How to Harness the Potential of Enterprise Application Integration

Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) refers to the process of bridging gaps between different software programs. Besides enabling data to flow from one program to another, it allows interfaces to manage the data flow. It is an integration framework comprising of a collection of technologies and services that form a middleware to enable integration of systems and applications across the enterprise.

Although EAI is primarily about sharing and distributing data and processes among different applications and data sources of that enterprise; when appropriately done, empowers organizations to realize the full benefit of their software investments. Enterprise application integration is more about connecting internal applications, such as financial, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship planning and mainframe systems, with one another and with other transactional e-business systems. Enterprise Application Integration basically comprises of 4 levels:

Fig. Four levels of Enterprise Application Integration

Advantages of Enterprise Application Integration

  • Allows companies to do away with time-consuming manual processes that are prone to errors such as, re-entering order data from transactional e-business systems to internal financial systems.
  • Enables ‘essential’ yet older business applications to be re-used by integrating them with newer applications - without subjecting them to expensive and high-risk rewriting.
  • Helps rapid integration of the internal enterprise systems of new Businesses or Divisions acquired through mergers and acquisitions.
  • Helps systematize the sale, manufacturing and distribution of products and services to customers - by wrapping a transactional, e-business front- end around existing applications.

Tips: Enterprise Application Integration

The demand for Enterprise Application Integration is on a consistent growth path and this is a result of the growing share of standardized solutions implementation. Recent trends indicate that Companies are increasingly declining domestic software development, all for specialized solutions that can be customized with a “no coding” approach (ERP, CRM, ECM systems). Some common applications targeted for EAI are:

  • Supply chain management (SCM)
  • Customer relationship management (CRM)
  • Business intelligence and analytics
  • Human resources data
  • Internal and marketing communications
  • Enterprise resource planning (ERP)
  • E-commerce optimization

It is true that in spite of the availability of a limited number of enterprise-level solution vendors, there is presently no line of products that would ensure high-quality automation for all enterprise business processes. In fact, there is a rapid increase in the number of automated processes so as to ensure the quick growth in the number of IT systems.

Analysis: How Companies Integrate Applications & Potential Problems

POINT-TO-POINT INTEGRATION

This is where each application is connected with another one by an individual link. The USP and the key advantage of such a “pattern” is its SIMPLICITY. The first time you look at it, it appears to be forthright; however the catch is that each connection has its own logic. If you have a dozen applications or more, you may end up entangled. Therefore, this type of architecture requires IT to put in a lot of effort into maintenance. Moreover, it also throws open a lot of questions such as management, consistency and security.

MIDDLEWARE

So, how do Companies deal with the problems arising out of point-to-point integration? Well, this is when they try creating a middleware for centralized integration. Although, in the first instance this seems to be quite a logical step in the enterprise architecture evolution; many a times there occurs a logjam in the development process due to lack of attention to details during the planning stage.

For instance, designers adopt different approaches to create a flexible and versatile system. However, there remains a loophole in understanding that almost every new application or any change of business processes requires coding. In the process, monitoring, persistence and transactions are frequently omitted, which leads to data loss and maintenance issues – and many a time to abandonment of projects.

INTEGRATION PLATFORMS

Enterprise Service Bus architecture-based Integration platforms, besides allowing organizations to focus on business processes; helps avoid technical and architectural concerns mostly inherent in systems developed from scratch.

Integration platforms besides comprising of simple graphic tools for process design, includes means for simulation, debugging and analysis. It also covers reliable and rapid transport, logging and monitoring, security, scalability and extensibility.

EAI Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

While, all the aforementioned points may be deemed to improve the chances for Enterprise Application Integration project success, there also looms the threat of EAI failure or anti-pattern, as it is called. A few common mistakes are:

Making an attempt to bind different information systems instead of creating a unified EAI.
Ensure that you start from the business strategy and consider the information systems as building blocks instead of meditating on how to link several information systems.

Considering EAI as a tool that solves all IT problems.
EAI is a system that plans enterprise architecture, business processes and organizational issues, where the main focus should be on business-driven goals that are most crucial for the business.

Making an unnecessary attempt to build or imitate something that is not required.
Instead, focus on achieving a positive ROI and ensure that the integration project is ready to go into production within a convincing timeframe.

Making a deliberate attempt to divide applications into particles and then integrate.
Complexity is intrinsic to Enterprise Application integration, courtesy the extra dollops of efforts for development and maintenance that goes into it. Try to avoid creating unnecessary complexity as they lead to points of future errors.

Converting EAI into an enterprise storage and warehouse.
Instead use separate integration logic and data management, because Master Data Management (MDM) systems can assist you in acquiring, improving and sharing master data and reference data.

Synopsis

Enterprise Application Integration solutions enables the automation of business processes by synchronizing the sequences of tasks and resources – for both systems and people. Even though the best integration system is obscure to the end users and the people who run the business, it is undoubtedly the most precarious point of failure. Plan for security, scalability and high availability – go for EAI system as a strategic IT direction.

Enterprise Application development can help transcend your business to the next level. Ready for the BIG leap?

To know more visit http://www.viteb.com/web-application-development or Get in touch with me at josh@viteb.com

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