Common Data Model & API Factory

Enterprise architects are embracing an 'API Factory' approach based on Common Data Model (CDM) to achieve a comprehensive integration framework for their organizations.

To support the Common Data Model (CDM) approach, there is a need to capture its definition, create, update, catalogue APIs supporting the CDM, and integration business requirements. Many of these APIs are expected to be composite APIs covering data from multiple systems (COTS, GOTS, legacy, sensory data, & streaming data).

The APIs are expected to be REST APIs or OData APIs or Webservices while data exchange formats are JSON, SOAP, OAGIS, and more. Newer versions of some COTS products are supporting REST or OData APIs OOTB. However, even to access data from a single COTS system, the business needs necessitates traversal of multiple objects. Its indeed a tough task to achieve in practice with an OOTB API. In addition, REST or OData APIs shipped with the COTS product work with its OOTB object model. However, many reasonably sized implementations require extensions of the OOTB model, and updates to its OOTB APIs. To address these challenges, IT departments have to have programmers code and maintain the APIs required to implement the CDM approach, making it a laborious and expensive approach.