Integration Principles
As architects we often find ourselves designing solutions which bring together multiple, sometime disparate systems. These systems support different business functions, and bringing the data from these together can provide a much richer and more holistic view of the business. When considering integrating systems, my experience has taught me the following design principles that one should take into account: 1) Timing Requirements Does data need to be synched in real-time between systems, or can it be performed in a batch operation. When and how quickly do the end business users need access to information and what impact does not having this have on the business. Answering these questions help us decide whether information should be synched in batches or in real-time. 2) Synchronous vs Asynchronous Operations From an integration point of view: Synchronous processing involves initiating and completing a transaction in a single operation. Asynchronous processing involves ini...