A novel way to think of integrating data systems is to think of a public bus: The bus moves information (passengers) from multiple pickup points to multiple drop-off points, and is an incredibly efficient method of using and reusing data within the organization. Now, think of how a taxi operates.
Taxi Service
A taxi delivers passengers from one pickup point to one drop-off location, and is incredibly inefficient from an overall systems standpoint. The next person at the taxi stand waits for a taxi to arrive and will be taken to some other defined point. Imagine how inefficient it would be to operate a full-size public transportation bus like a taxi, with one passenger being delivered to a unique drop-off point!
Bus Service for Enterprises
In many cases, this is similar to the implementation of enterprise service buses (ESBs). The ESB has a modern architecture, and is still being used by some companies as multiple point-to-point integrations. Data from System A is sent to System B and never used again. If System C needs the data that traveled from A to B, the message should be standardized and then reused. Instead, too many implementations will create multiple services delivering essentially the same set of data. This is misusing your efficient architecture and using your bus as a taxi.
To avoid this problem, enterprises should consider a services lifecycle governance framework to allow services to be effectively managed. The platform creates a system of record for your enterprise SOA. It also supplies a rich set of governance capabilities enabling SOA visibility, trust, and control. Additionally, it supports service reuse by making it easy to categorize, publish, discover, and reuse services across development teams and departments. With management, the path to reuse becomes much easier.
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