Using a Web browser to gain access to all company data, irrespective of where, how and in what format it is stored, is no longer a technical nightmare, given the capabilities of enterprise information integration (EII) tools.
The dream of e-business, or simply doing business over the Internet, was that customers, partners and employees would be able to interact and transact with a company via a standard Web browser. This system would automatically and seamlessly link users to whatever data stores held the information they needed, with all speed and the appropriate security protocols.
That never happened. Now that we`ve matured and moved past the hype that defined e-business a few years ago, many corporations are back where they started. Executives are struggling with questions of how best to use the Internet to enhance as well as streamline business without falling into the trap of throwing money after technology with no measurable returns.
Unlike five years ago, however, executives are not wasting time worrying about what Web interface to use or whether the corporate database is Internet-enabled (if it`s not, you need a new IT manager). Management now needs to first decide what it wants to put on the Internet, to what depth Web applications will be able to delve into business databases, who is going to access them and how to authenticate these users.
IT management holds the responsibility for ensuring they deliver solutions to achieve these goals. One of the main tasks they face in developing an effective e-business solution is how to get data from various incompatible corporate databases scattered over different locations to Web users in real-time.
EII provides a common interface
In the business intelligence (BI) world, data integration technologies have long been used to transfer data from disparate databases into data warehouses for analysis. Unfortunately, these tools do not cater for real-time data translation (into a standard format) and transfer - and Web users are notoriously impatient when it comes to waiting for data to download.
Enter EII, a solution that aggregates data and coordinates transactions across enterprise data sources. With EII, multiple different data sources can be seen as one information store, making it a simple task to provide Web users with what appears to be a single, integrated data source.
EII solutions also simplify application development by shielding developers from the complexities involved in having to write specific procedures for accessing multiple corporate databases, saving time and resources in putting together new applications. In other words, EII tools allow companies to do away with the spaghetti code behind many Web pages that link particular data fields in HTML coding to the associated fields in databases. Now a single access methodology is used, with the complexity hidden from developers and users alike.
And there`s still more. Effective e-business needs more than the traditional information requirements of a single company`s BI endeavours. The task of integrating data from within an organisation must be expanded to include information from other companies, accessible through the same architecture.
Effective e-business needs more than the traditional information requirements of a single company`s BI endeavours.
Julian Field, MD, Centerfield Software
The old dream of an integrated supply chain is therefore made reality with EII. When a customer logs into a Web site and requests pricing and a delivery date on 1 000 widgets designed with specific components, an answer is required in seconds. With an inter-company information architecture based on EII technologies, data from every company involved is extracted and collated in real-time to provide the potential customer with an answer before they decide to look elsewhere - a capability not enjoyed in the past.
Additionally, in the realm of database administration, one of the more costly facets of IT that no company can afford to skimp on, EII can make an enormous cost and efficiency difference. The ability to manage multiple disparate databases through one interface, even accessible over the Internet, can make a world of difference without costing the earth.
EII tools, although complex to design and build, have the ability to take information integration beyond the limitations of BI into real-time data access solutions. More than simplifying access to disparate data sources, EII lowers application development and database administration costs, while reducing the complexity traditionally associated with these endeavours. While there are no all-encompassing EII solutions readily available today, we can expect business demand for effective e-business solutions capable of streamlining operations while boosting revenues will ensure it won`t be long before software vendors are ready to compete for the rich pickings to be made from e-business information integration.
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