Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) - Guide to Cloud Computing for Business and Technology Managers - page 96

want to communicate with each other using incompatible proto-
cols. For example, Application A might want to communicate with
Application B using HTTP. However, for Application B, the suitable
protocol might be IIOP. In such cases, a protocol transformation is
needed so that Application A can communicate with Application B.
e. Diversity of data formats : A problem arises when there is diversity
in the data format being exchanged. Most of the time, the data are
dependent on the middleware being used. This diversity of data can
also cause a problem if two applications that wish to interact support
different data formats.
f. Diversity of interface declarations : A problem arises when there are
large differences in the way the service interfaces are being declared
and used to invoke the services. For example, the way interfaces are
declared in CORBA and Java RMI is different.
g. No common place for service lookup : A problem arises when there is no
common place to look up services to deal with the diversity of the
services in a large enterprise.
Another common problem is that as soon as a new version of provider soft-
ware becomes available, consumer applications must be modified to account
for the change in the provider application. The solution to this problem
requires that methods be found that allow the services to be extended—for
example, by adding more parameters—without breaking the previous ver-
sions of the consumer application.
This diversity and extendibility have been partly dealt with by develop-
ing standards and by further development in technology. We discuss these
standards in Chapter 7, whereas the further development in technology is
discussed in Chapter 9.
4.2 Integration of Enterprise Applications
EAI provides components for integrating applications with external appli-
cations and technologies within the enterprise and is designed to work
with third-party products. By employing EAI effectively, an enterprise can
leverage its existing enterprise-wide information assets, that is, customer
relationships:
• To provide new products and services easily and quickly
• To streamline its internal process and operations
• To strengthen supply relationships
• To enhance customer relationships