Enterprise application integration

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Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) is defined as the use of software and computer systems architectural principles to integrate a set of enterprise computer applications.

Enterprise Application Integration has increased in importance because enterprise computing often takes the form of islands of automation. This occurs when the value of individual systems are not maximized due to partial or full isolation. If integration is applied without following a structured EAI approach, point-to-point connections grow across an organization. Dependencies are added on an impromptu basis, resulting in a tangled mess that is difficult to maintain. This is commonly referred to as spaghetti, an allusion to the programming equivalent of spaghetti code. For example:

The number of n connections needed to have a fully-meshed point-point connections is given by <math>\frac{n(n-1)}{2}</math>. Thus, for 10 applications to be fully integrated point-to-point, <math>\frac{(10)(9)}{2}</math>, or 45 point-to-point connections are needed.

However, EAI is not just about sharing data between applications; it focuses on sharing both business data and business process. Attending to EAI involves looking at the system of systems, which involves large scale inter-disciplinary problems with multiple, heterogeneous, distributed systems that are embedded in networks at multiple levels.

Currently, it is thought that the best approach to EAI is to use an Enterprise service bus (ESB), which connects numerous, independent systems together. Although other approaches have been explored, including connecting at the database or user-interface level, the ESB approach has been adopted as the strategic winner. Individual applications can publish messages to the bus and subscribe to receive certain messages from the bus. Each application only requires one connection, to the bus. The message bus approach can be extremely scalable and highly evolvable.

Enterprise Application Integration is related to middleware technologies such as message-oriented middleware (MOM), and data representation technologies such as XML. Newer EAI technologies involve using web services as part of service-oriented architecture as a means of integration. Enterprise Application Integration tends to be data centric. In the near future, it will come to include content integration and business processes.

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See also

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External links

de:Enterprise Application Integration fr:Intégration d'applications d'entreprise nl:Enterprise Application Integration vi:Tích hợp ứng dụng doanh nghiệp zh:企业应用集成

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