Buzzword: “EII”

Enterprise Information Integration is a hybrid of service oriented architecture (SOA), enterprise application integration (EAI), virtual data integration, and physical data integration, with a little meta-data management thrown in for kicks.  The concept is to throw a layer on top of physical data storage, in order to provide a single interface to end users or other applications. (Wikipedia entry)

This layer generally includes interfaces into physical data stores, message buses, and other sources of data, with a meta data component to tie it all together.  A conceptual data layer is then defined which is modeled based on the consumer desired view of the world.  The final piece is the interface methods for end users or applications to access the conceptual information view.

That’s the technical view of EII, but the real business benefit is in providing real or near-real-time access to business information without having to navigate the underlying data stores.  The value is realized on two levels:

1. Integration of data elements across disparate systems - this is the grunt work associated with mapping a customer name between two systems when one stores the name in a single field and the other stores it in three separate fields (First, Middle, Last)
2. Providing contextual understanding of information - this is where the meta-data comes into play, by providing the end user with background and additional meaning to the information

Of course there are a number of companies claiming to provide a complete EII solution, but in my mind a true EII solution is too broad for any one product.  It should be treated as a business solution by starting with the benefits and working back to the appropriate technologies required to deliver those benefits in the most cost effective manner possible.

This entry was posted on 21. May 2008 at 15:28 and is filed under Industry Buzzwords. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.