Page 146 - DCAP603_DATAWARE_HOUSING_AND_DATAMINING

Data Warehousing and Data Mining

notes independent, and automated functions. The result of this diversity was a collection of stovepipe
applications rather than a unified network of linked systems. But now, the companies are realizing
the utmost need to integrate these independent data silos to leverage the information stored in
them across the various vertical and horizontal domains as well as surmount the ever-increasing
costs of building new applications.
And this is where an EAI solution comes into the picture.
EAI is a collection of processes, software and hardware tools, methodologies, and technologies.
When implemented together, they have the aim of consolidating, connecting, and organizing
all the businesses computer applications, data, and business processes (both legacy and new)
into a seamlessly interfaced framework of system components that allow real-time exchange,
management, and easy reformulation of the company’s mission-critical information and
knowledge. It is an unrestricted sharing of data throughout the networked applications or data
sources in an enterprise.
When designing an Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) solution, it is important to recognize
that there are different levels of integration, each with its own requirements and considerations.
Successful implementation of consistent, scalable, reliable, incremental, cost-effective EAI
solutions depends on the standards and methodologies that we define for these levels. It must be
determined how we need to share information:
1. Within an application

2. Between applications within an enterprise
3. Between enterprises
4. Directly with customers
Moreover, the solution should be based upon a multi-tiered, non-redundant, coarse-grained
architecture that is enforced across the enterprise. This requires the total set of functions involved
in the end-to-end integrated solution be provided by distinct layers, each providing unique and
non-overlapping services as shown in Figure 7.1.
figure 7.1: Multi-tiered eai architecture

140 LoveLy professionaL university