EnterpriseApplication Integration EAI is very involved and complex, and incorporates every level of an enterprise system in its architecture, hardware, software and processes. Business Process Integration (BPI): When integrating business processes, a corporation must define, enable and manage the processes for the exchange of enterprise information among diverse business systems. This allows organizations to streamline operations, reduce costs and improve responsiveness to customer demands. Application Integration: At this level of integration, the goal is to bring data or a function from one application together with that of another application that together provide near real-time integration. Data Integration: In order for both Application Integration and Business Process Integration to succeed, the integration of data and database systems must be tackled. Prior to integration, data must be identified (where it is located), cataloged, and a metadata model must be built (a master guide for various data stores). Once these three steps are finished, data can then be shared/distributed across database systems. Standards of Integration: Standards of Integration are those that promote the sharing and distribution of information and business data ñ standards that are at the core of Enterprise Application Integration. Platform Integration: To complete the system integration, the underlying architecture, software and hardware, the separate needs of the heterogeneous network must be integrated. Platform Integration deals with the processes and tools that are required to allow these systems to communicate, both optimally and securely, so data can be passed through different applications without difficulty.