CPI OpenFox (CPI) successfully completed the scope of its OpenFox® Nlets XML Readiness Framework project for the Arkansas Department of Public Safety’s Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC), advancing the agency’s transition toward National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) XML-based interstate data exchanges.

The project configured the OpenFox Message Switch and Nlets interface to support currently available Nlets XML standards. It aligned ACIC’s eligible Nlets transaction processing with Nlets’ direction to retire legacy dot-delimited text formats while maintaining continuity for existing in-state systems and workflows.

Modernized, Compatible Message Processing

CPI implemented the OpenFox Message Switch XML Framework and configured in-scope message keys using standard Nlets XML stylesheets. The work enabled qualifying outbound inquiries to be transformed from the established in-state format into fully tagged, standardized XML for transmission through the Nlets Network.

For inbound inquiries, OpenFox converted standardized XML requests received from Nlets into ACIC’s existing production inquiry format. This preserved the message format used between the OpenFox Message Switch and the agency’s information repositories and endpoints.

Preserved Existing Response Workflows

The solution maintained current source-system response formats while supporting XML-enabled exchange with Nlets. Responses already provided in Nlets-standardized XML were forwarded without changes to their payloads. Text and non-standard XML responses, including administrative messages, no-hit responses, and error responses, were preserved and encapsulated in NIEM XML when transmitted to Nlets.

CPI also applied standard Nlets presentation stylesheets to transform Nlets XML responses into readable text for in-state end-user clients. This approach supported the new exchange standard without requiring agencies to replace existing client-facing formats.

Validated Configuration and Testing

As part of the project, CPI performed transaction trace analysis and compared results with Nlets compliance and prior-month statistics reports, documenting discrepancies for ACIC. CPI conducted systems integration testing covering outbound Nlets queries and inbound responses, administrative messages, inbound Nlets queries, and outbound responses from in-state repositories.

The project used ACIC’s existing hardware platform and did not require additional third-party products. The work focused on supported Nlets message keys and standard Nlets stylesheets, with custom processing, repository changes, non-standard message keys, and conversion of text responses into fully standardized XML remaining outside the approved scope.

“CPI’s OpenFox XML framework provided ACIC with a structured path toward Nlets XML readiness while protecting the continuity of its established in-state operations,” said a CPI spokesperson. “The implementation demonstrated how standardized XML exchange could be introduced without unnecessary disruption to existing systems.”

The successful project positioned ACIC to process eligible Nlets transactions through modern XML standards while retaining operational compatibility across its current information-sharing environment.