For a majority of businesses, application integration is an outright failure. Most companies' computer systems are labyrinthine at best and self-destructive at worst. With the arrival of Web services, the new service-oriented middleware technology standard, and increasingly complex and challenging problem domains, it's time to take application integration to the next level.In Next Generation Application Integration distributed computing and application-integration expert David S. Linthicum describes the effect that this new generation of middleware will have on traditional application-integration efforts. Using key industry examples and case studies, Linthicum reveals the techniques and practices that are necessary to revolutionize data-sharing for any company - from sole-proprietorship to Fortune 500.In this book you'll find a thorough discussion of today's most advanced application-integration concepts, approaches, technologies, and solutions. Written with the technical manager and enterprise architect in mind, this book addresses essential application integration issues such as: * Strategies for dealing with complex problem domains * Forward-looking approaches to ensure long-term solutions that are right for your company * Techniques for implementation of new Web services middleware * Introductions to the appropriate technologies for next generation application integration * Scenarios for Web services integration * Support concepts outlined by case studies and real-world examples * Descriptions and analyses of the different types of Web service integration - standards, implementation, and enabling technology * Full analysis of Web services and integration, including the relationship between EAI and Web services * How to leverage both vertical and horizontal application-integration standards