Canton of Lucerne – DataHub for the E-Government basic infrastructure

As part of the "E-Government Basic Infrastructure" project, the Canton of Lucerne implemented a form solution (aFormsSolution). The challenge was to provide the data required for forms (such as selection lists, validations, or pre-fillings) from numerous heterogeneous specialist applications in real time, with low latency, and with 24/7 availability. Direct online access to the various specialist applications was not feasible due to varying availabilities, security requirements, and high load demands.

To meet these requirements, NSYNC developed the "DataHub" for the Canton of Lucerne. This is a centralized, redundant data storage solution tailored specifically to the needs of the form solution and other e-government applications. The DataHub acts as a "single source of truth" for the required data, decouples the form solution from the specialist applications, and enables high-performance, synchronous real-time access.

The platform is structured in a multi-tier architecture: The database (SQL Server) forms the data storage layer, a data access layer manages communication, while a data model layer handles business logic and validation. A REST web API (JSON) and a SOAP web service (XML) serve as the frontend query layer.

• Various cantonal specialist applications
• Form solution (aFormsSolution)
• and much more

• Redundant data storage for decoupling source and target systems

• Generic, tree-like modeling structure (data domain – entity – attribute) for runtime flexibility

• Role-based authorization concept for access control per data domain

• Support for multiple integration interfaces (REST/JSON, SOAP/XML, .NET Client SDK)

• Standardized N:SYNC project methodology for structured requirements elicitation and implementation

• Real-time provision of data with high availability and low latency (< 300 ms)

• Increased user-friendliness through the "only once" principle (pre-population of form data)

• Centralization of interface logic instead of individual implementation in each specialist application

• High flexibility through dynamic configuration of data domains and entities at runtime

• Secure, role-based access and centralized logging of all data interactions

Reference (2020): Hanspeter Fuchs, Head of Infrastructure Division, Office of Informatics (DIIN), Canton of Lucerne