Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Management, Supply Chain, and Human Resource Management remained mostly
unchanged.
No more monolithic applications
The introduction of middleware provided a unique ability for business applications to
communicate with each other. This communication could now be real time and could
be orchestrated for multiple back-and-forth messaging patterns. This led to the de-
velopment of standards that would allow the exchange of information between ap-
plications. It also resulted in a specialized approach in business processing, wherein
niche applications for specialized functionality could be integrated with larger ERP
applications. Typical examples of this were specialized customer service systems in-
tegrated with ERP systems, or asset management systems integrated with core fin-
ancial systems.
The following diagram shows the separation of the presentation and data layers.
Middleware orchestrates the business processes, and in many cases, also contains
the business logic that is the core process for the organization:
While the middleware products were evolving, the SOA-based approach for service
integration had also been maturing. The confluence of these two accelerated the
ability to weave together functionality across applications.
The following diagram illustrates the realization of the SOA-based approach in the
middleware layer. Middleware products such as Oracle Fusion Middleware provide
comprehensive message transformation and routing capabilities. However, the abil-
ity to provide process orchestration is vital to aligning business processes with siloed
applications.
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