Connectors are software applications or middleware that plug external systems into m3i. m3iR's Machine Definition (the set of attributes that describe an MFD) is extensible. Developers can add their own attributes. This allows m3i to be extended at the data level so that the functionality of external systems can be represented in the same ways as MFD functionality, effectively becoming part of the MFD functionality.

Connectors can be written in any language on any platform but typically they are PC/server based and we provide developers with toolkits to make the job easier in these environments. Once developers have configured the required data attributes in m3iR and connected their external system, a bidirectional exchange of information can be established between the user of the m3i User Interfaces (or any other m3i component) and the back-end system via m3i.

A good example of this is what we have done with the m3i Billing in order to add Copy Accounting to m3iR as an optional add-on rather than coding this (potentially unrequired) functionality into the product itself. The extensible nature of the platform prevents frequesnt changes to m3iR and the associated bloat that would follow.