Do you want your mailman to read your mail? Cisco Systems hopes you do. A few weeks ago, the giant networking firm quietly introduced a new technology, called application-oriented networking, or AON, that will allow its routers to decipher the content of the messages they process, taking data from one software application and delivering it to another application in a form that the receiving application can read. The routers themselves will thus be able to play a central role in automating the integration of applications, doing more of what middleware systems like IBM’s Websphere currently do. In theory, the smarter routers would cut out one layer of complexity from software integration.

The mailman analogy is useful. Think of a traditional router as a traditional mailman. He looks at the address on the envelope of a packet of information, and then he routes the packet to the specified mailbox. All he can do is transport messages; he’s blind to what’s inside the envelope. In the AON model, the mailman opens every envelope and reads what’s inside. When he gets to your house, he doesn’t just stuff everything into your mailbox, leaving you to sort it out. He walks into your house and distributes your mail according to its purpose – the bill goes here, the personal letter goes there, and so on.

Smart routers make a lot of sense. By allowing the network to become the translator as well as the transporter, they can make the overall IT infrastructure more efficient and flexible. They would also provide an important building block for utility computing, enabling much of the integration work that now goes on inside companies to shift outside, to a shared infrastructure.

There are drawbacks as well. Cisco’s AON technology is proprietary; if it takes off, Cisco could gain a lot of power over the critical application-integration function. The more powerful the mailman, the greater his ability to put the squeeze on his customers. So companies should be wary of Cisco’s move, but they should also welcome it. Automating the integration of business applications is the key to a mature, reliable and efficient IT infrastructure. The more innovation in this area, the better.