Enterprise Information Integration - XML to the Rescue!

The database field has been struggling with the data integration
problem since the early 1980's. We've named and renamed the problem -
heterogeneous distributed databases, multi-databases, federated
databases, mediator systems, and now enterprise information
integration systems - but we haven't solved the problem. Along the
way, we've tried data model after data model - functional, relational,
object-oriented, logical, semi-structured, you name it, we've tried it
- and query language after query language to go with them - but we
still haven't solved the problem. A number of startups have died
trying, and no major software vendor has managed to hit a home run in
this area. What's going on? Is the problem too hard? Should we just
declare it impossible and give up?

In this talk, I'll explain why I believe now would be exactly the
wrong time to give up. After a brief look at history, I'll make the
case that we are finally on the verge of finding a real solution to
this problem. I'll define the enterprise information integration
problem as I see it and then explain how the XML and Web Services
revolutions that are in progress - based on SOAP, WSDL, XML Schema,
XQuery, and so on - relate to the problem and its solution. I'll
describe the path that we are on at BEA to deliver a solution, and
finally I'll leave the audience with my thoughts on open problems
where the database field, especially the "modeling crowd", can
contribute.