Connecting different systems is just one part of an integration task. Any type of connection is done for a purpose, and the main purpose of integrating systems is to get them to work together as a part of a single process. In a sense, all integration tasks are based on process integration. To get two or more systems to work together, one also needs to enable the flow of information from one system to another.

Integration can be data-focused when the data that belongs to one system is made available to another system. It can be done by moving the data or providing shared access to the data. This type of integration is usually called data integration. Another term that is often used in this regard is Enterprise Information Integration (EII). We are going to discuss data integration in Chapter 10, Data Exchange Patterns.

If the information is sent from one system to another in order to initiate an action by the means of another application, this is usually called...