6,989 research outputs found
Evaluating the integration of supply chain information systems: A case study
Supply chain management (SCM) is the integrated management of business links, information flows and people. It is with this frame of reference that information systems integration from both intra- and inter-organisational levels becomes significant. Enterprise application integration (EAI) has emerged as software technologies to address the issue of integrating the portfolio of SCM components both within organisations and through cross-enterprises. EAI is based on a diversity of integration technologies (e.g. message brokers, ebXML) that differ in the type and level of integration they offer. However, none of these technologies claim to be a panacea to overcoming all integration problems but rather,
need to be pieced together to support the linking of diverse applications that often exist within supply chains. In exploring the evaluation of supply chain integration, the authors propose a framework for evaluating the portfolio of integration technologies that are used to unify inter-organisational and intra-organisational information systems. The authors define and classify the permutations of information systems available according to their characteristics and integration requirements. These, classifications of system types are then adopted as part of the evaluation framework and empirically tested within a case study
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A conceptual model for EAI adoption in an e-government environment
The non-integrated nature of Local Government Authority (LGA) Information Systems (IS) is
strongly associated with the inconsistency and duplication of data, reduction in data integrity and
quality, and high operational and maintenance cost. The reason is that legacy IS within the LGAs
are usually tailored to support particular business processes and functions and are as a
consequence usually difficult to integrate. This gives rise to a strong need for an integrated
architecture that facilitates reuse of existing applications and flexibly implementing business
processes across the functional boundaries within the LGAs. This paper examines a potentially
important area of IS integration in the United Kingdom (UK) LGAs through Enterprise
Application Integration (EAI) technology. A review of the literature indicates that EAI has been a
focal technology for several organisations in solving their integration problems. However, is new
in the LGAs; thus research literature around it is limited. Yet the effect of IS integration using
EAI technology remains under explored, as little research has been conducted to comprehend the
LGAs perception of integration that influences their decisions and actions. The author
demonstrates that it is of high importance to investigate this area within LGAs and result in
research that contributes towards successful EAI adoption. Therefore, resulting in the
development of a conceptual model that may be used to assist the government decision-making
process for EAI adoption in an electronic Government (e-Government) environment
Towards a novel framework for the assessment of enterprise application integration packages
In addressing enterprise integration problems, a diversity
of technologies such as CORBA and XML were
promoted, yet no single integration technology solves all
integration problems. As a result, a new generation of
software called Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)
is emerging to addresses many integration problems by
combining a diversity of integration technologies (e.g.
message brokers, adapters, XML). Since EAI is a new
research area, there is an absence of literature discussing
issues like its adoption, evaluation and implementation.
This paper, examines the application of two frameworks
for the evaluation of EAI packages in the practical arena.
In doing so, the authors use case study strategy to
investigate integration issues. Empirical data derived
from the case study suggest additions to the two
evaluation frameworks. Therefore, the authors revised
and extend previous works by proposing a novel
evaluation framework for the assessment of EAI
packages. The proposed framework makes novel
contribution at two levels. First, at the conceptual level,
as it incorporates criteria identified separately in previous
studies as evaluation criteria. The proposed framework
can be used as a decision-making tool and, supports
management when taking decisions regarding the
adoption of EAI. Additionally, it can be used by
researchers to analyse and understand the capabilities o
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Towards a methodology for the development of integrated IT infrastructures
In this paper, the authors propose and validate
a methodology for the development of integrated
Information Technology (IT) infrastructures. The
motivation for putting forward a new methodology is
grounded on the limitations of the various software
engineering methodologies (traditional) that exist
today. Despite that the traditional methodologies result
in the development of Information Systems (IS) from
scratch, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)
builds integrated IT infrastructures using existing
applications. This significant difference is associated
with many issues needed to be realised and addressed
like: (a) the changes that such an infrastructure brings
to organisations, (b) the resistance to change and (c)
the extension of IS lifecycleâs. The proposed
methodology consist of eight stages and aims at
supporting software engineers, organisations and
researchers to build integrated IT infrastructures. As a
result the methodology seeks to contribute to the body
of knowledge
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Training senior employees for ICT skills enhancement through ârefocusâ: The EUROPEAN project
Declining fertility rates and the ageing of the European population represents a major challenge to many governments within the European Union (EU) and its neighbouring realms, in the present and for the forthcoming decades. The increasing ageing workforce within several United Kingdom (UK) and the EU private and public organisations is an evident manisfestation. The workforce comprised of senior employees are often seen by employers as less mobile and flexible with low performance and thus, less able to deal with the rapid changes occurring in their organisations; as rapid developments require flexible and responsive workforce. The mobility of the senior employees is therefore a topical theme in the workforce market. The necessary knowledge and skills required for the senior employees can be taught through various Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) related training systems within an organisation. However, it appears that the development of training systems required for senior employees need careful investigation into the requirements of the problem situation. The reason is that the design of senior employees training systems should be more carefully planned, as literature indicates that it is significantly time consuming and is harder to train senior employees on ICT applications. This paper presents a European project â REFOCUS (oldeR Employees training on inFOrmation and CommUnication technologieS), an initaitive undertaken by the EU for enhancing the ICT skills of the ageing workforce. This project also aims at designing a new electronic learning (e-Learning) method that focuses on the needs of senior employees of 40 years of age and over â who can become a strategic resource for the European economy
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Using ERP as a basis for Enterprise application integration
Architecting and implementing e-Business supply chain solutions across and within the modern day enterprise, is now becoming a necessity in order to maintain competitive and be adaptable to market needs. As such, the integration of information and processes is a vital step, using technologies such as using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and enterprise portal platforms. The effective sharing of resource planning and other enterprise related data across and within the enterprise is typically seen as a facet of a business to business (B2B) platform. However, such infrastructures typically involve a tight integration across intra and inter-organisational systems. This paper examines an Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) initiative taken by a global manufacturer of industrial automation products, which attempted to utilise ERP as an integration tool across its internal B2B infrastructure, to achieve such an aim. This paper discusses those integration considerations and complexities, experienced by the case company upon embarking on an EAI integration programme through the adoption of a core ERP as a catalyst for organizational change. In doing so the authors present an analysis of the inherent risks and limitations of this approach in terms of previously published literature in the field, relating to technology-driven organizational change and EAI impact and adoption frameworks
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Mapping factors influencing EAI adoption in the local government authorities on different phases of the adoption lifecycle
Several private and public organisations have adopted Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), however, its application in the Local Government Authorities (LGAs) is limited. Although, there exist few EAI adoption models, these models mainly focus on a number of different factors (e.g. benefits, barriers, cost) influencing the decision making process for EAI adoption. Moreover, these models do not illustrate which factor(s) influence the decision making process for EAI adoption on the adoption lifecycle phases. Literature indicates that the adoption process involves a sequence of phases an organisation passes through before taking the decision for adoption. This exemplifies that LGAs may also have to pass through several adoption phases before taking the decision to adopt EAI. However, due to the: (a) multiplicity of diverse EAI adoption factors and (b) not able to recognise which factor(s) influence EAI on adoption lifecycle phases, it may not be easy for LGAs to take decisions to adopt EAI by merely focusing on different factors. This may impede the decision making process for EAI adoption in LGAs. Notwithstanding, the implications of EAI have yet to be assessed, leaving scope for timeliness and novel research. Therefore, it is of high importance to investigate this area within LGAs and result in research that contributes towards successful EAI adoption. This paper makes a step forward as it: (a) investigates and proposes four adoption lifecycle phases, (b) validates the adoption lifecycle phases and (c) mapping the factors influencing EAI adoption on the adoption lifecycle phases, through a case study. Hence, it significantly contributes to the body of knowledge and practice. In doing so, providing sufficient support to the decision makers for speeding up the decision making process for EAI adoption in LGAs
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Application of fuzzy simulation for evaluating enterprise application integration in healthcare organisations
Healthcare organisations have focused on the latest technological innovations to overcome their organisational and clinical problems. The information systems were not developed in a cordinated way but evolved as autonomous and hetrogeneous systems. Thus, the integration of these systems represents one of the most urgent priorities of healthcare organisations that allow the whole organisation to meet the increasing clinical, organisational and managerial needs. Recently, technological developments have emerged in the area of integration technology such as Enterprise Application Integration (EAI). This provides significant benefits to organisations to overcome the integration problem. This work therefore evaluates the adoption of EAI in healthcare organisations. In doing so, Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) simulation is used to demonstrate the causal inter-relationships between the EAI adoption factors. FCM simulation provides insights into better understanding about interdependencies of the factors that influence EAI adoption in healthcare organisations
The impact of enterprise application integration on information system lifecycles
Information systems (IS) have become the organisational fabric for intra-and inter-organisational collaboration in business. As a result, there is mounting pressure from customers and suppliers for a direct move away from disparate systems operating in parallel towards a more common shared architecture. In part, this has been achieved through the emergence of new technology that is being packaged into a portfolio of technologies known as enterprise application integration (EAI). Its emergence however, is presenting investment decision-makers charged with the evaluation of IS with an interesting challenge. The integration of IS in-line with the needs of the business is extending their identity and lifecycle, making it difficult to evaluate the full impact of the system as it has no definitive start and/or end. Indeed, the argument presented in this paper is that traditional life cycle models are changing as a result of technologies that support their integration with other systems. In this paper, the need for a better understanding of EAI and its impact on IS lifecycles are discussed and a classification framework proposed.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Grant Ref: (GR/R08025) and Australian Research Council (DP0344682)
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