(pronounced as separate letters) Short for event-driven architecture, an enterprise software infrastructure model in which events trigger the real-time exchange of messages between independent software applications. EDA relies on an event-processing agent that detects events across an enterprise and, using a push approach, notifies all of the other software applications that need to be notified of the change in data, all at the same time. For example: the e-commerce Web site of an enterprise receives an order for a product, completing a business event. An event agent detects this transaction and simultaneously notifies all other applications in the enterprise that need to know about the order, which can include such aspects as an inventory database, accounts receivable software, customer service applications, marketing and advertising monitors, and shipping software.
This method is different than more traditional methods of enterprise communication in which events are compiled in batches and then communicated across the enterprise at periodic intervals.
