Emerging Trends in Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)

EAI technology evolved to address the need to integrate data between applications seamlessly and reduced effort. Traditionally integrations were done using point to point models (PTP). EAI tools achieve integration using hub and spoke models. It allows computing without restriction of application server or database, enables distributed computing with best of breed applications and allows IT users to choose IT solutions based on their capabilities.
Point to point systems are tedious to build and maintain and less reliable. Hub and spoke models allow building a new target system subscription easily. Adapters are used to communicate with disparate applications and the message broker routes the messages to subscribing applications. EAI tools not only allow integration, but provide assured delivery of messages in real time, event monitoring, and transaction management across applications, resubmission capability, secured communication using encryption technologies, certificated based authentication using DMZ servers etc.
Today’s EAI tools come with built it support for widely used data formats like XML, SWIFT, RosettaNet. Major vendors of EAI tools are TIbco, SeeBeyond, Software AG, Oracle
Webservices
EAI tools now evolved from traditional real time integrations to vast array of products support service oriented architectures (SAO), B2B transactions, business process management (BPM) and business activity monitoring (BAM) tools. Webservices allows access to information in an open standard like SOAP over HTTP or HTTPS for secured communication. It allows access from multiple devices like mobile devices, desktops etc., they are platform and language neutral and can be accessed from anywhere. There are various webservice governance tools that maintain catalogue of services, service assurance, monitor service level management (SLA), security etc.
Webservices are described by webservice description language (WSDL) and this WSDL is given to the users of services to build clients of their choice which will be used to access the webservices. Underlying technical implementation of webservices is not known to the consumer of the service and he will not be impacted by their changes as long as the signature of webservice remains same.
 

BPM

BPM systems orchestrate services to get the desired output and this enhances the reusability of services. BPM tools allow to document and view services from a user perspective and manage and monitor from business process point of view. It increases flexibility and response time of organizations to change. BPM processes can be restarted from the point of failure or can be designed to have self correcting logic like retries in case of short outages of services involved. BPEL is broadly used language in building BPM systems. It is still early stages of evolving and standard are yet to emerge which will make it portable and interoperable across multiple vendors.
 

Business activity monitoring (BAM)
 

Business activity monitoring (BAM) provides real time information about various operations, processes, and transactions and allows enterprise to quickly identify issues and problems and make informed decisions. It provides dashboard of key performance indicators (KPI), drill down facilities to get detail and can generate notifications to alert technical person interventions. BAM suites greatly help down time for systems and services in 24X7 environment and subsequent business and monetary loses and improve customer satisfaction.