Difference between fully integrated vs loosely integrated enterprise-:

[shivajikobardan]

Homework Statement

fully integrated vs loosely integrated enterprise differences

Relevant Equations

NA

I have been banging my head on the wall to find the difference between these two online. I have found only 1 resource which seems bs to me.
here it is..
https://ioesolutions.esign.com.np/notes/text-notes-show/Enterprise-Management-System
can you help me understanding what these two terms essentially mean? is this loose coupling and tight coupling stuff? or what is this?

 

[PeroK]

It's difficult to provide a precise definition for these terms, as what defines tight integration is as much about marketing as anything else.

At one extreme, you could have two sets of application functionality built into the same software from the design stage, sharing code and data structures. That's about as tight as it gets. But, of course, the problem is that the more functionality you pull into your enterprise the harder and less desirable that architecture becomes.

The next level of integration might be a formal API (application-programming interface), where the packages are separate, with their own code and data, but communicate using a "real-time" API.

Next might be communication using offline messaging interfaces. Perhaps using an intermediary messaging engine.

Finally, there might be user interface, in the sense that one system outputs data on an email (or otherwise) for an end-user to re-enter into the second system. This is not necessarily a bad solution in cases where interfaces are rare and complicated.

If you have an "enterprise", then the integration between all the software packages that are your responsibility will fit into these broad categories.

That said, things are complicated by the fact that you may have interfaces to customers and suppliers systems as well as between your own.

 

[pbuk]

Bear in mind that integration in the context of an enterprise (which is what you asked about) is a completely different concept to integration in the context of an enterprise management system (which is what you meant to ask about).

Given this, then clearly a loosely integrated EMS is one that is integrated more loosely than a fully integrated one. Any more than that is as @PeroK says just marketing speak.