Reopening Integration

Generic Integration isn't always a value-add

Bloatware For years, software producers have been creating enormous toolkits that combine a dogsled, a V-8 engine, thirty acres of rainforest, and waterskis along with some other vaguely useful items. Not everyone needs all of it, and frequently the only genuine 'value-add' is the value of confusion.
Opening communications, exposing dependencies While it may take more work to track dependencies yourself, breaking these integrated packages into smaller parts means that you can throw away the parts you don't need - maybe even pay less someday. Using XML for the communications between parts may not always be appropriate, but where it is, it can let you pick and choose your parts and build your own interfaces.
'Best of Breed' returns While vendors have tried to use tight integration to bolster weak products with stronger ones, using an open format for connecting parts makes it possible to ignore such marketing-driven connections in favor of approaches that more closely resemble "the right tool for the job."