XI is a middleware like many others. It is well suited for connecting SAP systems with each other and with non-SAP. SAP XI provides an integrated workflow engine that allows to define adapters to non-XML-protocols and mappings to convert data content from source to target.
There are lots of advantages but to list a few :
Easy Integration with SAP products & components (RFC, IDOC, Proxy).
Data security as expected from any SAP product.
Standards based - XML, XSD, Xpath etc
Ability to communicate with other messaging systems/products.
Business Process Management
Synchronous & Asynchronous communication possible.
Complex processes for communication possible instead of only sending and receiving (business process management) (connect e.g. asynchronous and synchronous steps, define complex communication scenarios)
Mapping etc possible to accomplish in Java. Platform independent Java components.
Java & .Net support.
Big range of adapters for different technologies / tools (SOAP, Mail, JDBC, CDIX...)available in standard or offered by other companies (EDI e.g. by Seeburger).
Process functionalities inside XI to modify content in the communication channel on own defined rules fpr business purposes.
Central monitoring for data communication for all your communication between different systems.
And the marketing issue: SAP and its partners provide high volume of development capabilities to make XI always up-to-date for new requirements.
There are many other middle ware tools, Including IBM Crossworlds or if you are good at java you can write your own j2ee app that takes some input and converts it into another format of data to be sent to a different location.
The biggest advantage of XI over other tools is that its a sap product that comes with support and is easily integratable with other SAP products, which most implementers use to store their financial/Material data, while using a cheaper product(relative to EP) to do their web based transactions.
The out of box workflows also do help along with the BPM
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