Yankee Group Report Uncovers the Untapped Opportunity for Distributed Order Management -- DOM -- Technology.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 2002

In a new report, "Unlocking the Potential for Distributed Order Management," the Yankee Group uncovers the alternative technology strategies enterprises have employed to address order visibility and control. The report shows that this is opportunity for vendors to provide a packaged solution set. Today, companies compensate for the lack of centralized, integrated order management systems by building their own order-centric architectures, using integration technology or custom-writing order management logic. These DOM strategies are both risky and expensive, carrying a high total cost of ownership (TCO).

"The market for packaged DOM applications is nascent because no one is offering the right solution set and architecture for managing complex orders," notes Kosin Huang, Yankee Group Business Applications & Commerce senior analyst and report author. "Companies are continuing to tackle order management problems through a myriad of homegrown approaches." Huang points out that, "a successful DOM architecture should consist of four elements: a flexible business process management layer, vertical industry process templates for DOM, a robust integration framework and a unified data model with a single point of access."

The report examines the shortcomings of today's order management systems and why companies continue to choose costly customized development and application integration approaches rather than investing in packaged applications. A key finding is that companies are searching for a cost-effective solution set that delivers all the necessary pieces of the DOM architecture to displace expensive DOM projects.

Upcoming Yankee Group research will quantify the DOM opportunity and develop a selection model that helps enterprises determine the best DOM technology strategy to fit their needs.

NOTE TO EDITORS

For interviews, please contact Kosin Huang at [e-mail].

THE YANKEE GROUP (www.yankeegroup.com)

The Yankee Group is a global leader in technology research and consulting. Our customers, which include technology vendors and users, benefit from our accurate, reliable, and trusted research, consulting, and personalized one-to-one client interaction covering communications and IT products and services. Now in our fourth decade, the company is headquartered in Boston and maintains offices throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Pacific Rim.