As such, we’ll continue to operate our existing link products for the next two cycles (2021 and 2022) – retracting the previously communicated decommissioning date of December 2022.
Throughout feature development, we’ll be working with providers and vendors to seek feedback, and will tailor development accordingly. To make sure every provider is able to access features as they’re released, they’ll be available in our user interface (currently web-link), or through other new accessible means which we’ll be developing in addition to one or both of the existing link products. This will ensure development to student records systems is not a blocker.
Our longer-term system integration approach will still include ‘RESTful’ APIs. To enable this, xml-link will be maintained and updated, and it’s our intention to evolve xml-link into RESTful API. Once this is available, we’ll offer a two-cycle period to migrate, while still providing the current ‘SOAP’ service. So we can focus on this future development, we intend to decommission odbc-link (but not before the 2023 cycle), and will not release feature enhancements to it after the 2022 cycle.
Beyond the APIs and user interface, we’re also investigating other ways to enable providers to benefit from our developing products, and would encourage all customers to make use of these as they become available. To assist with your planning, we’ll be reinvigorating our technology webinars this summer, to engage with vendors and providers developing their own in-house student record systems.
If you have any questions, please contact your technology relationship manager.