RS MDMCenter 2009 and EAI This document provides the details about RS MDMCenter coexistence with EAI systems and the different approaches for enterprise integration. A pro con analysis of using an EAI system with an MDM system is provided. Riversand
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RS MDMCenter and EAI 2009 Contents Master Data Management System... 5 Enterprise Application (EAI)... 5 MDM with EAI... 6 RS MDM without EAI Systems... 8 Comparison of the two approaches... 9 RS MDM... 9 MDM EAI... 10 4
Coexistence of EAI and MDM Systems RS MDMCenter and EAI 2009 The goal of MDM systems is to permeate a unified view of master data across the organization and provide a centralized system that other systems can refer or inquire to get a certified and trusted master record of entity information. Given the ubiquity of disparate systems in the enterprise, integration between systems has been the long time problem that plagues successful implementation of new systems or modifications to existing systems. Therefore, integration has been fundamental aspect of working and competing in today s fluid marketplace. Master Data Management System In the unified view of the enterprise, the single Source-of-Truth in the enterprise for master data resides with an MDM system that provides certified and consistent data to other applications. As a centralized repository, the MDM system serves as a central point for aggregation of data from multiple sources in various formats and syndication of data to multiple destinations in the formats required by these systems. Depending on the budget / Scope of the project, Enterprise with MDM can be implemented with or without EAI system. Enterprise Application (EAI) The goals of Enterprise Application include flexible architectures, integration with existing applications, service integration, and state-of-the-art composite application development. EAI makes applications to work together in a coordinated manner to provide value to the underlying customer. Enterprise Application can be used for two different integration purposes: 1. Data : also known as EII (Enterprise Information ). a. File Transfer b. Shared Database c. Remote Procedure Invocation d. Messaging 2. Process : Linking business processes across applications. a. Business Process Management (BPM) 5
RS MDMCenter and EAI 2009 To integrate business processes across heterogeneous applications, EAI uses business process management (BPM), a practice that models an organizational structure, defines the business processes, and shows the interactions between them. BPM is important in discovering, analyzing, and creating repeatable processes that the Enterprise effort can encode in a repeatable, value added process. EAI uses the results of BPM to orchestrate applications that support a business process-based workflow. Enterprise is comprised of four technical patterns: 1. Enterprise Service Bus Architecture (ESB) 2. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA): Hub-and-Spoke 3. Event Driven Architecture (EDA): Publish-Subscribe 4. Point-to-point (mesh/network) MDM with EAI If the Enterprise Application system is implemented, Bus (ESB) or Hub (EDA) connects to MDM through a set of adapters (also referred to as connectors). These are programs that know how to interact between an underlying business application & MDM system. The adapter could reside in the same process space as the bus/hub or execute in a remote location and interact with the hub/bus through service calls (SOA). To avoid every adapter having to convert Master Data to/from every other applications' formats, EAI systems usually stipulate an application-independent (or common) data format. The EAI system usually provides a data transformation service as well to help convert between application-specific and common formats. This is done in two steps: the adapter converts information from the application's format to the bus's common format. Then, semantic transformations are applied on this (converting zip codes to city names, splitting/merging objects from one application into objects in the other applications, and so on). 6
RS MDMCenter and EAI 2009 Mapping Engine (RS MDM to EAI) EAI System CRM RS MDM Services Data SCM RS MDM Data Repository Process ERP Web Site Fig. 1: RS MDM with EAI Systems When used for process integration, the EAI system also provides transactional consistency across applications by executing all integration operations across all applications in a single overarching distributed transaction (using two-phase commit protocols or compensating transactions). 7
RS MDM without EAI Systems RS MDMCenter and EAI 2009 If an EAI system does not currently exist in the Enterprise, Master Data can be done through the MDM Services. RS MDMCenter provides consolidated and normalized master data to other applications (CRM, SCM, EAP, etc) in the enterprise. If needed, process integration can managed using the BPM system. Mapping Engine (RS MDM to External System) RS MDM Services RS MDM Adapters Data CRM SCM RS MDM Data Repository Process ERP Web Site Through its Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), RS MDMCenter provides out-of-box generic data connection through web services calls. Master Data is made available in the format of exposed object models or standard XML (SOAP). Connectors to common applications (SAP, Oracle etc) are also provided. Publish-Subscribe model (EDA) is also supported. Applications can subscribe to Master Data transactions and MDMCenter will publish subscribed content to proper subscribers. Security/Access Control is another functionality provided by Riversand MDM solution. Extensive systemto-system, entity-to-entity, attribute-to-attribute mapping are utilized to administrate data integration. External applications control data flow through comprehensive integration profiles. 8
RS MDMCenter and EAI 2009 Comparison of the two approaches Each type of integration approach has its own benefits and drawbacks. Below is the comparison chart between two approaches. RS MDM integration with EAI RS MDM integration EAI System Required Yes No Support Data Yes Yes Common Data Format Yes Yes Support Data Transformation Yes Yes Data transferred outside MDM Yes No Amount of Data Transferred High Low Support Publish/Subscribe Model Yes Yes Security / Access Control Yes Yes SOA Architecture Support Yes Yes EDA Architecture Support Yes Yes Process Across Apps Yes No Cost High Low From the chart above, we can see the pros and cons of these two approaches: RS MDM Pros: o Supports MDM administered Business Process through workflow. 9
RS MDMCenter and EAI 2009 o Ability to enforce MDM policies at the integration point o Less data transferred over the network due to distribution and transformation done in MDM. o Lower hardware & network infrastructure cost. o Lower software cost. o Lower administration cost. o Lower staff and training cost. Cons o Lack of full support of process integration across different applications at enterprise level. MDM EAI Pros: o Supports integration of business processes across enterprise applications o Provides enterprises ability to integrate between non MDM systems with the same infrastructure Cons: o Higher volume of data transferred over the network due to distribution and transformation done in EAI. All the data has to be transferred out of MDM to EAI before they can be integrated to other applications. o Higher hardware & network infrastructure cost due to EAI implementation. o Higher software cost due to EAI implementation. o Higher administration cost due to due to EAI implementation. o Higher staff and training cost due to EAI implementation. 10