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 EAI/MOM EAI (enterprise application integration) is what it sounds like; application integration. EAI emerged from MOM (message oriented middle ware) offerings, which provided messaging between applications. EAI vendors have built a toolset on top of MOM’s that facilitate matching, sequencing, transformation within a user friendly interface. Enterprise Application Integration vendors have gone through some hard times due to slow adoption of application integration standards. The lack of integration standards forced EAI vendors to build and maintain expensive proprietary application connectors. Although said connectors were/are a source of income, their maintenance causes significant user administration hardship. With the advent of XML, J2EE, and .Net, application providers are beginning to build their suites with native standard based connectivity. This means that EAI vendors will no longer need to develop proprietary connectors for every application they integrate with, and can concentrate on increasing tool functionality that makes application interconnectivity easier. Admittedly, EAI vendors provide a valuable service to the IT industry in the area of application integration, but are just beginning to realize their dependency on human interacting workflow. This oversight has opened up a tremendous opportunity for competitors providing more holistic EAI-Workflow combo solutions. EAI vendors have realized their oversight and are scrambling to converge on what many call BPM (business process management), which is the marriage of EAI and Workflow mentioned earlier. |