Data Integration vs Application Integration

If you are thinking of data exchange as a model where one application sends data directly to another application, you are already in point-to-point mode and thinking about Application Integration. Here, the exchange is direct: application A sends data to application B. In this type of integration, data producers and data consumers are closely interconnected.

Data Integration is different and smarter than Application Integration because it uses an intermediary that picks up and delivers data at the appropriate time to the various applications. Forget the unmanageable intertwining of data exchanges between applications. They do not even talk to each other, they talk to a single interlocutor. With Data Integration, applications are decoupled and everything is clearly more manageable.

To summarize, these are the main differences between these two methodologies:

Application Integration	Data Integration
Point-to-point connections (coupled applications)	Intermediary connections (decoupled applications)
Essential approach when: - You need to use application capabilities - You need to exchange data in real-time with transactional commitment	Approach adoptable when: - You need only data, not application functionality - A near real-time or batch exchange is sufficient
You need to change the interfaces of the applications involved	No intervention is made in any way on the applications, which remain independent