Some of the main challenges associated with enterprise application integration are as follows:

• Networks are slow and unreliable: Enterprise integration applications need to transfer data from one application to another. These applications may reside in different states, countries, or continents. In such situations, data needs to be transferred through a LAN or a WAN, or a combination of both. Transferring data through diverse network topologies and protocols introduces significant transmission delays and other types of interruptions that become a stumbling block in enterprise application integration.
• Heterogeneous application platforms: While integrating multiple applications, it is important to keep in mind that each application will have its own platform and operating system. To ensure seamless integration between such applications, it is vital to ensure that data transfer between applications happens in a format that can be understood by all the applications that are involved. For this to happen, there should be a middleware component that converts data into a generic format understandable by all the applications.
• Application updates and upgrades: Applications that are integrated will constantly keep getting upgraded due to system updates. In some situations, some system upgrades will introduce drastic changes in the overall application. This may impact all other applications that are involved in the integration. It is important for integration solutions to minimize dependencies between various applications that are part of the integration. One of the ways to achieve this is by ensuring loose coupling between the applications.
• Security: Certain applications in domains such as healthcare and insurance are bound by stringent security policies and frameworks. If such applications are involved in the integration process, it is important to adhere to the security guidelines. Otherwise, it will lead to the violation of legal guidelines.

Some of the key techniques that are used to overcome the aforementioned challenges are the following:

Let's discuss these techniques briefly.