Enterprise Integration: Maximizing Efficiency and Competitiveness

1. IST 421Advanced Enterprise Integration Penn State Harrisburg Spring 2007

2. Introduction • Course Syllabus - cms.psu.edu (Angel) • Student Information • PSU e-mail accounts

3. Knowledge & Skills for Integration • Teamwork • Leadership • Oral & written communication • Problem solving • Project Management • Change Management PEOPLE PROCESS TECHNOLOGY • Work flow management • Process modeling • Process analysis • Process reengineering • Strategic analysis • Systems integration • XML technology • Middleware

4. Framework for Enterprise Integration • Current Status • Problems • Processes • Models • Database • Hardware • Software • Network • Legacy Systems • Analysis • Inputs/Outputs • Processes • Database • Interfaces • Systems • Network • Requirements • Mission • Vision • Goals/Policy • Information • Database • Performance • Security • Integration • Design • Enterprise Architecture • Process Redesign • Systems Development/ • Integration • Methodologies • Data Modeling • Process Modeling • Network Modeling • BPR • XML • CASE tools • Assessment • Metrics • Strengths • Weaknesses • Opportunities • Threats/Challenges • Implementation • Project Management • Change Management

5. Enterprise Modeling

6. Business Functions • Name the main functional areas of operation in a business • Identify the kinds of data that each functional area needs • Identify the kinds of data that each functional area produces

7. Business Process • A business process is a collection of activities that takes one or more kinds of input and creates an output that is of value to the customer.

8. What’s the difference between a business function and a business process?

9. Application Integration

10. Application Integration • Integrate disparate applications • Share processes • Share data • Seamlessly • Competitive advantage • Example: ?

11. Integration • “Application integration is the controlled sharing of data and business processes among any connected applications and data sources, intra- or inter-company.” • Type 1: Enterprise Application Integration – EAI • Type 2: Business-to-Business Application Integration – B2B

12. Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) Source: AberdeenGroup, October 1998

13. Business Process • Collection of activities that takes one or more kinds of input and creates an output that is of value to the customer.

14. Business Process • Customer’s order processed by Sales • Manufacture scheduled by Production • Logistics schedules & carries out delivery • Production needs more raw materials, Purchasing arranges purchase & delivery • Logistics receives raw materials, verifies condition to Accounting for payment • Logistics delivers the raw materials to Production • Accounting records & tracks appropriate transaction records

15. Business Process • Business managers try to think in terms of business processes that integrate functional areas. • Promotes efficiency and competitiveness • More customer choices • Dramatically lowered costs • Brand importance

16. Extended Enterprise • Extended enterprise consists of electronic interfaces that link computer systems of: • Selling business • Partners that finance or manage transactions • External suppliers, carriers, & support operations

17. Event-Driven Economy • Demand driven • Instantaneous – all systems updated real-time (or almost real-time) of a demand • Participating systems communicate in any directions • Benefits???

18. Event-Driven Economy • Systems bound at data level and process level • Share data • Share business rules, processes, & sequences • Enforce integrity constraints • Common business model

19. Event-Driven Economy • “Relevant information existing in any participating system is accessible by any other participating system.” • Requires: • Understanding • Planning • Integration

20. Evolution • Traditional systems (“legacy systems”) • Centralized processing • Terminal-based • Support large user and processing load

21. Evolution • Microcomputer Systems (PC’s) • Hundreds within an organization • Contain valuable information and processes • Accessing both the processes and data may require rehosting to a centralized server

22. Evolution • Distributed Systems • Any number of workstation servers and hosts • Support any number of applications • Benefits include scalability and fault-tolerance

23. Evolution • Packaged Applications • Purchased rather than developed in-house • Represent Best-of-Breed business models • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) • General Ledger • Inventory control • Difficult to integrate

24. Evolution to Integration • Shorter application life cycles • Leverage existing databases and application servers rather re-create repeatedly • Financial prudence – profits • Create a competitive edge

25. Business Case • Justify the expense • Measure success • Each organization must establish criteria to determine success • Can be tied to corporate strategic goals • Gains in user productivity • Reductions in error rates

26. Applying Technology – B2B • Integrate business-level processes and data • Reuse and distribute business processes and data between linked enterprises • Application-to-application, near real-time • Allows users who understand little of the application to integrate the application

27. Applying Technology – B2B • Common agreements between trading partners • Source and target systems cannot be altered – integration must be non-intrusive • Supports process model for both inter- and intra-integration • Advanced security standards ensure information remains private

28. Applying Technology • File transfer • Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) • Middleware • Point-to-point link between 2 systems • Requires changes to source and target systems • Hides the complexities of the underlying operating system and network