1. home
  2. Related Items
  3. Model Driven Architecture

Model Driven Architecture

MDA® supports evolving standards in application domains as enterprise resource planning software; standards that are tailored to the needs of these organizations, yet need to survive changes in technology and the proliferation of different kinds of middleware. The Model Driven Architecture® addresses the complete life cycle of designing, deploying, integrating, and managing applications as well as data using open standards. MDA-based standards enable organizations to integrate whatever they already have in place with whatever they build today and whatever they build tomorrow.

Building on a Solid Foundation
MDA represents a significant-though evolutionary-step forward. It is built on the solid foundation of well-established OMG standards, including: Unified Modeling Language™ (UML®), XML Metadata Interchange (XMI™), the standard for storing and exchanging models using XML.

The MDA separates the fundamental logic behind a specification from the specifics of the particular middleware that implements it. This allows rapid development and delivery of new interoperability specifications that use new deployment technologies but are based on proven, tested business models. Organizations can use MDA to meet the integration challenges posed by new platforms, while preserving their investments in existing business logic based on existing platforms.

MDA addresses the challenges of today's highly networked, constantly changing systems environment, providing an architecture that assures:
  • Portability, increasing application re-use and reducing the cost and complexity of application development and management, now and into the future.
  • Cross-platform Interoperability, using rigorous methods to guarantee that standards based on multiple implementation technologies all implement identical business functions.
  • Platform Independence, greatly reducing the time, cost and complexity associated with re-targeting applications for different platforms-including those yet to be introduced.
  • Domain Specificity, through Domain-specific models that enable rapid implementation of new, industry-specific applications over diverse platforms.
  • Productivity, by allowing developers, designers and system administrators to use languages and concepts they are comfortable with, while allowing seamless communication and integration across the teams.

Bottom-line Benefits
The benefits of MDA are significant-to business leaders and developers alike:
  • Reduced cost throughout the application life-cycle
  • Reduced development time for new applications
  • Improved application quality
  • Increased return on technology investments
  • Rapid inclusion of emerging technology benefits into their existing systems

MDA provides a solid framework that frees system infrastructures to evolve in response to a never-ending parade of platforms, while preserving and leveraging existing technology investments. It enables system integration strategies that are better, faster and cheaper.