Software and hardware should be integrated, so they are best able to work together and provide the business what it needs. At least that has been the thinking of enterprise application integration proponents. Five years ago this could only happen by hard-coding the integration A and B, and another for B to C, and another for C to A.
More recently, and what makes more sense to me, people have been talking about creating software and hardware that doesn't really care about its neighbors -- there just needs to be a standard way for everyone to communicate (wi-fi, xml, web services). I had the opportunity to lead the CENSA XML white paper that the membership approved in February 2002, "Leveraging XML for eR&D." (Unfortunately, it is available only to members.) Essentially, we said "XML is good" and should be used as part of the overall strategy of integrating the wide variety of applications and instruments used in the R&D world.
This related article focuses on the hardware aspect with a good view to how the current state has come about and what might be in the future.
TCS: Tech - The Centrifuge Moves You
Instead of assuming that your device is designed to attach to a standard personal computer, you can be relatively agnostic about what other types of devices your gadget might encounter.
Found on: Knowledge El Dorado