Integration Approaches - part 2

In my previous post I mentioned that there were essentially 3 integration approaches and discussed the first one - physical data integration - in depth. I will continue with the second type of integration approach in this post.

The second approach to integration is virtual. I have already addressed what this approach is all about while discussing the concepts of CRM mash-ups and therefore I'll not delve too much further with regards to this approach. This type of integration is a relatively new integration approach that is made possible through web technologies and URL-addressable forms.

This approach should therefore be used when linking to another application that can be accessed via a URL and linked in a context sensitive manner to the account, contact, etc. entity being viewed. It is the obvious (and perhaps only) choice of integration when integrating to a web page somewhere on the internet as illustrated by the Google map sample. However it is also a valid option as an alternative to the physical data integration approach especially when the volume and size of data being integrated to is large. As a rule of thumb, if none of the requirements for physical data integration exist (as listed in my former post) and the option for this virtual type is available (i.e. the application/web page is URL-addressable), then this type of virtual integration should be strongly considered as a method of application integration.

I'll address the third type of integration approach in my next post.