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Enterprise Application Integration, or EAI, describes the use of technology to connect or integrate the existing applications to create a composite application. Integrating applications in an enterprise helps align the data processing more closely to the business processes, reduce costs and improve performance. It facilitates the flow of information and straps transactions among disparate and complex applications and business processes within and among the organizations. We are moving quickly toward the creation of "virtual enterprises" that encompass e-business customers, distributors, suppliers, physically distributed management, and staff, as well as a multitude of intermediate�term interconnected business partnerships. The success of any business thus depends on its ability to adapt to rapid change and fully embrace e-business, which includes closer intimacy with suppliers, partners, and customers, reduce cycle times and increase customer satisfaction. With the move towards market globalization, there have been mergers and acquisitions at a phenomenal pace. It has become imperative for organizations to share data and business logic with its business partners within the supply chain. This requires integrating and streamlining business processes across application, departmental, and organizational boundaries. Systems integration is no longer a necessary, expensive activity associated with implementing Enterprise Resource Planning:Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages; it's a requirement for survival. This is where EAI comes into picture.
Now as Information Technology is aiming at providing companies with a competitive edge, several factors can slow down its effectiveness. Today, the virtual enterprise is in its infancy. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the two key underlying elements -- organization and integration -- that will most directly affect the chances of success. Internal or external integration has always added complexities for organizations. The move from the traditional brick and mortar operations to sophisticated processes and the repercussions of mergers and acquisitions, a need has arisen to respond to the ever-changing market demands. Application Integration has become essential for a company's success in today's economy. Application integration solutions meet the need for large integration challenges, such as e-business, CRM, ERP, or supply-chain automation projects. Each of these projects must build a large number of interfaces in a short period of time, with high priority and high risk, as well. A standard EAI system provides with a broad range of services ranging from security management, protocol management, data mapping, and other related functions. These services define the functionality and flow of data in the application. EAI solutions can benefit an organization by providing end-to-end visibility and control of business operations. This control improves interactions with partners and customers; increases responsiveness to business changes; enables new market opportunities; and makes captured knowledge more widely available. Companies need integration that can be set up, taken down, and changed quickly, and that can work with a variety of partners, systems, and rapidly changing technologies.
EAI products and services have made progress toward easing the complexities of integration. However, these gains have been mainly in the data and application layers of the organization. Presently, EAI technology is beginning to blend closely with both e-commerce solutions and application server products. Ultimately, EAI technology is going to be middle-tier commodity, not a separate technology category. In case of Application-Integration, the focus lies largely on integrating one production application with the other, for EAI middleware is implemented in the form of connectors that handle data transformation and business logic with outside systems like the ERP Systems (SAP®, PeopleSoft®, Oracle® Applications), Database Systems (DB2®, Microsoft® SQL Server, Oracle), Message Queuing Systems (MQSeries, MSMQ), etc. Integrating such disparate systems is a very complex task. With the introduction of component-based models like EJB™, DCOM, CORBA®, etc, it has become relatively easier to provide software applications as congregations of stand-alone and independent business components that communicate with the business processes through a standard set of APIs. DCOM and CORBA / IIOP® are the two main protocols for object communication across networks, including the Internet. Both are platform independent programming models that support compatibility between applications in a complex system. DCOM is used for Windows®-based applications, and CORBA is found on many platforms. Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) is a communication protocol that defines a new way for processes on different systems to communicate, the heart of which is the Extensible Markup Language (XML). XML has emerged as the leading business-to-business integration and enterprise application candidate. XML is becoming the unifier among integrated systems.
Next-generation EAI needs to address four things to meet the needs of the virtual enterprise.
First, integration needs to be multilayered, including data, application components, user interfaces, and business process integration. EAI vendors have done a good job of supporting data and application integration. And a few are going after business process integration. However, we need greater emphasis on supporting the latter.
Second, the virtual enterprise requires integrations that change dynamically. Integration tools and technology will have to address the need to rapidly reconfigure integration infrastructure.
Third, the way in which we manage internal and external integration needs some adjustment. Current approaches to integration place control in the application and data layers. Integration administration needs to move up into the business process layer to reduce complexity and increase manage-ability.
Finally, most EAI products today are tightly focused on integrating transaction-based systems. This is only part of the equation. Within the context of the virtual enterprise, the decisions you and your business partners make are much more interrelated. The virtual enterprise expands workflow well beyond the corporate walls. This wide-area workflow necessitates integrating both decision support and business intelligence systems. This expanded integration will yield smarter, more flexible strategic planning.