Editing Enterprise application integration (section)

=== Improving connectivity ===
If integration is applied without following a structured EAI approach, [[point-to-point connection]]s grow across an organization. Dependencies are added on an impromptu basis, resulting in a complex structure that is difficult to maintain. This is commonly referred to as spaghetti, an allusion to the programming equivalent of [[spaghetti code]].

For example, the number of connections needed to have fully meshed point-to-point connections, with {{mvar|n}} points, is given by <math>\tbinom n 2 = \tfrac{n(n-1)}{2}</math> (see [[binomial coefficient]]). Thus, for ten applications to be fully integrated point-to-point, <math>\tfrac{10\times9}{2} = 45</math> point-to-point connections are needed, following a [[quadratic growth]] pattern.

However, the number of connections within organizations does not necessarily grow according to the square of the number of points. In general, the number of connections to any point is only limited by the number of other points in an organization, but can be significantly smaller in principle. EAI can also increase coupling between systems and therefore increase management overhead and costs.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

EAI is not just about sharing data between applications but also focuses on sharing both business data and business processes. A [[middleware analyst]] attending to EAI will often look at the [[system of systems]].{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}