Infrastructure for Web-based application integration

Over the last couple of years application integration has taken a central position in the business world. Application integration deals with integrating computing environments within and between companies and depends on connectivity provided by the intranet and Internet respectively. Application integration is typically referred to as EAI (e-business application integration). The article sketches first the evolution of business computing and EAI. The major elements of a modern EAI technology, are the focus of the discussion, with special attention to Web based application integration. Finally, the article points to some interesting research topics.