The goal of data integration is simple: to let one system exchange information with another, such as two banking systems joined by a merger. However, the reality is more complex for IT managers. The technology landscape is littered with failed promises based on expensive software, custom projects to build connectors for data exchange and a litany of technologies that haven’t done the job.
An application router is an emerging alternative to using expensive, customized software for data integration. This appliance serves as a translation engine that connects all sorts of legacy systems, offering a cost-effective way of joining applications.
The best way to cut data-integration costs is by reducing the complexity of the products used. Because most integration projects are point-to-point, application routers simply can be dropped between the points.
Much like a multi-protocol router, an application router appliance can be placed in a network where data needs to be exchanged, such as between a database that speaks SQL and an ERP system that speaks XML. The router serves as the translator between the two systems, operating at the network layer so that database information, files and other relevant business data can be seamlessly directed into the correct repositories.
Application routers are being used by Fortune 500 companies to solve integration challenges. The products generally consist of design-time software, a hardware appliance and a Web-based portal. They perform five main functions:
Connectivity: Connects to flat-files, XML files, databases, Web Services, EDI, MQ Series and major applications.
Data transformation: Includes a full runtime and design environment to resolve mismatched data between source and target systems.
Content-based routing: Enables IT managers to graphically model the conditions for routing data from source systems to one or more target systems.
Monitoring: Lets IT managers monitor the complete history of transactions processed by the application router, and health of the router’s components.
Alert notifications: Sends proactive error notifications via e-mail or SNMP traps for data and connectivity errors.
A company can use an application router to connect two systems that need to exchange data. On a wider scale, corporations can build application data network fabric that connects data housed at far-flung offices with systems at headquarters or centralized data centers.
The combination of hardware and software that makes up an application router offers a self-contained option for IT departments that have ongoing data integration woes they can’t solve without another large investment. This approach can save IT money in several ways: through technological simplicity; rapid implementation times; manageability advantages; operational vs. capital costs; and an overall low total cost of ownership (TCO).
When compared with traditional enterprise-integration software technologies and custom programming options, an application router reduces upfront development costs and ongoing management fees that software companies often charge.
And it is not an all-or-nothing proposition. An application router can co-exist with other ongoing integration projects, augmenting existing products that companies already have invested in. The beauty of this technological development lies in its simplicity.
Meyer is president and CEO of Cast Iron Systems. He can be reached at fred.meyer@castironsys.com.
