Java Reference
In-Depth Information
Benefits of ESB
As we have seen, there are many benefits to using an ESB, both for IT and for the business,
including the following:
▪ Reduced time to integrate new and existing applications.
▪ Increased flexibility because system dependencies are reduced. Applications don't have to
“know” as much about each other, making it easier for you to change system interfaces or
switch them out altogether.
▪ Simultaneous centralized management of the service catalog while services themselves
are distributed.
▪ Because of the centralized management ability, many buses can collect service metrics.
In conjunction with Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) tools, you can get the benefits
of centralized logging and create your own service-level agreements (SLAs) that can be
monitored. You can collect statistics against these SLAs and feed them into your reporting
platform. An ESB provides this to the business and IT without them having to instrument
the services themselves (for example, using a technology such as JMX).
▪ Encourages use of industry standard interfaces, reducing total cost of ownership.
▪ Greater agility and responsiveness to change.
▪ More accurate and up-to-date information via logical centralization of data management,
or a “single version of the truth.”
In a modern SOA, which consists of automated Business Process Management tools, BAM
tools, monitoring SLAs and metrics with KPIs, a registry, a repository, perhaps a rules engine,
and federated security with policy enforcement points, it seems imperative to have a solid
ESB in place, given the many benefits. It is the foundation that ties these many SOA features
together and ensures that they will be visible and usable.
