Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Users Drive Integration

    By
    Eric Lundquist
    -
    September 27, 2004
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      What is the end result of your corporate technology efforts? Is it a vague tie-in to your companys overall productivity? That connection would be welcome, but it is also one of the hardest to measure. Is it the ability to do more with less? That route too often takes you to the outsourcing door. There is nothing inherently wrong with outsourcing, but if the company president wants to mimic or exceed a competitors new capability, you will find that an entirely outsourced operation severely limits your response. Maybe your current technology efforts have a much more realistic impact. Your investment in technology allows regulatory compliance, which keeps your executives out of jail.

      I was thinking about the overall results of technology investments as I drove to PeopleSoft, in Pleasanton, Calif., a week before its annual user conference. On the ride from San Francisco, I was thinking that the PeopleSoft story would be about progress under adversity. After all, heres a company fighting for its corporate life as an independent company after being targeted by Oracles Larry Ellison for takeover. While that story will remain until the takeover issue is resolved one way or another, I think PeopleSofts story is well-aligned with the direction of corporate technology integration over the next year. Come to think of it, maybe that is what has made PeopleSoft such a tempting target.

      And come to think of it, integration— this time with IBMs WebSphere—is the driving force behind the $1 billion agreement announced last week between PeopleSoft and IBM. A much deeper integration may be on the table if IBM does a white-knight rescue of PeopleSoft.

      The integration of a companys operations has been long promoted by technology companies. In the past, the difference was in the definition of integration, which too often meant a proprietary tie-in to a vendor. And once tied in, it was very difficult to get untied. This time around, integration is still king, but the key difference is that the push for that integration is coming from users.

      Corporate CIOs are under tremendous pressure right now to come up with architectures that are secure, flexible and able to meet government and regulatory requirements. Security of people, places and data can be assured only by broad, integrated systems with a simple interface that can alert a user when someone or some process is breaching the system. Security systems in buildings were rarely designed to work with employee personnel systems or data control systems, but those are the types of integrated systems now required.

      The regulatory framework, led in large part by Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, calls for an integration of accounting and financial applications that has been a rarity in the past.

      Renee Lorton, vice president and general manager of PeopleSoft financial management, noted in a discussion that the march to compliance has forced companies to finally sort out their myriad systems. That sorting out is at times frustrating, time-consuming and expensive. The benefit is that companies finally complete something that should have been completed earlier. That benefit may seem a long way away for companies in the midst of racing to make the Sarbanes-Oxley compliance deadlines, but smarter companies will be planning what new applications can be built on the merged processes.

      And that is why the push to integrated applications and technology architectures will have legs this time around. Security requirements will only get tighter as governments start to impose stringent, audited laws for companies that want to engage in the government sector. Regulatory requirements will become stricter and international in scope as users and shareholders demand the kind of financial transparency geared to keeping companies honest and forthright. The productivity promises of service-oriented architectures can be built only on truly integrated platforms that are free from hidden proprietary hooks.

      The result of your corporate technology efforts is an architecture that can adapt to change and meet your corporations needs. The difference this time is that you need to be the one driving the integration.

      Editor in Chief Eric Lundquist can be reached at eric_lundquist@ziffdavis.com.

      To read more Eric Lundquist, subscribe to eWEEK magazine.

      Check out eWEEK.coms Enterprise Applications Center at http://enterpriseapps.eweek.com for the latest news, reviews and analysis about productivity and business solutions.

      Be sure to add our eWEEK.com enterprise applications news feed to your RSS newsreader or My Yahoo page

      Eric Lundquist
      Since 1996, Eric Lundquist has been Editor in Chief of eWEEK, which includes domestic, international and online editions. As eWEEK's EIC, Lundquist oversees a staff of nearly 40 editors, reporters and Labs analysts covering product, services and companies in the high-technology community. He is a frequent speaker at industry gatherings and user events and sits on numerous advisory boards. Eric writes the popular weekly column, 'Up Front,' and he is a confidant of eWEEK's Spencer F. Katt gossip columnist.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×