The enterprise technology mix
The modern enterprise consists of a number of technology modules that constitute the IT landscape. It is important from a governance, people and process perspective to be able to visualise how these modules are related and linked. At the most detailed level, interfaces function in a context and evolve through a lifecycle of design to maintainance.
Their experience spans across all of the application types listed below:
Enterprise Resource Planning
Enterprise Resource Planning forms the backbone of an organisation today, where there is a move away from legacy or in-house developed applications towards reputable vendor supplied systems. Typically, such modules provide core functions, including Finance, Procurement, Sales, Inventory, Production Management and Maintenance in addition to a BI module. Further extensions are often a necessary aspect of the application landscape.
Advance Planning & Forecasting Systems
Forecasting and advanced planning assist with providing high levels of service and product availability, while minimising inventory and WIP holding in the context of efficient utilisation of equipment and people resources).
Real-time Control
SCADA, historians, integration components, instrumentation and controllers ensure automated production with man supervision. The systems architecture becomes important when organisations find benefit in linking maintenance, production and real-time control (MES). ISA reference standards, such as S-88 and S-95 are available for this process.
Workflow systems (BPM)
Consistency and reliability in some business activities can be greatly improved with BPM or Workflow tools. Integration and document management are often key elements with significant time required for testing and validation.
SOA
Service Orientated Architectures are new technologies, with a promise of greater integration and lower costs. However, managing these technologies relies on the availability of Architecture Visualisation tools.
Database Technologies
The storage (persistence) of information in a database (repository), whether relational or object based, is the cornerstone of the modern information system environment.
Integration & Orchestration Tools
Specialised tools are available for the mapping, configuration and control of data flows between systems.
Telephony
Digital voice packets are easier to manage and to integrate; hence the growing trend to digital voice in the organisation.
Back Office Systems
Email today provides the essential asynchronous communications platform for the organisation.
Operating systems host the systems mentioned in the above layer and are typically the lowest level of user rights management and application management.