Introduction to Integration

Outline

Definition TerminologyProtocols Integration – The Problem Integration – The Goals Integration – The Strategy Integration – Architecture

Integration

Integration combines the technologies and processes that enable custom-built and/or packaged business applications to exchange business-level information in formats and contexts that each understand

Application integration is necessary whenever a new application is purchased, enhanced, or developed.

Integration is more than middleware programming – the middleware platform is an enabler

Integration is complex and technical – setting it up requires cooperation between several application teams, several types of skills, lots of patience and coordination

Integration - Definitions

Definition: “Integration” means making independently designed systems work together.Application-to-Application (A2A)

Business-to-Business (B2B)

Business-to-Consumer (B2C)

Other: mobile devices, video and cellular phones, digital set-top boxes, electronic books and game consoles.

Integration Terminology

Common terms - A2A, B2B, EAI, MOM, XML, Request/Reply, asynchronous, etc.

Examples of integrationDifferent modules of same application (Oracle CRM,

Oracle Financials)Siebel with Oracle or SAP - ApplicationsWAP or voice technologies with applicationsBusiness to Business or Trading Partners

Integration Methods

Integration methodsPoint-to-pointMessage oriented middlewareMiddleware platforms

Integration Methods

Integration methodsPoint-to-point

Point-to-point

One application talks to another directlyMost prevalent & it works for mostServes specific business needNot enterprise wideMaintenance nightmareNot scalable

Integration Methods

Integration methodsPoint-to-pointMessage oriented middleware

Message oriented middleware

Use a messaging infrastructure for message transportApplication logic resides in applicationsGuarantees deliveryNo problems if one application is down

But, Integration essentially point-to-point

Integration Methods

Integration methodsPoint-to-pointMessage oriented middlewareMiddleware platforms

Platform Middleware

Application AdaptersData TransformationDelivery guaranteesUsage of standard messagesCentralized management of integrationProcess managementSystem monitoringEnterprise wide

But,Not an out-of-box solutionStill have a lot of work to do to make it all work

What does Middleware provide?

Middleware provides the framework and gets you Guaranteed delivery Higher transaction volumes Near real time messaging Decoupled applications Multiple applications sharing same information Transformation infrastructure Connectivity to application APIs Monitoring of the integration, maybe resend failed messages Workflow integration – integrated applications behave like a single

entity Ability to add more applications that need to share same

information

Integration Protocols

File level integrationDatabase level integrationApplication level integrationBusiness process integration

Integration Protocols

File level integration

File level integration

Exchange files between applicationsUsed to integrate legacy & other applicationsUsed mostly in batch mode, not real timeDisadvantages

Not very secureFiles may get corruptedThey may get lostDependent on the system infrastructure

Integration Protocols

File level integrationDatabase level integration

Database level integration

Exchange information at database level“Better” than file based integrationSecureDatabase Event basedGuaranteed, to an extentCan program in some process management

But,DBs may be differentData type matching requiredDBs may be down

Integration Protocols

File level integrationDatabase level integrationApplication level integration

Application level integration

Applications exchange informationUse the application infrastructureAPIs available for integration – applications

manage a lot of the logicE.g., TIBCO calling BAPI to interface with SAP

Integration Protocols

File level integrationDatabase level integrationApplication level integrationBusiness process integration

IP Integration - Transactions

ERP

Orgs and Reference Codes

Internet Procurement

PO Add, Change and Hold

Requisition

Receipt

Approved Journals

PO Status

PO Number

Cancel PO and Req

Supplier Add and Change

Item Add and Change

Units of Measure

Chart of Accounts

Daily Rates

Freight Terms

Confirmations

Integration – The Problem

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) suites purchased to replace multiple legacy systems. Issues still remained:

Didn’t replace all legacy apps

Difficult/Expensive to implement & maintain

Do not fulfill all functions of the enterprise, hence the need for other applications

Need for Integration

Differences in data definitions among applications Complexity of the programming environment Sequencing of data and processing (in other words the Business

Logic) Difficulties with sharing code among applications Security The need to provide information from integrated applications to better

serve customers Reduce the lag time in processing business requirements Thereby reducing cost and improving productivity Hence the pressure to make applications work together is intense As businesses leverage the Web and attempt the transition to

becoming “e-businesses,” the need to collaborate across organizational boundaries has emerged as paramount

Integration – The Problem

Application Integration Spaghetti:When enterprises have undocumented, complex, high-

maintenance integration paths. And each connection is LOCALLY rather than GLOBALLY optimizeddifficult to modify or reuseuses batch file transfer (some non-automated)data may be re-keyed

Integration Spaghetti

Integration - Goals

To reduce the development effort needed to document and code interfaces between systems

To reduce redundancy in the integration middleware

To shorten the time it takes to add or change applications and their connections with other applications.

Integration – the goal

Integration – The Strategy

Successful integration strategies require three things (besides budget )

a central integration team an evolving enterprise integration architecture a shared technical infrastructure

Integration - Architecture

An Enterprise Integration Architecture brings consistency to inter-application exchanges without interfering with the intra-application design decisions.

Enterprise Architecture

Information Architecture (Blueprints for interfaces)

Message, file, document and method schema

Communication model

Volume and frequency

Transformation rules

Governance

Relationship to application groups, central technical support, steering committee

Throughput, latency, and other quality-of-service SLAs

Infrastructure Standards (Building materials and tools)

Enterprise standards for integration middleware and administration, monitoring, security and integrity tools

Integration - Architecture

Decision Framework: The integration infrastructure offloads functions from the application programs and simplifies application development and maintenance by supplying middleware-based “intelligent network” services.

It may includeBasic communication facilitiesAn integration brokerBusiness process managersBusiness activity monitors

Integration Architectures

Questions?