Complex business processes usually include software applications and other IT systems from different vendors. Not surprisingly, most such systems were not designed to exchange electronic documents and data with each other. So transferring and combining data from these systems as part of a larger business process requires overcoming differences in data formats and document structures.

While traditional data transformation and translation products can help bridge system-to-system process gaps, this piecemeal approach can be time-consuming and expensive. In fact, translating between various combinations of industry-specific and application-specific data formats and meanings can comprise as much as 70% of the cost of complex integration projects.