Appendix C. Knowledge-Oriented Middleware

While middleware underlies application integration, the technology itself is still fairly primitive and without true intelligence. Organizations can connect disparate systems and applications, but developers must still customize the application integration technology, or perhaps the applications themselves, to meet specific requirements of businesses, applications, and systems.

Knowledge-Oriented Middleware (KOM) resolves this problem. KOM not only allows developers to link various systems, it also understands the features and the context of the applications it is connecting, thus eliminating programming requirements. Moreover, KOM is created to understand a particular vertical sector; it provides "canned" information defining the connection between the systems and industry-specific interfaces. It also contains industry-specific detail as to how the information moves throughout an enterprise, in an EAI scenario, or between enterprises in a B2B integration scenario. KOM also defines how applications interact with external resources, enabling businesses to leverage their existing resources and to take advantage of new technologies.