Enterprise service bus (ESB) software provides an architecture for application interaction. These solutions provide processes, protocols, and rules to facilitate secure data transfers and manage service-oriented applications. These tools can add new data and capabilities to existing enterprise applications. Companies use ESB tools to route messages between services, control deployments, and monitor exchanges between services. There is some crossover between ESB tools and iPaaS solutions, but ESB tools do not work for the same systems. iPaaS works to connect applications available on the public cloud, while ESB tools are typically used for internal data transfers and updates.
To qualify for inclusion in the Enterprise Service Bus category, a product must:
Integrate data and information between complex IT systems
Help manage IT system configuration
Monitor and control deployments or messages between IT systems
Delegate an enterprise message model for integration requirements