Integrating the Enterprise

by André LeClerc

The job of developing systems and IT solutions in the post-Y2000 era is a daunting proposition. Today, IT organizations manage a large portfolio of older legacy systems (patched up to survive the millennium rollover). Enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions have been added on top of that to provide packaged solutions and retire some of the older legacy systems. Now comes the push to Web-enable the organization, create marketable components, and build new products. Building systems and IT solutions in such a disjointed environment is more about integrating what is already there than building from scratch.