What is the use of Integration Hub in IICS with example ?

The Integration Hub in Informatica Intelligent Cloud Services (IICS) is a middleware component that enables event-driven integration. It allows systems to communicate by publishing and subscribing to events, facilitating real-time or near-real-time data workflows. This decouples systems, enabling scalable and flexible integrations.

Key Use of Integration Hub:

1. Event-Driven Architecture: Triggers downstream processes when specific events occur (e.g., database changes).
2. Pub-Sub Model: Systems publish events (e.g., "New Order Created"), and subscribers (e.g., inventory updates) act on those events.
3. Orchestration: Coordinates multiple integration tasks across hybrid environments.

Simple Example with Database Reference

Scenario: Automatically update inventory when a new order is inserted into an Orders table.

Components:

1. Source Database: Orders table (e.g., PostgreSQL).
2. Target Database: Inventory table (e.g., Snowflake).
3. IICS Tools:
4. • Data Integration (CDC): Monitors the Orders table for new inserts.
   • Integration Hub: Publishes/subscribes to the "NewOrder" event.
   • Data Integration Task: Updates inventory in the target database.

Step-by-Step Workflow:

1. Detect Database Changes (CDC):

• Configure a CDC (Change Data Capture) task in IICS to monitor the Orders table.
• When a new order is inserted, the CDC task captures the change (e.g., OrderID=1001, ProductID=5, Quantity=2).

2. Publish Event to Integration Hub:

• The CDC task publishes a "NewOrder" event to the Integration Hub. The event payload includes: json
  {
  "OrderID": 1001,
  "ProductID": 5,
  "Quantity": 2
  }

3. Subscribe to the Event:

• A Data Integration Task (e.g., an inventory updater) subscribes to the "NewOrder" event in the Integration Hub.

4. Execute Downstream Action:

• When the Integration Hub receives the "NewOrder" event, it triggers the subscriber task.
• The task runs a mapping to decrement inventory in the Inventory table:
  Query:
  UPDATE Inventory
  SET Stock = Stock - 2
  WHERE ProductID = 5;

Visual Workflow:

Benefits:

1. Real-Time Processing: Inventory updates happen instantly after an order is placed.
2. Decoupling: The Orders and Inventory systems don’t need direct connections.
3. Scalability: Add more subscribers (e.g., email notifications, analytics) without disrupting existing workflows.

Tools Used:

• IICS Data Integration: For CDC and inventory update tasks.
• IICS Integration Hub: For event routing.
• Databases: Any supported by IICS (e.g., Oracle, SQL Server, Snowflake).

This example illustrates how the Integration Hub bridges database changes with automated actions, enabling agile, event-driven workflows.