enterprise application integration (IT) (EAI)
Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) is the integration of sub-functions into a company's own applications along the value chain. In this technique, modules from other systems are integrated into the application. This integration of data and business processes can take place across business partner boundaries, although the actual use of Enterprise Application Integration is often only realized in conjunction with Customer Relationship Management( CRM), an existing Enterprise Resource Planning( ERP) and with Supply Chain Management( SCM).
Enterprise Application Integration is about integrating data, applications and processes. The integration of enterprise applications provides companies with a homogeneous platform on which end-to-end e-business solutions can be handled in a uniform manner. A key component of this is messaging between applications, application to application ( A2A). With EAI integration, suppliers are connected via supply chain management using the Internet, intranet or extranet; customers, employees and partners are connected via the aforementioned networks to the customer relationship management (CRM) of the EAI.
The actual approach of integration brokers is to connect all applications of an enterprise in one infrastructure layer.
Enterprise Application Integration increasingly relies on standardized solutions. These include Universal Description, Discovery and Integration( UDDI), the Simple Object Access Protocol ( SOAP), Extensible Markup Language(XML), Java 2 Enterprise Edition( J2EE) and . NET, where integration tools are already implemented.
Web services are increasingly proving to be a simple and cost-effective alternative to enterprise application integration (EAI).