ABSTRACT
Overview of Enterprise Systems .......................................................................... 10 Four Stages of System Integration ....................................................................... 11
Interconnectivity ......................................................................................... 12 Functional Interoperability ......................................................................... 12 Semantic Interoperability ............................................................................ 12 Optimization and Innovation ...................................................................... 13
Modeling and System Integration ........................................................................ 13 System Integration Projects ................................................................................. 14 Issues in Enterprise/System Integration ............................................................... 15
The Nature of the Networking Technologies .............................................. 16 The Diffi culties of Standardization ............................................................. 16 Privacy Considerations ............................................................................... 17
Summary .............................................................................................................. 17 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................ 18 References ............................................................................................................ 18
The scope of systems integration in enterprises has expanded from a focus on the fl ow of materials in shop fl oors to the infrastructure for manufacturing, distribution, and communication as well as business applications and administrative processes. It encompasses exchanges among business partners involved in paperless transactions. It may also cover structural realignments in organizational design and technology. Today almost every major organization spends signifi cant efforts in integrating and streamlining systems of various types after mergers, acquisitions, or splits. Some of
the motivations clearly revolve around technological issues, while many originate from initiatives to enhance quality, to reduce costs, and to improve the effi ciency of operations and decision support in response to competitive pressures and/or legislative mandates for providing timely and accurate information [1].
