packages of a digital banking system, as described in the independent claims. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variations of the present invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

It is understood that all the appended claims form an integral part of the present description.

It will be immediately obvious that numerous variations and modifications (for example, relating to shape, dimensions, arrangements and parts with equivalent functionalities) can be made to the description without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Advantageous effects of the invention

The innovativeness elements are to be traced back to the idea at the base of the system realized of a platform of digital banking services, that is a modular infrastructure, with interoperating microservices, separated and distinct from each other, with respect to a state of the middle art of reference which provides systems with monolithic architecture, that is, applications developed and distributed as a single entity, generally within a single package, consisting of a single code base and typically collected in a single project.

Conceptually conceivable as an evolution of SOA, Service Oriented Application, a Microservices Architecture, MA, constitutes an emerging architectural pattern, of recent conception, which provides that the structure of the applications consists of a certain number of independent services, each focused on a particular functional aspect, small interconnected and interoperating services to accomplish more complex tasks.

A digital banking services platform conceived as a microservices system confers innovative features such as: Flexibility and scalability of the system, according to the actual application requirements and the natural evolutions of the services offered to customers; extensibility of platform functions and services by installing new components, i.e. removing and updating existing ones, so as to follow the rapid changes in the banking system, new directives, new requirements, new services, and to offer new services always maintaining the same basic software infrastructure; upgradability and resilience to rapid obsolescence. The services that are developed, realized and distributed following the architectures and patterns with microservices, are easier to maintain, correct and update/replace, leading to more agile functionalities to respond to the rapid changes of the functional requirements.

Description of the drawings

The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments, given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings.

Fig. 1

shows a flow chart of the main activities carried out in one embodiment of the automatic procedure for the configuration and deploying of software packages of a digital banking system object of the present invention.

Fig. 2

shows a flow chart of the activities carried out in a first part of an embodiment of the procedure object of the present invention.

shows a flow chart with the interactions of the activities of the preceding figure.

Fig. 4

shows a flow chart of the activities carried out in a second part of an embodiment of the procedure object of the present invention.

With reference to , and , it can be noted that an automatic procedure for configuring and deploying at least one software packages on a software package platform of at least one bank DBP, regards an application for execution in a workflow management system 100 including at least one database 110, 120. The application allows to define a workflow WF that involves an interaction with such at least one database 110, 120. The workflow WF is represented as phases F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, to create a new software package through a software package management system, MKP and a support platform for the development of software package SDK. The workflow WF includes:

F1, requesting the access to the functionality of the DBP software package platform;

F2, acquiring and configuring a test environment 120 similar to that of the DBP software package platform, in the MKP software package management system, to be able to access the platform functionalities with the DBP software packages;

F3, accessing the platform functionalities with the DBP software packages, through the test environment 120, in order to be able to test a “draft” software package, i.e. a software package not yet mature in order to be released;

F4, installing at least one candidate software package "candidate";

F5, purchase at least one released software package "release";

F6, installing at least one purchased software package "purchased".

In particular, the process comprises providing a user interface 300, comprising a table of transitions to be compiled with data inputs T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, by at least one application developer, to define respective transitions between the steps F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, of the WF workflow.

Advantageously, the user interface 300 is configured to allow to select, for each data entry:

T1, a digital certificate of identification and security of at least one company of a plurality of third party companies TTP, by a private certification authority CA;

T2, a test environment 120, similar to that of the DBP software package platform, in the MKP software package management system;

T3, the respective company of a plurality of third party companies TTP identified by a certificate issued to complete the process;

T4, a preparation area, staging, to be able to install at least one candidate software package "candidate";

T5, a PAMS software package management system, of the platform with the DBP software packages;

T6, a TPS service area of the platform with the DBP software packages, to allow the installation of at least one purchased software package.

In particular, selecting a dedicated test environment 120 for testing a draft software package includes access to a process associated with components of the database, services, storage type, in order to faithfully recreate the same execution environment, namely that of the DBP software package platform, suitable for hosting the new application.

With reference to , the installation of the purchased software package "purchased" comprises the following automatically executed steps:

creating workflows 130, adapted to implement an API procedures layer;

installing a microservice MS implementing the functionality of the purchased software package "purchased";

creating an additional microservice MS1 to be able to control the traffic produced by the purchased software package "purchased";

configuring the additional microservice MS1 to be able to create TLS connections by a certification procedure by the private certification authority CA.

An apparatus for assisting the execution of an application in a workflow management system 100 including at least one database 110, 120, the application defining a workflow WF involving interaction with the database 110, 120. The workflow WF represented as steps F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, allows the creation of a new software package, on a software package platform of at least one DBP bank through a software package management system MKP and a platform to support the development of software packages SDK.

Such an apparatus comprises means for providing a user interface 300. The user interface 300 comprises a table of transitions to be compiled with data inputs T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, so that the apparatus can at least:

presenting a platform to support the development of software packages, SDK available;

receiving at least one input for a request to access to the functionality of a DBP software package platform via a software package management system, MKP;

issuing a digital certificate of identification and security of at least one company of a plurality of third party companies TTP, by a private certification authority CA located in the software package management system MKP, in an administrative module, Accounting;

receiving an input concerning a request for a dedicated test environment 120;

receiving an input for allowing the installation of at least one candidate software package "candidate", directly in a preparation area, staging, in the software package management system MKP;

receiving an input to enable purchase of at least one released software package "release", through the functionality of the software package management system MKP;

receiving an input to enable installation of at least one purchased software package "purchased".

Moreover, the apparatus is able to:
• present a list of certain basic services associated with the software package development;
• receive an input concerning a configuration request of at least one of such database to be installed;
• perform the required configuration.

In this case, the apparatus is able to:
• present a list of service collectors, Templates, each service collector adapted to identify specific application contexts associated with the development of software packages;
• receive an input concerning a signaling of a specific service collector, Template;
• perform platform configuration by automatically installing all services included in the selected specific service collector.

The "purchased" software package, is one of a plurality of software packages included in the PAMS software package management system, of the platform with the DBP software packages.

The software package management system MKP is divided into a plurality of microservices for managing each software package purchased "purchased", allowing its installation, updating or removal with respect to the software package platform of at least one DBP bank.

Examples

The digital banking system is composed of the following macro-elements.

A software package platform, (DBP), possible synonyms: Application; Microservice; Helm Chart. The software packages are realized according to the pattern of microservices suitable to implement the specific functionalities of the banking context.

A software package management system (MKP) that can be installed on the platform with the software packages (DBP).

A software package development support platform (SDK).

The numerical sequence indicated in shows the order in which the different steps of creating a new software package follow each other.

The functionality of the software package development support platform (SDK) can be used completing a process [(1) - Onboarding and delivery of fintech identification certificates needed for mutual TLS], obtaining an identification certificate of fintech that intends to realize the new component.

The software package management system (MKP) comprises an administrative module (Accounting) with a private certification authority (CA) enabled to issue a digital certificate through a certification procedure that follows international standards.

Each certificate issued by the private certification authority (CA) allows to identify both the respective fintech, that is, a company of the plurality of third party companies (TTP) which has completed the process [(1) - Onboarding and delivery of fintech identification certificates needed for mutual TLS], both each software package platform (DBP) installed at a bank.

Each fintech that has terminated the process [(1) - Onboarding and delivery of fintech identification certificates needed for mutual TLS] during the purchase procedures of at least one new application can install (deploy) them Own applications at the software package management system (MKP) and at each bank, through a plurality of functionalities of the platform with the software packages (DBP).

In order to use each of the platform features with the software packages (DBP), it is necessary to request a sandbox [(2) - sandbox request] process associated with components of the database, services, storage, etc. type, by accessing in an environment [(3) - Test] in order to be able to faithfully recreate the same execution environment, that is to say that of the software package platform (DBP) able to host the new application.

The environment [(3) - Test] thus configured is complete of the relative tests being performed directly in the sandbox. During this phase, a software package (Application) is created that can be installed in the sandbox. The software package installed in the sandbox is labeled with a draft code ("draft"), which is not yet mature to be released.

During the installation of the draft software package ("draft") in the sandbox, the respective fintech is identified by means of a certificate issued to complete the process [(1) - Onboarding and delivery of fintech identification certificates needed for mutual TLS].

Furthermore, the same certificate is used for the creation of a first channel of mutual authentication (TLS mutual) (Transport layer Security), to guarantee the identity of an internet site to obtain an encrypted and secure connection.

Once development is complete, the software package (Application) is labeled with a candidate code ("candidate") able to access in an installation environment [(4) - deploy], directly in a preparation area (staging) in the software package management system (MKP).

Also in this case, during the deployment of the candidate version software package, the respective fintech is identified by means of a certificate issued to complete the process [(1) - Onboarding and delivery of fintech identification certificates needed for mutual TLS]. Moreover, the same certificate is used for the creation of a second channel of mutual authentication (TLS mutual) (Transport layer Security), to guarantee the identity of an Internet site to obtain an encrypted and secure connection.

The preparation area (staging) in the software package management system (MKP) contains all the candidate software packages to be analyzed to be approved prior to purchase and deployment at the software package platform (DBP).

During the deployment, each new candidate version software package is accompanied by a list of dependency information required to ensure proper operation. Such a list of information is used to control traffic, ensuring that each new candidate software package does not attempt access to unknown components, at the same time providing useful information on the management performance of the digital banking system.

The software package (Application) labeled with a candidate code ("candidate") is analyzed and verified in its proper implementation, by means of automated controls designed to remove the presence of security problems and to ascertain a certain level of quality, in order to be labeled with a release code, This is a new product that can be purchased through the functionality of the software package management system (MKP).

Through the software package platform (DBP), it is possible to connect to the software package management system (MKP), send the mutual authentication channel certificate (TLS mutual) assigned to a specific instance of the software package platform, (DBP), an instance adapted to be installed for each bank, and access the specific features offered by the software package management system (MKP).

The purchase of a new application [(5) - Buy] involves the transfer of the software package labeled with an authorization code ("release") into a software package management system (Platform Application Management System) present in the software package platform (DBP).

The subsequent installation of the application [(6) - Install] consists of a transfer of each software package (Application) labeled with an authorization code ("release"), within the platform with the software packages (DBP) applying a plurality of necessary configurations of operation and security, Such as configuring a user microservice to be able to control the traffic produced by the software package labeled with a release code, configure citadel to create certified channels as a mutual authentication channel (TLS mutual) By means of a certification procedure by said private certification authority (CA), in order to be able to encrypt communications between microservices operating in the platform with the software packages (DBP), configure a Mixer with a list of dependency information for each new software package labeled with a release code, this list of dependency information translated into network traffic authorization rules, in order to obtain each new software package labeled with a purchased component code ("purchased").

Referring to , a new application ("purchased") is composed of a layer of procedures (Application API), installed in a gateway API used by the platform with software packages (DBP) to deliver its services. The procedures of the new application (Application API) use the microservice (Application services) containing the services that realize the functionality of the new software package ("purchased"). Moreover, an additional microservice (MS1) is part of the new software package ("purchased") which accompanies, alongside it, the microservice (Application services) of the new application. The role of the additional microservice (MS1) is to intercept all service requests, made by the new application ("purchased"), and destined to other components present in the platform with the software packages (DBP).

The installation of the new software package ("purchased") comprises the following steps: Execution of automatic operations for the creation of workflows (workflow) suitable to implement an API (Application API) procedure layer; installation of a microservice (Microservice) implementing the functionalities of the new software package ("purchased"); Creation of an additional microservice (MS1) to be able to control the traffic produced by the new software package ("purchased"); configuration of the additional microservice (MS1) to be able to create TLS connections, in environment [(12) - TLS configuration], through a certification procedure by such private certification authority (CA).

The permissible traffic will be only that described in the service dependency statement [(11) - White list configuration]. The traffic produced by the new software package ("purchased"), with destination any other service installed in the Digital Banking Platform, will be intercepted by the additional microservice (MS1), analyzed to verify that it complies with the contents of the service and, finally, authorized or prohibited.

After its proper installation and configuration, the functionality of the new software package ("purchased") is made available through the gateway API. In order to describe how the software package platform (DBP) supports the delivery of the new functionality, it is assumed that the new software package ("purchased") declares dependencies on one or more core services.

[The call to a new functionality determines the invocation of the internal services of the new software package ("purchased") in an internal service request environment [(13) - Call internal service] in order to be able to implement the business logic of the offered service. In turn, the internal service requires core service functionality. In order for this call to be possible, the Sidecar controls network traffic, ensuring that only services listed in the dependency list of the new software package ("purchased") of the installed application are involved. In case of correct declaration of access to the requested service, the traffic control is successful by authorizing the network traffic in the environment [(15) - Traffic authorized].

In order to make the best use of the flexibility, extensibility and updatability qualities conferred to the solution thanks to the adoption of a microservices architecture, a software package management system (MKP), dedicated to software applications of the banking context, has been realized to facilitate installation, updating or removal of features on the Digital Banking platform.

The business model, enabled by the use of the software package management system (MKP), can represent a fundamental part of the process of digitization and modernization of the banking software infrastructure, focused on the value of the services offered to the customers, rather than the problems and difficulties that the adoption of new systems entails.

The combination, deriving from the adoption of a microservices architecture and of a software package management system (MKP) allows to have both a fully extensible platform and a specialized system for the extension and configuration of the platform itself.

This model, by providing that the platform can be extended by installing new services purchased on the software package management system (MKP), allows to obtain the following advantages:

ease and standardization of the software distribution process. Each application is made available as a single component, easily deployable and configurable. Each new component is run in container, Doker container, facilitating its distribution according to the microservices architecture adopted for the Digital Banking platform, the definition of the configuration properties being provided during the creation of the host container. All subsequent installations will use the same settings and therefore no longer need to worry about the configuration of the execution environment. Accordingly, management of application release cycles is also simplified;

portability of software applications. In general, the use of a virtualization system provides portability to the solutions that are implemented. A container, virtualized using Docker, can be run in any other environment that supports its technology, with the same consistency and functionality, ensuring abstraction from the infrastructure layer and facilitating the realization of solutions suitable for execution in cloud environments;

rapidity and ease of creation of new products and services realized and made available, by a plurality of third party companies (TTP), commonly known as fintech, third Party Providers, etc.;

availability of a catalog of applications, for installation in the Digital Banking platform, from which it can search for the necessary and specific functionalities that it is intended to provide;

isolation and security: the applications and resources are isolated because each container has dedicated resources. Moreover, the execution on separate containers ensures that the applications cannot access the processes running inside another container since, in fact, they are completely separate.

The solution adopted for the realization of the software package management system (MKP) provides for the presence of three components which, interacting with each other, allow the publication, purchase and installation of a new application.

The three parts that make up the solution are:

a software package platform installation (DBP);

a private management platform (Platform Application Management System) installed for exclusive use of the software package platform (DBP);

a public management platform (Application Management System) which, as a software package management system (MKP), makes available the applications that can be installed on the software package platform (DBP).

The operation provides for the possibility of installing on the software package platform (DBP) a new application made available in the public catalog of the software package management system (MKP).

An application of the software package management system (MKP) is composed of several parts and, in particular, business services (APIs), internal services (Microservice), and a Sidecar, that is, the additional microservice (MS1) affected by the network traffic control and security logic.

The functionality of the software package management system (MKP) is realized by the following three use cases:

publication of a new application in the software package management system (MKP): at this stage, one of the third-party companies, fintech (TTP) realizes an application and requests its publication in the catalog. The request for publication is made by indicating, among other things, the list of services offered by the digital banking platform that the application must be able to use in order to properly deliver its functionality;

purchase of a new application: After logging in to your Digital Banking Platform installation, an authorized operator can download the catalog of applications available on the software package management system (MKP) and then proceed with the purchase of the application. Finally, the purchased application will be copied to the private catalog, for exclusive use of the Digital Banking Platform;

installation of a purchased application: in order to install a purchased application, you need to access the private catalog and then start the installation process as directed by the installation wizard. Completion of the installation procedure requires that access rights, ACLs, services, reusable assets, required by the application be granted.

The purchase of a new application requires the interaction between a software package platform installation (DBP), the software package management system (MKP), and the private Helm repository, dedicated to the installation of EDBP that required the purchase.

Referring to , the software package platform (DBP) component (WebStore) provides: The user interfaces with which to consult the contents of the software package management system (MKP) catalog (View catalog); An environment for a purchase process of a new application (Buy); the installation features of a new application (Install); the removal/updating capabilities of an application present in the software package platform (DBP).

The concept of modularity at the base of the digital banking platform is also applied to the basic service configuration procedures. The platform is therefore configurable both by selecting the basic services to be installed, such as database (SQL and NoSQL), message broker, monitoring services, logging services, cloud storage, analytics engine, mining services, machine learning, etc., and the business services specific to the application context, the context in which the software components operate, with specific reference to the nature and meaning of the manipulated information, such as business services for the management of payments, current accounts, consents of access to current accounts, anti-fraud etc.

To optimize and simplify the configuration of the platform, which for some application contexts can be particularly complex, the configuration procedures are extended with the definition of the templates, or collectors of services defined on specific application contexts, in which the software components operate, with specific reference to the nature and meaning of the manipulated information. Each Template will contain the services necessary to provide the platform with the necessary functionality for the specific application context. During the configuration of the platform, the selection of a template determines the automatic installation of all the services that compose it.

Claims

Automatic procedure for configuring and deploying at least one software package on a software package platform of at least one bank (DBP), regarding an application for execution in a workflow management system (100) including at least one database (110, 120), the application defining a workflow (WF) that involves interaction with the database (110, 120), the workflow (WF) being representable as phases (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6) to create a new software package, through a software package management system (MKP) and a support platform for the development of software package (SDK ), said phases (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6) comprising:
F1) requesting the access to the functionalities of the software package platform (DBP);
F2) acquiring and configuring a test environment (120) similar to that of the software package platform (DBP), in the software package management system (MKP), to be able to access the features of the software package platform (DBP);
F3) accessing to the features of the software package platform (DBP), through said test environment (120), to be able to test a draft software package ("draft"), that is a software package not yet mature to be released;
F4) installing at least one candidate software package (“candidate");
F5) buying at least one release software package (“release");
F6) installing at least a purchased software package (“purchased");
wherein said proceure comprises:
providing a user interface (300), including a transition table to be filled with data entries (T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6) by at least one application developer, the data entries (T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6) to define respective transitions between the phases (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6) of the workflow (WF),
said user interface (300) being configured to allow to select, for each data entry:
T1) a digital identification and security certificate of at least one company of a plurality of third-party companies (TTP) by a private certification authority (CA);
T2) a test environment (120) similar to that of the software package platform (DBP), in the software package management system (MKP);
T3) the respective company of a plurality of third party companies (TTP) identified through a certificate issued to complete the process;
T4) a preparation area (staging), in order to install at least one candidate software package ("candidate");
T5) a software package management system (PAMS) of the software packages platform (DBP);
T6) a service area (TPS) of the software packages platform (DBP), to allow the installation of at least one purchased software package ("purchased") creating workflows (130) to implement a layer of API procedures and installing a microservice (MS) to implement the functionality of the purchased software package (“purchased”);
said procedure characterized in that it comprises the phase of configuring an additional microservice (MS1) capable of intercepting and elaborating all service requests made by the purchased software package ("purchased").
Apparatus to assist the execution of an application for execution in a workflow management system (100) including at least one database (110, 120), the application defining a workflow (WF) that involves interaction with the database (110, 120), the workflow (WF) being representable as phases (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6) to create a new software package, on a software package platform of at least one bank (DBP), through a software package management system (MKP) and a software package development support platform (SDK), said apparatus comprising:
means to provide a user interface (300), comprising a table of transitions to be filled with data entries (T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6), so that the apparatus can at least:
presenting a support platform for the development of software package (SDK ) available;

receiving at least one input for a request to access the features of a software package platform (DBP) through a software package management system (MKP);

issuing a digital identification and security certificate of at least one company out of a plurality of third-party companies (TTP), by a private certification authority (CA), said private certification authority (CA) located in the software package management system (MKP) in an administrative module (Accounting);

receiving one input concerning a request for a dedicated test environment (120);

receiving one input to allow the installation of at least one candidate software package (“candidate”), directly in a staging area in the software package management system (MKP);

receiving one input to allow purchasing at least one release software package (“release”) through the functionalities of the software package management system (MKP);

receiving one input to allow installing at least one purchased software package (“purchased”);
said apparatus characterized in that it can at least presenting a support platform for configuring an additional microservice (MS1) to intercept and elaborate all service requests made by the purchased software package ("purchased").
Apparatus according to the previous claim, characterized in that the apparatus can at least:
presenting a list of service collectors (Templates), each service collector designed to identify specific application contexts associated with the development of software package;

receiving an input regarding a report from a specific service collector (Template);

configuring the platform by automatically installing all the services included in the selected specific service collector (Template).
Apparatus according to the previous claim, characterized in that the purchased software package (“purchased”) is one out of a plurality of software packages included in the software package management system (PAMS).