1. Enterprise Application Integration
An architecture for integration

2. Structure of enterprise applications
Enterprise Applications keep track of (data) information related to the operations of the enterprise
e.g. Inventory, sales ledger
And execute the core processes that create and manipulate this information
Process from ordering of products to cash received
Enterprise may also have supply chain management systems or customer relations managements systems which also requires keeping track of information from outside the organisation
Data in the organisation is captured in a number of data models: relational data model; star scheme….

3. An example of a business process: Purchase-to-Pay
1. Determine requirements, complete purchase requisition.
Automatically generate the purchase requisition based on quantity on-hand, quantity-on-order, and expected demand.
© L. Gray, CNU

4. Purchase-to-Pay 2. Prepare and record purchase order.
Assists the buyer in identifying sources of supply for the requested item, preparing Request for quotation to vendors, analyzing vendor quotes,
comparing vendor prices, terms, and past performance

5. Purchase-to-Pay 3. Receive and record goods.
Compare quantity ordered to quantity received.
Routes goods to the function that requested them or directs them the warehouse for immediate sale. It also records vendor performance data.

6. Purchase-to-Pay
4. Receive vendor invoice, match with PO and receiving report; record payable.
If the three-way match fails, the enterprise system notifies the proper personnel to ensure timely reconciliation of differences.

7. Purchase-to-Pay
5. Prepare and record cash disbursement and update accounts.
Uses vendor and AP data to schedule payments in accordance with vendor terms and to receive discounts.

8. Enterprise process models
Each business process model “must” capture the series of steps and interactions required to complete a specific business process:
The execution of the process will impact on the enterprise data across one or more applications
A process may be executed within a single application or more often through collaboration between several applications
In the semi-automated (Islands of computing) system:
Originally, the process and data models were implemented in a wide variety of functional system (related to organisational departments)
Each system consisting of its own database, application logic and user interface

9. IT reality – Islands of Computing
Purchased Application Package(s) – etc.
Program
Program
Legacy Application System(s)
Program
New Web-based application(s)
Program
Program
Program
Program
Program
Program
Enterprise IT reflects the structure and history of each enterprise not the business processes required.
Departments have their own IT systems
Legacy systems are left in place and new systems built separately.

10. Two architectural solutions
Integration
Leave existing applications in place
Minimises risk of disruption and change in data models/process models
Link existing applications, integration of systems, which map between existing data and process models and add ‘missing’ process models where required
Effective when most of the functionality is already implemented in systems and the integration is primarily creating linkages and processes between these applications
When significant additional functionality is required beyond what is already in the applications,: may need to replace existing systems or redesign the data (inconsistencies) and business process models

11. Tactical approach to integrating the Business information systems
Application
System B
Trans
action
File
Program
Extract
Program
Program
Down
Down
load
load
Program
Extract
File
File
Program
Load
Program
Load
Screen
Message
Program
Application
Scrape
Queue
Application
Database Replicator
System A
System C
Extract
Load
Program
Program
Down
Program
load
File
Program
Program
Program
Trans
Program
action
File
Program
Message
Queue
Each requirement is addressed with a point to point solution
Typically consisting of a data transfer mechanism and a data format converter.

12. Strengths and weaknesses of “islands of Computing” tactical approach
Focused on getting the job done
Each individual solution can be created quickly
Technical Weaknesses
Numerous Point-to-Point Interfaces
Sharing of data between systems
Data duplication
Data inconsistency
Inconsistent Qualities of Service
Limited or lack of integrated information
Inconsistent Business Processes solutions as they are not integrated

13. Strengths and weaknesses of “islands of Computing” tactical approach
Business Weaknesses
Cost of maintenance
Isolated decisions lead to overall inefficiencies
Increased expenses
Requirement to retain knowledge of the solution in-house.
Potential security or loss of service/process failure due to inconsistencies.
Therefore, there is a general requirement for integration to support organisational system capabilities
For instance Customer Relationship Management – tracking all information about a customer across the enterprise

14. Solution 2: Enterprise “information systems” integration
EAI can help resolve the following issues:
Unrestricted sharing of data and business processes (information) across an organization and can be extend to customers, suppliers and regulators
The linking of data, business processes and applications to automate business processes
While ensuring that there are consistent qualities of service (security, reliability etc)
Reduce the on-going cost of maintenance and reduce the cost of rolling out new systems.

15. Enterprise integration requirement
Unrestricted sharing of data and business processes throughout the networked applications or data sources in an organization
The Linking of Data, Business Processes, Applications to automate business processes
While ensuring that there are consistent qualities of service (security, reliability etc)
Reduce the on-going cost of maintenance and reduce the cost of rolling out new systems.
Solution: Devised ways to efficiently reuse legacy and existing apps and add new ones

16. Layers of an EAI Stack Adapter Adapter
Provides real-time and historical data on performance
of processes and assists in making decisions.
EAI
Business Activity Monitoring
Manages and tracks business transactions that might
span multiple systems and last minutes to days.
Business Process
Orchestration
Data Transformation
Ensures the data is the correct format for delivery to
The next system.
Message Storage & Routing
Adapter
Ensures the reliability of data delivery between systems.
Adapter
Provides “open” connectivity between data sources: programs that interact with the underlying business application

17. Adapters
Also known as “Connectors”, “Translators”, “Wrappers” or “Bridges”
Provide seamless connectivity to the underlying application or data
Convert information and events into data (a form) that can be utilized by the “enterprise’s” I.T. infrastructure
Business Activity Monitoring
Business Process
Orchestration
Data Transformation
Message Storage & Routing
Adapter
Adapter

18. Message storage and routing
EAI
Reliable messaging
Connect applications running on different systems by sending and receiving application data as messages
Message storage
Central repository for temporary storage of transactions until they can be delivered
Also called “Message Warehousing”
Message queuing and routing
Asynchronous communications
Set of tools that route messages between sources and destination (consumers) based on pre-defined “business” rules
Business Activity Monitoring
Business Process
Orchestration
Data Transformation
Message Storage & Routing
Adapter
Adapter

19. Data Transformation Data Transformation
Transformation to and from formats used by Different Systems
Handling simple or complex data structures
GUI Configuration tools to help define the transformations
EAI
Business Activity Monitoring
Business Process
Orchestration
Data Transformation
Message Storage & Routing
Adapter
Adapter

20. Intermediate (canonical) common format
Data Transformation
Source
Target
F. name: denis
L. name: manley
Affiliation: DIT, Dublin,
Ireland
Name: Denis Manley
Company: DIT
City: Dublin
Country: Ireland
Intermediate (canonical) common format
EAI typically converts the source data into an intermediate format and then convert its into the target format .

21. EAI: Building a data model
Create a common data model including a set of terms for the concepts in the domain of the data sources being integrated
e.g., Employee, Customer, Patient, weight, height, body Temperature, …
Mappings relate data items in data sources to terms in data model
Background knowledge about terms essential for transformations
e.g., Employee subClass Of Person,
2 people with the same last name, first name and street address are likely to be the same,

22. Issues in data transformation
Challenge 1: Coping with software from different vendors
Oracle vs. SQL Server
Challenge 2: Coping with different “data” formats
Relational vs. XML
Challenge 3: Coping with different data models (schemas)
Solvable for the smaller scale cases
one person understands all the schemas
As the complexity and scale of the data models increases it becomes harder and harder
Challenge 4: Coping with data from new sources such as new systems, suppliers, customers

23. Business Process Orchestration
Process Modeling
Describing the flow of information in the context of business processes
Using the input/output of processes as the Integration points between diverse business processes
Process Brokering
Execution of discrete steps within a business process
Ability to recover from failed steps
Process Management
Monitor business processes
Correlate metrics to specific business process steps
EAI
Business Activity Monitoring
Business Process
Orchestration
Data Transformation
Message Storage & Routing
Adapter
Adapter

24. Business Activity Monitoring
Business Activity Monitoring: Using your data assets (sales figures) to make better decisions
BAM is used to gather information about what is occurring in the EAI deployment
Status of current processes
Identification of problem areas
E.g. Spotting applications that are not responding
Monitoring of unusual activity
E.g. Unusually large orders
The collected information is displayed for operators or managers to diagnose and determine the solution
EAI
Business Activity Monitoring
Business Process
Orchestration
Data Transformation
Message Storage & Routing
Adapter
Adapter 24 24

25. Potential EAI benefits
Lower development costs
Integration is simpler because systems are more loosely coupled.
Lower opportunity costs
Integration is done more quickly
corresponding cost savings reachieved sooner
Lower maintenance effort
adapters extract the interaction with external systems
significant advantage from the software engineering point of view

26. Potential EAI Challenges
Architecture concentrates all of the processing into a single server/cluster.
Often became hard to maintain and evolve efficiently
Hard to extend to integrate 3rd parties on other technology platforms
The data transformation model introduces an intermediary step
Added complexity and additional processing effort
EAI products typified by
Heavy customisation required to implement the solution
Lock-In: Often built using proprietary technology (specific to a vendor) and required specialist skills
Lack of flexibility: Hard to extend or to integrate with other EAI products!
Requires organisations to be ready or prepared to adapt EAI: EAI readiness

27. What is EAI readiness?
Much of the challenge associated with adopting EAI is not related to the technology but to how prepared the organisation is to implementing it.
EAI readiness is a state of business maturity in which the enterprise’s:
Business processes,
employees,
Technology (systems)
structure,
and culture,
are prepared for the successful introduction of both EAI technology and the business disciplines that drive its introduction.
All five of these factors must be properly situated and aligned before an EAI implementation can succeed.

28. Business process readiness
Business strategic goals for project (i.e. process efficiency, customer satisfaction, supply-chain optimization) clearly defined and agreed upon by company executive leadership.
Desired business processes designed, documented, and valuated.
Gap between current and desired business processes well understood.

29. Employee readiness
Staff accustomed to using information technology in their day-to-day work.
Staff accustomed to adaptation of new roles, responsibilities, processes, and knowledge … ; i.e. to business change.
Staff have broad understanding of the business and their contribution to it.
Executives understand the nature of investing time, staff and budgets into the business infrastructure in order to reap future returns. (financial v strategic)

30. Technology readiness
No systems are to be integrated using EAI tools that will be retired/ decommissioning soon.
There is no point integrating with a system which will soon be removed
Applications portfolio has been evaluated for semantic compatibility.
Check it is possible to transform from 1 data model to the other
Implementation of EAI is not defined as the purpose of the effort.
The project should be about the business objective, not about the technology

31. “organisational” Structural readiness
Keep it simple by ensuring that the EAI system involves as few departments/ organisations as possible.
Each organisation involved adds to the complexity of the project as more people have to be engaged with and there are potentially greater variety of technologies and architectures.
Stakeholder analysis performed to determine overall potential for business resistance to the planned change.
EAI projects change the way that each department/organisation works. Therefore, EAI projects need the cooperation of each department/organisations.
Business “steering” committee is established and ready to provide leadership to the business change.

32. Cultural readiness
Corporate culture embraces the importance of well-defined business processes.
Staff accustomed to adaptation of new roles, responsibilities, processes, and knowledge ….
Individuals and departments willing to change the way the applications and data is defined.

33. Questions
Many technologies involved in business difference business process can not effectivley communicate and share data. Enterpirse application integration is one approach to ensure limiting this problem:
Describe the 4 main steps in the EAI framework
(8 marks)
Explain, using a suitable example, why EAI is preferred to the to the “islands of computing” approach to developing enterprise I.T. systems.
(12 marks)
Discuss why an organisation must be prepared in order to correctly implement the EAI approach.
(10 marks)