Integrate now or pay the price. (News).

Sterling Commerce

Sterling Commerce say that European businesses without integration strategies should act quickly or risk being shut out of the new Euro marketplace. In order to remain competitive, they need to integrate their back office and organisational business systems to help them embrace the euro and realise the cost savings and business efficiencies it offers. However, according to a survey of European technology executives by Forrester Research, only a third of companies have completed fullback-end integration of these applications. A further third have not even begun to integrate their internal systems. And, despite growing awareness of the need to integrate these systems with those of external partners, only 12.7% of organisations worldwide rank supplier and distributor integration as their top e-Business priority for 2001, according to a survey by market research company Hurwitz Group.

Integrated systems, it is claimed, will allow companies to become 'true players' in the euro-economy by increasing the speed and efficiency of their business processes, and removing duplication of functions across countries and between business partners. Integration will also allow them to deliver new products and services to new pan-European markets, quickly and consistently.

Also integrated e-businesses will be able to capture and share information across their networks, to improve response time in all areas of their business, and make consistent customer information available across countries to all users to improve CRM capability.

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