Integrated Systems
Integrated Systems
In today’s highly competitive business world, organizations are finding ways of effective functioning for their success, but they cannot depend on traditional methods and need to use the latest technologies.
Integration is considered as the critical key to successful implementation of every system. An integrated system is a system that is able to handle any amount of information with high accuracy and without data redundancy.
System Integration refers to the combination of all the existing and new sub-systems to form a single capable system that is intended to maintain the sustainability of both the internal and the external customers by providing additional information with improved performance. With the advancement in electronic business, System Integration is starting to gain more attention. According to Hohpe and Woolf, the integration can occur between:
Informational portals
Service-oriented architectures
Shared businesses, etc.
Integration to Business
The users always expect quick access to high volumes of data and for this, the systems need to work synchronously in order to provide an accountable and organized approach to otherwise intelligible information, says Hohpe. Integrated systems support business processes across various applications with a secure and reliable data exchange between them. They are used to unlock current information assets across multiple applications and business processes. Integration allows the businesses to share and update complex information, regardless of their location.
Increased profitability and increased efficiency are some of the major benefits to organizations from system integration. It has always played an important role in connecting the business systems. Integrated systems use the current data and information embodied in the organization, instead of replacing them with newer ones. Long run benefits can also be seen, for example, the organizations can have a real time access to their data and information, which can help them take better decisions for the future profitability.
A significant reduction in operational costs can also be seen in an integrated system as the organizations need not to install and maintain multiple systems along with the various integrations between them. The saved time can be spent in improving the business processes.
System integration is also necessary for the accelerated growth in the business. Businesses can be expanded to multiple locations a lot faster because of the unified processes and informative data. The organizations can obtain improved visibility to their data, thus enhancing their existing customer base as well.
Nowadays, companies in every industry are using system integration software in order to increase their growth to potential heights, but many others are still struggling with their mismanaged and disconnected systems, resulting in less productivity with less profit. Integrated systems are increasingly transforming the organizations by enabling them to transcend their future growth plans with innovative solutions to their business processes.
References
Hohpe, G., & Woolf, B. Solving Integration Problems using Patterns. Retrieved
Hohpe, G. Patterns and Best Practices for Enterprise Integration. Retrieved from
http://www.enterpriseintegrationpatterns.com/index.html
