Tuesday, March 08, 2005

EAI on the UI level instead of middleware or database level (Computerworld)

Base: sales force automation system from application service provider Salesforce.com Inc.

UI-Integration Tool: Above All Studio - enables semitechnical users to map functions.

Rather than go into one application, write down a number, then key that into a second application, you can integrate that into one screen that looks like a single application but with the underlying applications still there. That's different from simple data integration in which databases share data. User interface integration implies integration of functionality as well as data.

Such integration can be achieved with a variety of technologies, including the following:
- A services assembly and orchestration product like Above All Studio.
- An interface-reuse technology, such as a programmatic interface server like Jacada Ltd.'s Fusion, which developers can use to create an interface that can input or retrieve data from underlying applications, or Corizon's User Process Management software, which assembles new interfaces from bits of existing ones.
- Rich-client technology, such as products from Nexaweb Technologies Inc., JackBe Corp. or Macromedia Inc.
- Interactive portlets in a portal, like IBM's WebSphere Portal or Plumtree Software Inc.'s portal product.