TRACES – an outlook on future developments TRACES Working Group, Brussels 16/6/2011

Presentation overview Background Challenges Vision Strategy Key elements Some ideas on timing Conclusions

Background TRACES is in production since 1/4/2004 Since then, TRACES has grown in scope and in size – it now handles more than 100,000 certificates per month TRACES has undergone many important changes, not least during the last 18 months Never the less, some aspects are still not what we would like them to be (GIS, metadata handling, S2S, …) Member States have a long wish list for TRACES EC has a long wish list as well: the EU Animal Health Strategy 2007 – 2013 sets out very ambitious goals for TRACES Conclusion: the biggest challenges are yet to come

The challenges Maintenance: every modification comes with a risk, and this risk increases with the age of TRACES TRACES is based on J2EE, a technology that is still supported but no longer « state-of-the-art » Legislation is evolving and keeping up will be increasingly difficult EUAHS says TRACES is to be « the central portal for all veterinary matters »: UN/CEFACT 3rd country exchange Animal passport exchange Electronic certification Interface with other EC / MS CA systems (Single window) … We can not achieve all this based on the existing TRACES code

The vision The next TRACES should: Better correspond to reality (e.g. BIP – CN code associations) Become more efficient to use (e.g. fields auto-complete) Provide richer integration to adjacent IT domains (RASFF, MS systems, Single Window…) Allow to integrate beyond veterinary boundary (CED) Allow for complete dematerialisation of certification process (e-certification) Simplify management of complex metadata (e.g. complements and business rules, certificate models) Have a very small learning curve for someone who already knows TRACES

The strategy TRACES will reach a stable point by Q3 2011 After this point, only urgent bug fixes and changes imposed by legislation will be implemented During 2011, we will ramp up the design and development of a new TRACES information system This system will be based on state-of-the-art technology, taking MS viewpoints into account as well as our years of experience with the existing TRACES system We have internally dubbed this project « TNT » (TRACES New Technology)

Key points We will take advantage of new web application technologies and base TRACES on JEE6 – the latest Java enterprise version We will respect EC (DIGIT) technology rules and policies We will take into account international standards (e.g. UN/CEFACT) We will take into account the varying needs and capabilities of TRACES users We will keep a close eye on performance, simplicity and maintainability We will work in an iterative approach, with frequent releases of improved versions for real-world feedback

Gathering and prioritising requirements A questionnaire for TRACES end users is being prepared TRACES users in MS will be consulted on this (including visits to some MS to see hands-on experience with TRACES) Based on results, requirements will be distilled and prioritised (with active participation of the Steering Committee) Added to these user requirements come non-functional requirements: Scalability Performance Maintainability Security

Target timings By Q3 2011: TRACES enters a stable « maintenance only » phase During Q1-Q3 2011: Gathering of requirements (questionnaire), investigate technology solutions, architectural prototyping Around Q3 2011 onwards: Develop the new TRACES (while maintaining the existing) Somewhere in 2012: Beta testing version(s) of new TRACES made available to MS users

Conclusions TRACES faces a very interesting future We can not meet all the challenges ahead of us based on the existing system With your help, we wish to create the TRACES system that you need, and that is ready to meet the challenges of the future We look forward to working with you towards this ambitious goal