Economic Trends in Enterprise Search Solutions

Enterprise search technology retrieves information within organizations. This data can be proprietary and public, its access to it may be restricted or not. Enterprise search solutions render business processes more efficient particularly in data-intensive companies. This technology is key to increasing the competitiveness of the digital economy; thus it constitutes a strategic market for the European Union. The Enterprise Search Solution (ESS) market was worth close to one billion USD in 2008 and is expected to grow quicker than the overall market for information and knowledge management systems. Optimistic market forecasts expect market size to exceed 1,200 million USD by the end of 2010. Other market analyses see the growth rate slowing down and stabilizing at around 10% a year in 2010. Even in the least favourable case, enterprise search remains an attractive market, particularly because of the opportunities expected to arise from the convergence of ESS and Information Systems. This report looks at the demand and supply side of ESS and provides data about the market. It presents the evolution of market dynamics over the past decade and describes the current situation. Our main thesis is that ESS is currently placed at the point where two established markets, namely web search and the management of information systems, overlap. The report offers evidence that these two markets are converging and discusses the role of the different stakeholders (providers of web search engines, enterprise resource management tools, pure enterprise search tools, etc.) in this changing context.JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Societ

Improving Document Management and Information Flow in a Railway Signalling Projects Operation

ABSTRACT The availability and application of quality information plays a pivotal role in the success of engineering, design and project management operations in hi-tech and knowledge-based industries, such as those involved in providing engineering solutions for signalling to the railway industry. This research Project has as its stated purpose to evaluate the capabilities and extents of deployment of current document management systems, assess the document management needs of Signalling Solutions Ltd, and make recommendations based on gap analysis between needs, available systems and business requirements. The objective is to produce a workable program for the planning, selection and implementation of an enterprise content management system for the management of information assets by Signalling Solutions Ltd, a UK provider of engineering solutions for railways signalling. The study presents first an understanding of the current situation of the business, a vision of the ideal situation with regards to document and information management and then proceeds to chart a possible path to improve on the people, processes and technology required to achieve the future state. The methodology adopted include the use of literature review of relevant articles published in reputable journals and books to describe precedent, current and future trends in the industry. Surveys are combined with interviews for primary data collection, after which mixed-methods evaluation techniques are then employed to analyse and present the case study research findings. This study shows that the large volumes and types of data, strict regulatory and contractual obligations and the need for high level information security in the rail industry calls for investment in an effective document management system. However, the selection of a particular vendor or supplier’s electronic document or enterprise information management system based on functionality, though very significant, comes secondary to the user and organisational issues involved in the effective implementation of such systems for overall success

Management Accountant's Role and Functions in the Enterprise Resource Planning Environment - Author's Own Research into Enterprises in Poland

This article seeks to answer whether the implementation of an ERP system has an effect on the management accountant's tasks and functions, especially in the field of performance measurement and internal reporting. The ERP impacts on the controller's role in the organization will be evaluated using field studies on six enterprises owned by multinational corporations. The question that should be asked here is whether controller's functions and tasks will also be unaffected.Celem badania jest próba odpowiedzi na pytanie czy zastosowanie zintegrowanego systemu informatycznego w przedsiębiorstwie zmienia zadania i funkcje specjalisty do spraw rachunkowości zarządczej. Na podstawie studium przypadku sześciu przedsiębiorstw będących częścią koncernów międzynarodowych zostaje dokonana ocena wpływu zastosowania ERP na rolę kontrolera w organizacji. Autor odpowiada również na pytanie czy w funkcjach i zadaniach kontrolera nie zaobserwowane zostaną zmiany w związku z implementacją ERP

Ontology-based patterns for the integration of business processes and enterprise application architectures

Increasingly, enterprises are using Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) as an approach to Enterprise Application Integration (EAI). SOA has the potential to bridge the gap between business and technology and to improve the reuse of existing applications and the interoperability with new ones. In addition to service architecture descriptions, architecture abstractions like patterns and styles capture design knowledge and allow the reuse of successfully applied designs, thus improving the quality of software. Knowledge gained from integration projects can be captured to build a repository of semantically enriched, experience-based solutions. Business patterns identify the interaction and structure between users, business processes, and data. Specific integration and composition patterns at a more technical level address enterprise application integration and capture reliable architecture solutions. We use an ontology-based approach to capture architecture and process patterns. Ontology techniques for pattern definition, extension and composition are developed and their applicability in business process-driven application integration is demonstrated

Benchmarking performance management systems

The Balanced Scorecard and associated performance management approaches, has become a widely practiced and popular management reporting method in recent times. Moreover, enabling technology, which assists in the delivery and personalisation of corporate performance information, is having a deeper and more rapid impact than ever before. This paper presents a brief comparative benchmarking study of leading enterprise performance management systems. Also, the author discusses the merits of bespoke internet technology development and out-of-the-box portal functionalities. An analysis of key business drivers and implementation risks of such approaches is highlighted via a case study example, and concludes the paper

Improving Document Management and Information Flow in a Railway Signalling Projects Operation

ABSTRACT The availability and application of quality information plays a pivotal role in the success of engineering, design and project management operations in hi-tech and knowledge-based industries, such as those involved in providing engineering solutions for signalling to the railway industry. This research Project has as its stated purpose to evaluate the capabilities and extents of deployment of current document management systems, assess the document management needs of Signalling Solutions Ltd, and make recommendations based on gap analysis between needs, available systems and business requirements. The objective is to produce a workable program for the planning, selection and implementation of an enterprise content management system for the management of information assets by Signalling Solutions Ltd, a UK provider of engineering solutions for railways signalling. The study presents first an understanding of the current situation of the business, a vision of the ideal situation with regards to document and information management and then proceeds to chart a possible path to improve on the people, processes and technology required to achieve the future state. The methodology adopted include the use of literature review of relevant articles published in reputable journals and books to describe precedent, current and future trends in the industry. Surveys are combined with interviews for primary data collection, after which mixed-methods evaluation techniques are then employed to analyse and present the case study research findings. This study shows that the large volumes and types of data, strict regulatory and contractual obligations and the need for high level information security in the rail industry calls for investment in an effective document management system. However, the selection of a particular vendor or supplier’s electronic document or enterprise information management system based on functionality, though very significant, comes secondary to the user and organisational issues involved in the effective implementation of such systems for overall success

The real SAP® Business one cost : a case study of ERP adoption in an SME

This paper reports on a UK based service management Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) that invested into SAP® Business One. The action research case study highlights the real cost and difficulties faced in moving to the one single SAP system and the process that was followed in order to identify third-party vendors that can integrate or customise SAP® Business One. This paper highlights the additional costs required to ensure a ‘fit-for-purpose’ solution to close the gap between strategic needs and the existing SAP Business One solution. The gap itself is illustrated by highlighting 10 key functionalities expected by the given service management SME. The actual implementation cost of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) was found to be approximately double the initial SAP costs. The real costs involve time for, among other things, process reengineering, strategic decision making, software add-ons, staff-training, project-management and software maintenance

Competences of IT Architects

The field of architecture in the digital world uses a plethora of terms to refer to different kinds of architects, and recognises a confusing variety of competences that these architects are required to have. Different service providers use different terms for similar architects and even if they use the same term, they may mean something different. This makes it hard for customers to know what competences an architect can be expected to have.\ud \ud This book combines competence profiles of the NGI Platform for IT Professionals, The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), as well as a number of Dutch IT service providers in a comprehensive framework. Using this framework, the book shows that notwithstanding a large variety in terminology, there is convergence towards a common set of competence profiles. In other words, when looking beyond terminological differences by using the framework, one sees that organizations recognize similar types of architects, and that similar architects in different organisations have similar competence profiles. The framework presented in this book thus provides an instrument to position architecture services as offered by IT service providers and as used by their customers.\ud \ud The framework and the competence profiles presented in this book are the main results of the special interest group “Professionalisation” of the Netherlands Architecture Forum for the Digital World (NAF). Members of this group, as well as students of the universities of Twente and Nijmegen have contributed to the research on which this book is based