Management News: Business Process Integration (BPI) -- More than application glue. (Software World).

Like modem cities connected by dirt roads, our enterprise applications have grown increasingly sophisticated while the methods of connecting them to one another remain ... well ... not sophisticated Granted, the proliferation of packaged applications has made the road to e-business integration slightly less bumpy-but only within the enterprise. As companies that have implemented these systems well know, the integration capabilities of packaged applications only go so far. Without fluid internal enterprise integration, it's impossible to reach quality customer relationship management (CRM), efficient e-business and many other worthwhile destinations. Reaching out to external partners to integrate with their business processes requires you to first get your own house in order. Many analyst firms are predicting that within the next two years, there will be an explosion in companies and their trading partners demanding integration solutions. Yet despite the expected demand most companies allocate only 8 percent o f their IT budgets to Business Process Integration (DPI). On top of that, if and when companies do address integration, they do it merely at a tactical level, integrating their systems with inefficient, low-level tools. They are, in effect, using "application glue. 'Packaged integration products and point solutions address only part of the problem. Integrating information at the extended enterprise level requires a much broader solution- one that combines advanced technologies and proven strategies for business process integration (BPJ). So what exactly is BPI? How does it differ from current integration practices? And, most important, why is it needed it?

BPI Defined

The formal definition of BPI is the sharing of business information among diverse business systems so organisations can streamline operations, reduce costs and improve responsiveness to customer demands. Put more simply, BPI is a strategy that strengthens a company and its relationships with other companies by integrating entire business processes not only within an enterprise but also with suppliers, partners and customers. It's a comprehensive and flexible solution, rather than a quick fix used to mend a weak link between two applications.

As the market has emerged over the last five years, vendors have entered it from two directions, characterized as: Enterprise Application Integration (EM) or Application-to-Application (A2A) that has focused on providing integration solutions primarily focused inside the four walls. Integration middleware suites in this market have been driven primarily by ERP, CRM, SCM, and B2C applications. It is important to note that 80% of the integration done today is intra-enterprise.

The Need for BPI

Business-to-Business (B2B) that has focused on providing communications outside the four walls to bring outside communities into the enterprise. Vendors in this space have concentrated their efforts in providing the basic gateway with transformation and limited intelligent routing of data. Both EAT and B2B integration are integral parts of BPI. Each capability that EAI and B2B provide is a necessary component of a complete BPI solution-a solution whose central focus is the business process, not application glue. Finally, BPI delivers cros s-enterprise integration. Dealing with multiple external enterprises with differing business formats, technologies, processes and requirements heightens the need for a complete and flexible approach. BPI provides cross- enterprise integration, even for systems originally designed with an internal focus.

Constant business change drives business process integration. The result is the continual integration, de-integration, and re-integration at the business process and associated application levels. The demand for BPI solutions is being driven by business change like increased competition and a strong economy, which are forcing companies to lower prices. In order to maintain profit margins, companies are also attempting to lower costs by increasing supply chain efficiencies. Companies are using the Internet to easily and inexpensively reach new and existing suppliers and customers on a global basis. Limited resources for application development (such as time, money and expertise) have led companies to purchase packaged applications, most notably for enterprise resource planning (ERP). ERP systems were initially billed as the cure-all for fragmented computing environments, and they do, in fact, go a long way toward improving information flow and streamlining processes. But, in the end, ERP systems are proprietar y applications that need to be linked with other ERP systems, legacy systems, customers, suppliers and business partners around the world. So customers must now integrate their packaged ERP systems with their mix of other-legacy and packaged-applications.

Add E-Marketplaces to the BPI Mix

Most integration experts, as well as Sterling Commerce, agree that integration is not a single problem, rather integration focuses on the range of issues companies must deal with when trying to streamline business process within an organisation and with their diverse trading partner communities. Part of a company's trading community may include an e-marketplace that they host or simply want to participate in, so e- marketplace integration does not operate in a vacuum, separate from the other integration needs of the company. A complete BPI solution enables customers, partners and suppliers who want to interact with a portal or e-marketplace to be linked together through processes that tightly integrate people, tasks, and business applications, thereby streamlining the value chain.

The Secret Ingredient to RPI Success

Application integration typically involves the exchange of information between two applications without regard for the business process. BPI, on the other hand, can make intelligent decisions based on the overall work flow and the multiple applications required to complete a business process. The secret of an effective BPI strategy is a process Modelling tool. This tool allows companies to integrate the three constants in any business - people, processes, and information, automating the most complex business processes to make employees, customers, vendors, and other partners throughout an extended enterprise as efficient and productive as possible. The key is finding a tool that is both flexible and intuitive enough that all users within an enterprise can view business processes easily, and make real-time changes so that business analysts can implement new ideas, integrate new buyers and suppliers and react to new developments in a changing market, without a high dependency on technical staff.

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