EII is software that combines various data sources at an enterprise level in order to support applications that present or analyze the data in new ways. EII provides a service that allows administrators, developers, and end-users to treat a broad array of data sources as if they were one large database or data service. EII is software infrastructure not an application. However, it does support the creation of applications.
EII is the industry acronym for Enterprise Information Integration. It describes the process of using data abstraction to address the data access challenges associated with data heterogeneity and data contextualization. Data is the foundation upon which the "Information Age" and critical components such as the burgeoning Web 2.0 and a future Semantic Web are being built. Uniform data access and uniform information representation are critical aspects of this journey.
