B2B Integration : A Practical Guide to Collaborative E-commerce

4.8. Convergence of EAI and B2Bi
Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) 121
The lines between B2Bi and EAI are quickly becoming blurred.
Traditional EAI middleware has been characterized by the integration
of back-office applications and front-office activities. But many of the
traditional EAI services are also a necessity in many of today's B2Bi
models; and EAI middleware vendors have been quick to capitalize on
this fact. The entire EAI, B2Bi and enterprise software marketplace is
converging, merging and morphing at a rapid pace.
This convergence is most apparent in the latest generation of
middleware products where B2Bi and EAI software share many common
features, including:
• Data transformation;
• Use of application-specific adapters and APIs;
• Messaging;
• Intelligent routing; and
• Workflow/process management.
E-business software vendors such as IBM and BEA are combining
EAI and B2Bi services under one product. These vendors are taking the
EAI integration process to the next logical step by 'wrapping' and
publishing traditional EAI method-level components as Web services
via XML/SOAP and UDDI. As an example, IBM's WebSphere not only
provides all the method-level and transactional integration of a distributed
object application server (via EJB), but will also be able to 'wrap' the
Java Beans in a SOAP-compliant XML interface and publish the services
using UDDI to facilitate B2B communication.
Traditional ERP, SCM and CRM vendors are now developing software
solutions across the entire spectrum of the enterprise. The traditional
'silo' vendors, those who concentrate on one type of solution, will
either expand their offerings, merge with other vendors, or just disappear
from the enterprise software business altogether. The new breeds of
enterprise solutions are 'Internet-ready' with out-of-the-box Web/browser
and mobile capabilities. In addition, the software will support B2B
protocols providing seamless integration and allowing rapid deployment
into B2B marketplaces.