Enterprise Application Integration - Improving Connectivity

Improving Connectivity

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 connections needed to have fully meshed point-to-point connections, with points, is given by . Thus, for ten applications to be fully integrated point-to-point, 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. Middleware analysts 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. One of the biggest mistakes that organizations make to solve this problem is excessively focusing on low-level bottom-up IT approaches, often driven from development-oriented technical teams. In contrast, a paradigm shift is emerging to start EAI rationalization efforts with effective top-down business-oriented analysis found in disciplines such as Enterprise Architecture, Business Architecture, and Business Process Management. The business oriented approach can enable a cohesive business integration strategy which is supported by, instead of dictated by, technical and data integration strategies.