"This book provides a detailed analysis of the important strategies for integrating IT systems into fields such as e-business and customer-relationship management. It supplies readers with a comprehensive survey of existing enterprise architecture and integration approaches, and presents case studies that illustrate best practices, describing innovative methods, tools, and architectures with which organizations can systematically achieve enterprise integration"--Provided by publisher.

Learn to utilize today's hottest EAI technologies to ensure interoperability across your organization What exactly is enterprise application integration (EAI)? What makes this $300 million market so hot that it's expected to grow to $6.5 billion in the next two years? How do you apply it in the real world? Whether you're an IT professional or systems architect, business manager or software developer, if you're looking into EAI as a solution for unifying applications and systems across the enterprise, then the answers are in this book.You'll find a complete and unbiased survey of the different technologies, architectures, and approaches available for EAI implementations, including pros and cons, clear explanations of all concepts, and first-rate guidance on how to choose the best EAI strategy for your company. The authors draw on their pioneering work with early implementations to show you how to: * Define your specific integration problem in a useful form that enables a real solution * Develop your own EAI architecture and ensure interoperability of legacy, stovepipe, COTS, client-server and modern technology applications * Choose the best among messaging architecture, object architecture, and transaction architecture * Work with the best implementation technologies, including Microsoft's COM+, the OMG's CORBA, and Sun's EJB * Utilize the proven Secure Application Integration Methodology (SAIM) Wiley Tech Briefs Focused on the needs of the corporate IT and business manager, the Tech Briefs series provides in-depth information on a new or emerging technology, solutions, and vendor offerings available in the marketplace. With their accessible approach, these books will help you get quickly up-to-speed on a topic so that you can effectively compete, grow, and better serve your customers.

The enterprise architecture methods of enterprise engineering as described in this book enable business experts and IT experts together to identify reusable business activities, processes and integrated databases. Three main sections cover enterprise architecture for managers, methodology, and integration technologies.

Architectures for Enterprise Integration describes the latest methods to guide enterprises and consultants, managers and technical personnel through a complete life-cycle of enterprise development. This book is based on the findings of the IFIP/IFAC Task Force and presents the state-of-the-art in enterprise architecture. This book is essential reading for all practising engineers and researchers in manufacturing and engineering management with special interest for those involved in CIM and Enterprise Modelling and Integration.

An expert guide to solving real business problems using components This groundbreaking book gets developers up to speed on Enterprise JavaBeans, CORBA components, and other cutting edge technologies that are making it easier and cheaper than ever for companies to integrate all of their applications into unified systems to support corporate decision-making. Fred Cummins presents an overview of the integration architecture and then dives right into the details, including communications messaging techniques for integrating application components, the "publish and subscribe" mechanism for linking components and monitoring business activities, using "adapters" to integrate applications, integrating Web services, work-flow management, and he also supplies proven code solutions for an array of problems associated with integrating packaged and custom applications across the enterprise. Companion Web site features source code and updates on the EAI architecture and underlying technologies.

At the foundation of today's leading-edge manufacturing companies is a common vision for virtual, distributed enterprise in an agile environment where organizations can swiftly and cost-effectively bring products from concept to production - and respond dynamically to changes in customer and market requirements. Totally Integrated Enterprises: A Framework and Methodology for Business and Technology Improvement provides a framework and a methodology for understanding and mapping current enterprise configurations as well as for designing the revised architecture needed for the totally integrated enterprise. It also helps you select the MRPII, MES, APS, SCM, or ERP software most appropriate for your needs and for achieving total enterprise integration. MRPII, MES, APS, SCM, and ERP. Without a strategic direction it is just alphabet soup. How do you determine what is best for your organization? Which software system is most appropriate to your needs? Courses, classes, seminars, and experts galore are available to help you learn and implement the fine details of every value-add, cost-saving, customer-pleasing, quality-improving, buzzword-compliant business initiative you have ever heard of, and many that you haven't. What has been missing is a way to tie them together. Until now. Totally Integrated Enterprises: A Framework and a Methodology for Business and Technology Improvement gives you a high-level enterprise architecture that makes the implementation of best practices and technologies - both existing and emergent - manageable. This book shows you how to: Improve your product and process integration, as well as develop and deliver new products within a virtual enterprise Incorporate business strategies and functions to drive product design and manufacturing requirements, operations, and post-production activities Integrate designers, manufacturers, and suppliers to operate as a virtual enterprise Create, staff, and empower integrated product teams resulting in higher quality products Communicate enterprise information to and from every stakeholder in the virtual enterprise in real or near-real time Manage production among facilities and exchange production data and status information as a routine basis of business Acquisitions and mergers have left many enterprises with a legacy of varied cultures, resources, and processes that must be reshaped into a single, integrated whole. Increasing pressures from global competition force enterprises to become cost-effective, high-quality providers to traditional customers and push them to develop new markets and product lines. Nearly every enterprise needs to make the transition to a globally interdependent business paradigm. Totally Integrated Enterprises: A Framework and Methodology for Business and Technology Improvement gives you the key definitions that allow you to understand and communicate with vendors, consultants, and experts in the field. Using the techniques in this book you will see the results so often promised - but not realized - from technology.

Enterprise Architects, in their endeavor to achieve Enterprise Integration, have limited guidance on how best to use Enterprise Models and Modeling Tools to support their practice. It is widely recognized that the practice of engineering enterprises needs a number of models, but how to maintain the relation between these models with ease is still a problem. Model interoperability is an issue on multiople counts: - How to interchange models between enterprise modeling tools? - How to maintain the interdependencies between models - whether they describe the enterprise on the same level (but from different points of view), or from the same point of view (but on different levels of abstraction and granularity)? - How to maintain a coherent and evolving set of enterprise models in support onf continuous change processes? - How to use and reuse enterprise models as a knowledge resource? The answers to these questions are of great importance to anyone who is implementing ISO9001:2000 requirements, whether through using enterprise architecture practice or not - although it can be argued that a well executed architecture practice should satisfy ISO9001 without additional effort. This volume attacks the problem on three fronts: 1. Authors working in international standardisation and tool development as well as in enterprise modeling research present the latest developments in semantic integration; 2. Authors who are practitioners of, or conducting active research in, enterprise architecting methodologies give an account on the latest developments and strategic directions in architecture frameworks and methodologies; 3. Authors who use or develop information integration infrastructures present best practice and future trends of this aspect of enterprise integration. Chapters of this book include contributions to the International Conference on Enterprise Integration and Modelling Technology (ICEIMT'04), and those presented at the Design of Information Infrastructure Systems for Manufacturing (DIISM'04) Workshop. While DIISM is traditionally oriented at supporting manufacturing practice, the results have a far greater domain of applicability.