Case Study: Canada Border Services Agency

Delivering High-Volume, High-Reliability Customs Processing for Over Two Decades

Background
In July 1998, Rogue Data (RDC) was awarded a critical contract by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to design and implement key components of its Customs Electronic Commerce Platform (CECP).

The objective: create a high-availability messaging solution capable of handling massive volumes of sensitive customs transactions reliably, securely, and without interruption.

The Solution
Rogue Data developed and deployed a series of core messaging components, forming the backbone of what would become known as CustomsNet. This platform ensures the translation, validation, and routing of commercial customs declarations and releases, supporting over 6,000 global trading partners and over 125 different ANSI X12, EDIFACT, and CADEX messaging types.

Key features included:

• PKI-Secured Communication — Enabling secure, standards-compliant transmissions between customs brokers and CBSA.
• IBM MQ Series and DB2 Integration — Providing robust, enterprise-grade messaging and database support.
• Resilient Architecture — Designed for continuous 24/7 availability, even under high-stress conditions.

Performance and Impact

• Continuous Operation Since 1999 — CustomsNet has been in high-availability production for over two decades, processing critical transactions every day.
• Scales with Demand — Originally designed to handle 800,000 messages daily; upgraded in 2017 to support up to 120,000 transactions per hour.
• $1+ Billion in Goods Cleared Daily — Rogue Data’s solution is core to the validation and routing of over $1 billion in commercial declarations and releases every day.

Ongoing Partnership

• CBSA staff manage daily operations with Rogue Data providing second-level support, fixes, and updates as needed.
• Our platform remains a critical piece of CBSA’s trade and border operations and is undergoing renewal efforts in anticipation of new E-Manifest requirements.

Results

• Exceptional Reliability — 24/7 high-availability operation across decades.
• Seamless Integration — Smooth interaction with thousands of trading partners and diverse messaging standards.
• Future-Proofed — Ongoing modernization to keep pace with evolving trade and regulatory needs.

About Rogue Data

Rogue Data specializes in designing and delivering resilient workflow automation solutions for critical public sector operations. Our work with CBSA exemplifies our commitment to high performance, security, and innovation at scale.