Environments have been built over time with diverse layers of applications. The development time and maintenance cost to manage these layers is driven down when integration components are built on standards. The most compelling standard in the integration space is Java Business Integration (JBI) which allows for the creation of a Service Oriented Architecture with interchangeable components that are vendor-independent.

Isn't all development easier with a standard?

Not really. Don't confuse the ease of using the standardized run-time components with the creation of those run-times. The creation of JBI run-time components is a whole new technology, with layered naming conventions and rules for each binding and service engine components. As with any new technology, JBI brings with it a sizable learning curve.