Enterprise Integration Overview

A common approach to juggling multiple business requirements is to “bolt-on” new systems as they are required, making software choices based on factors such as short term costs or what fulfills that exact, specific need. Also, additional systems and application are sometimes acquired through mergers and acquisitions. The result can be a poorly integrated environment in which multiple applications and systems are required to perform mission-critical processes.  As a result, efficiency is lost and this can cost time, money, and sometimes customers.

Integration Types

A better solution is Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) using Service-Orientated Architecture (SOA). There are many different types of integration you may need, for example:

• Application Integration: Connecting different applications and systems in order to automate business processes.
• Business to Business Integration (B2Bi): Connecting to other online enterprises in order to run processes more efficiently.
• Data Integration: Consolidating databases from different teams, or divisions, into one master database or master list.
• Event Integration: Integrating high-throughput data streams with information and other events. 
• Cloud Integration: Integrating between on-premises and in cloud applications or databases. 

Simplified and Nimble

No matter what type, or combination of types, of integration you need, a Microsoft-based SOA provides the principles and guidance to transform an enterprise’s existing array of distributed, complex, and inflexible systems into integrated, simplified, and nimble resources.  

Microsoft® BizTalk Server® enables organizations to connect and extend heterogeneous systems across the enterprise and with trading partners. BizTalk Server 2010 comes pre-integrated with Windows Server AppFabric to allow .NET developers to more rapidly build composite applications that connect to line-of-business systems. This brings the familiar programming model of .NET to complex enterprise integration scenarios involving Line of Business systems.

Microsoft® SQL Server® with SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) provides data integration capabilities along with the complex event processing engine, StreamInsight, and Master Data Services (MDS), You can integrate business specific events into enterprise applications through SSIS or BizTalk Server.

Microsoft® Windows® Azure AppFabric is a service bus that offers identity management and firewall friendly messaging, providing security features for connectivity and messaging between on-premises IT applications and cloud-based services.

Microsoft® Windows® Server AppFabric extends Windows Server to provide enhanced hosting, management, and caching capabilities for Web applications and middle-tier services. AppFabric can help reduce the burden of deploying and monitoring middle-tier services by simplifying the deployment, providing a customizable monitoring solution, and providing a rich management toolset. Windows Server AppFabric also makes it easier to deploy, configure, and manage Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)  and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)  based services. Windows Communication Foundation is a part of the Microsoft® .NET Framework and provides a unified programming model for rapidly building service-oriented applications. It enables developers to build secure, reliable, transacted solutions that integrate across platforms and interoperate with existing investments.