Integration layer
An integration layer is a piece of software that sits between your systems and handles the traffic between them, so each system connects to it once instead of connecting separately to every other system.
Also written: middlewareArabic: طبقة التكامل
Why it exists
Connect every system to every other and the connections grow faster than the systems do. Five systems can need ten links; ten systems can need forty-five. Past a handful, every change touches several places and nobody can say what will break.
What you get besides tidiness
One place that knows what ran, what failed and what is waiting. That visibility is usually worth more than the reduced wiring, because it is the difference between noticing a broken integration and hearing about it from a customer.
Related terms
Questions people ask
Not for two or three connections — direct links are simpler and fine. It earns its place when connections outnumber systems, or when you need one view of what is running.
Related serviceAutomation & integrations