What integration pattern should an architect recommend for moving data between ERP, financial, and a legacy shipping system to minimize throwaway code?

The recommended integration pattern for moving data between an ERP, financial systems, and a legacy shipping system, while minimizing throwaway code, is middleware. Middleware serves as an intermediary layer that facilitates communication and data transfer between different applications and systems, making it an ideal choice for this scenario.

Using middleware offers several advantages. It allows for the orchestration of data exchanges between various systems, which can be complex and involve different data formats and protocols. By decoupling the systems involved, middleware reduces the direct dependencies between them. This modular approach not only enhances maintainability but also makes it easier to update or replace one system without significantly impacting others.

Moreover, middleware often supports message queuing, data transformation, and orchestration capabilities, which can help streamline the integration process. This prevents the creation of one-off solutions or throwaway code, as the middleware can be designed to handle multiple integrations in a reusable manner, thereby promoting scalability and flexibility.

In contrast, point-to-point integrations tend to create tightly coupled systems, leading to a scenario where changes in one system can necessitate modifications in multiple others, often resulting in throwaway code. Web mashups may also be limited in scope and not suitable for complex data operations between critical enterprise systems. Apex Batch Processing, while