Enterprise Application Integration from the Point of View of Agent Paradigm

Abstract

The agent paradigm in general underlines the interaction phenomenon in a collaborative organization while respecting the autonomy and self-interested features of individual components. Relevant use of the agent paradigm will be one of the key factors to success in application integration projects in the near future. This chapter describes the basic notions of intelligent agents and multiagent systems, and proposes possible types of their application to enterprise integration. The agent-based approaches to enterprise application integration are considered from three points of view: (a) using an agent as a wrapper of applications or services, (b) constructing a multiagent organization within which agents are interacting and providing emergent solutions to enterprise problems, and (c) using the agent as an intelligent handler of heterogeneous data resources in an open environment.