Enterprise Application Integration

We can define enterprise integration application as a integration framework of a collection of technologies and services which form a middleware to enable integration of systems and apps across and enterprise. Some apps can’t communicate with each other for the purpose of sharing data or business rules (ERP systems, CRM apps, BI apps). Because identical data are stored in multiple locations the lack of communication can lead to inefficiencies. So by using the integration process you can link such applications within a single organization together in order to simplify and automate business process and avoid any changes that could appear in the data structure. The applications can be linked either at the back-end or the front-end.

Enterprise Application Integration solutions use various models of middleware to centralize and standardize integrations practices across and entire infrastructure.

The components in this infrastructure use standardized methods to connect to a common system that enables integrations, message broking and other functions on the network. It helps solve the problem of integrating modular systems by treating integrations as a task for a system like any other task rather than a snarled mess of brittle connections, it loosens the tightly coupled connections of point to point integration. An app can send a message without any knowledge of the consumer’s location, data requirements or use for the message. So the architecture becomes more flexible, where new parts can be added and removed as wanted just by modifying the configuration of the Enterprise Application Integration provider.

Of course this process has advantages and disadvantages. If we take in consideration the broker model of Enterprise Application Integration this allows loose coupling between apps so that the apps are able to communicate in sync sending messages and working without waiting for a response from the recipient. It also allows all integration configuration to be accomplished within a central repository. On the minus side, it uses a central engine and the broker can become single point of failure for the network because it’s responsible for all concurrency between the app’s data sets and states and all messages between applications must pass through. If the integrations scenario involves products from several vendors than the process can be difficult because it aims at supporting a specific vendor’s subset of technology.

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