Abstract
Data integration technologies underwent a series of evolutions. The move started by earlier attempts of integration within databases management systems. The need for timely and accurate information to fuel the business needs has always been central to the objectives of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) investments. However, in recent years technological developments, the growth in the availability and use of hardware and software to meet every business need together with the emergence of new business models, global business and competitive strategies, and the need for collaboration and strategic alliances have led to the utilisation of a host of disparate information systems within organisations. It is common in today's organisation to find more than one form of data integration technology used together, sometimes with overlapping functionalities between these data integration tools and other Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) tools. Subsequently, it becomes more important to understand the differences and similarities between these data integration tools in order to help build a consolidated view of the corporate data. The paper will also address the impact of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) on the future of data integration.