ABSTRACT
Integration across the enterprise is one of the most challenging and significant issues facing an organization. The decomposition of the enterprise into subsystems and views is a matter of necessity to deal with the complexity and size of enterprise systems. There are several ways to decompose the enterprise as was discussed in Chapter 15 on the organizational structure; one of the more common decompositions is functional. The benefits of the functional decomposition are derived from the differentiation of each subsystem to develop unique knowledge, information, and systems to optimally address local problems. However, the decomposition must be countered with appropriate levels of integration so that the decisions and actions of each subsystem contribute effectively and efficiently to the overall enterprise goals. The need for integration arises due to the interconnectedness between the subsystems. It is the integration of the subsystems that gives a system its superiority over a collection of elements that are not integrated. Subsystems exchange materials, people, and information. Enterprise integration ensures that all these exchanges happen efficiently and effectively. To do this, it is imperative that throughout the design process efforts are made to ensure enterprise integration. A thorough understanding of the available enterprise technologies and how they work is needed to specify a suitable technology infrastructure to support enterprise integration.
