Chapter Twenty. Application Integration Manifesto

This chapter really sums up the concepts presented in the entire book, with a few new concepts added to make it worth the read, summarizing common patterns required into a manifesto, or features you're going to need when you solve your application integration problem.

The value of this chapter is that you can leverage it as a checklist as you select your application integration solution and customize it for your problem domain.

This by no means is the end of the line with application integration features and functions. As we progress and learn more, features and function will appear that provide value, as well as new enabling technology standards. This is an ongoing evolution, like everything else with technology.

If application integration is a critical success factor for most enterprises today, then the approaches and technologies leveraged within these problem domains should have some common features that will make the implementation of application integration technology successful. Indeed, we see common patterns within most strategic implementations of application integration technology, including transformation and routing, transaction control, information management, and metadata management. These tactical components may extend well beyond a single product, but have more to do with the requirements driving the selection of the solutions or technologies than the needs of the existing programs and systems.

Within many other types of technologies is a common set of patterns that distinguishes that technology as unique and of high value. These patterns provide discipline, and repeatable solutions allow us to approach each application integration problem domain with ease.

Repeatable solutions require knowledge of implementation strategies. To this end, it's a logical conclusion that a set of policies will provide those looking to implement application integration within their enterprise with rules to the game, or a manifesto.

The goal of this manifesto is not to create static rules and regulations governing application integration solutions, but to provide a set of solution patterns that are applicable to the application integration problem, be they complex or simplistic. While some patterns will bring value to your particular problem domain, other won't have the same impact. However, you must also consider issues you'll have to deal with in the future and look at application integration for what it is: strategic infrastructure.

Please note that this manifesto is independent of standards such as ebXML, XML, JCA, and JMS, instead focusing on the core functionality. How you implement the technology in your organization, including enabling technology and standards, will be up to you and, indeed, will change over time. This manifesto is a long-term set of policies that are independent of technology and standards.

As part of this manifesto, we will consider some features or patterns as mandatory, something that you really should have in your application integration solution stack to meet your current requirements as well as requirements that will emerge in the future. It's important that you understand this, or you will have the ungodly task of ripping out infrastructure and interfaces, and rebuilding them using another set of technologies. In other words, it's better to make sure your solution set of choice lives up to your expectations now and into the future. Hence, they must live up to the manifesto.