Time and costs needed to integrate the systems increase exponentially when adding additional subsystems.
[9] This approach incorporates the requirements of each lifecycle stage of the industrial asset when integrating systems and subsystems.
[10] The EAI system usually provides a data transformation service as well to help convert between application-specific and common formats.
Some of these challenges include lack of trust and willingness to share data with other companies, unwillingness to outsource various operations to a third party, lack of clear communication and responsibilities, disagreement from partners on where functionality should reside, high cost of integration, difficulty finding good talents, data silos, and common API standards.
[11] These challenges result in creating hurdles that "prevent or slow down business systems integration within and among companies".
[12] Clear communication and simplified information exchange are key elements in building long term system integrations that can support business requirements.
For out-of-date, legacy systems, different forms of integration offer the ability to enable real-time data sharing.