Does Microsoft Understand Business Integration?

1. Does Microsoft Understand Business Integration? Simon Thurman Architect simont@microsoft.com http://blogs.msdn.com/businessvalue

2. Objective • Try and answer the question  • Explain thinking and approaches • Any feedback email or comment on blog

3. Agenda • Is there a problem? • Definitions • Approaches • Integration Model (technology) • Composite Applications (architecture) • OBA (productivity) • Limitations • Benefits

4. Problem (one of...) • Unlock value of existing assets • Gartner ‘The Knowledge Worker Investment Paradox’ • 50% - 75% of information directly from people • >80% of information not accessible to enterprise as a whole • Individual owns the key resource, what happens when they leave?

5. ‘Results Gap’ • Business Users live in 2 worlds • Productivity Applications • Adhoc, unstructured, individual/group processes • E.g. Excel, Word, Outlook, ... • Business Applications • Structured, rigid, stovepipe • E.g. CRM, ERP, ... • Space between what existing productivity tools offer and what really happens

6. What’s Required • Process • Integrate multiple Business Applications • Align Business Processes with daily work • Information • Timely access to the right information • One version of the truth • Applications • Use existing, familiar desktop apps

7. Definitions • Interoperability • Interoperability is connecting people, data and diverse systems. The term can be defined in a technical way or in a broad way, taking into account social, political and organizational factors. • Integration • Integration is a process of combining or accumulating. Interoperability makes Integration easier

8. Interoperability and Integration Model Architectural Model Technology View Programming Model Message Format Data Format Transport Protocol

9. Integration Capability Model Business View Business Process Line Of Business Information Repository

10. Capability and Technology Alignment Business Process Architectural Model Programming Model Line Of Business Message Format Data Format Information Repository Transport Protocol

11. Software + Services • SOA • Architectural Approach • SaaS • Simply a delivery mechanism • S+S • Device software • Capability exposed as a service • On premise • Cloud

12. Composite Applications • Assembled artefacts to fulfil business capability • Deployed independently and granular • Components • Containers Presentation Layer Productivity Layer Application Layer Data Layer

13. Office Business Applications

14. Composite Applications

15. Limitations • Not all Capabilities are modular • Many are contained within a monolithic app • Not completely at an SOA • Transference of Control and Ownership • Modelled process do not implement all activities, e.g. Human intervention • Difference between managing documents and business processes • Transactional v Collaborative • Structured v Unstructured • Formal v Adhoc • Rigid v Dynamic

16. Purpose/Benefit • Reuse • Reduce cost • Ensure consistency, e.g. Single view (and version) of the truth • Leverage already deployed software, e.g. Office • OBA bridges structures and unstructured • Office platform deployed • Container for components

17. Business Value • Broaden availability of Information and Capability • Improve view of data which results in a greater level of understanding, e.g. “Managing the amber” • Exception based processing • Naturally supports human intervention • Shorten business process cycles • Regulatory compliance • Alignment of systems with the business • Systems become an enabler to change

18. Summary • Reference architectures to build OBA • http://www.microsoft.com/architecture/ • http://msdn.microsoft.com/oba/ • Feedback: • simont@microsoft.com • http://blogs.msdn.com/businessvalue