Abstract
M.Comm.
EAI has been the buzz word in the Information Technology (IT) industry for the past
few years. Several companies had attempted to introduce EAI — some with more
success than others. The most difficult part of EAI projects is to determine the
advantages of EAI and then to compile the advantages into a business case so that
management can approve the implementation.
The basic architecture of EAI is a piece of middleware that forms a hub from which
the different applications hang off. Adapters are designed that retrieve the data from
the application and send it via a messaging layer over the network to the middleware.
Middleware consists of the following components:
a message layer that receives and send messages;
a business process tool;
a formatter that formats the messages;
a rules engine that determines what must be done with the message and
where it must be send to.
The message is then send over the network via the messaging layer, to the adapter
of the receiving application. This adapter enters the data into the application. The implementation project is very complex and must be managed by a qualified
Project Manager. It is important to note that more time is spend during the design
and plan phases of an EAI project, than with a software development project.
There are several advantages that can be realised by implementing EAI of which the
most important are the saving of costs and the availability of data where it is required.
Data is entered only once and this reduces the amount of errors that occur in the
data.
Business cases form an integral part of decision making in companies but are very
often used incorrectly. A business case is firstly used to obtain approval for the
implementation of an idea or project. It must also be used to measure the
implementation to ensure that the business benefits stated in the business case are
realised by the project.
Another difficult issue that was encountered during the study is how to determine the
business value of IT. Many companies see it as a necessary overhead that does not
add value. A business case can be used to show to management what the business
value of IT is. Many different financial models can be used to justify a project in
financial terms. This study considered Payback Period, Net Present Value (NPV),
Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Return on Investment (ROI). IT also delivers a
huge amount of advantages that cannot be expressed in financial terms. These nonfinancial
advantages must also be shown in the business case.
The findings of the research show that it is possible to compile a business case for
the implenientation of EAI. Even if only financial benefits are taken into
consideration, it is cheaper to implement EAI than to implement Point-to-Point
Integration. It is also shown that positive ROI's and NPV's on EAI implementations
exist. This study looked at the EAI architecture and what is involved in implementing EAI in
the company. The data was obtained by doing a literature study on EAI and
business cases. There is not a lot of information on these two subjects in printed
format and therefore most of the information was obtained from the Internet.