Federated architecture

This is an approach to the coordinated sharing and exchange of information which is organized by models, which are describing common concepts and behavior.

"[1] The pattern's intention is to provide the highest possible autonomy in order to reduce the complexity, which at the same time shall increase what is called agility.

Federated architecture is expected to deliver high flexibility and agility among independently cooperating components and at the same time reduces complexity significantly.

The pattern is applicable for decoupling and decentralization projects, heterogeneous environments, where a central one-fits-all approach cannot be applied and will not solve the problem of constantly changing underlying realities.

Syndication is a kind of central authority being able to interpret the federated model and compile meaningful information out of it.

A typical example is demand planning of a supply chain or a stock exchange order book, where different participants have agreed on a standard protocol.

Large and complex organizations with independent lines of business (LOBs) federate the administrative and IT functions among several local authorities.

LOBs have full autonomy to develop standards for applications and infrastructure and to define enterprise architectures.