Connectors allow you to share data between applications in your environment. This allows you to combine the strengths of individual monitoring and tracking tools, while providing a single user interface for viewing system data.

Some common uses for connectors include the following:

• Sending alert, event, or performance data from an external system to Operations Manager. In this case, Operations Manager can create alerts or monitor data that is sent from the external system. For information about creating this type of connector, see How to Create Inbound Connectors.
  
• Sending alert data from Operations Manager to an external management system. In this case, the system that receives the alerts can monitor or resolve the alerts outside of Operations Manager. For information about creating this type of connector, see How to Create Outbound Connectors.
  

You can develop a custom connector by using the Operations Manager Connector Framework (OMCF). The OMCF provides methods and types that you can use to initialize and manage a connector and to get or send operations data.

When you are developing a connector, you can access the OMCF in either of the following ways:

• Using the Operations Manager class libraries—Using the class libraries is the preferred method for accessing the framework in applications that run on Windows-based computers. For more information, see How to Create or Remove a Connector by Using the Operations Manager Class Libraries.
  
• Using a Web service—The SDK Service provides a Web service interface for accessing the framework in custom applications that run on non-Windows-based computers. The Web service provides a subset of the functionality that the class libraries provide. For more information, see How to Create or Remove a Connector by Using the OMCF Web Service.