Thus, business integration is becoming very important. Business integration encompasses the whole value chain - it involves customers, business partners and suppliers. Our E.A.I. practice Our E.A.I practice helps clients deal with the challenges of business integration. Today's IT systems are made up of diverse elements- hardware, operating systems and software applications. For example, applications run on different platforms and are written in different languages.
Data files are of different types, held in different sites and accessed in different ways.
Thus, the major challenge for IT in addressing business integration is managing this diversity. However, a lot of ERP implementations have been inward focussed - that is emphasising cost reductions, technology and process improvements versus customers and suppliers. Hence, there is a shift away from reliance on a single enterprise application toward the integration of best of breed applications provided by different vendors. The challenge is in how to do it most effectively. Customer information, which exists in various systems, can be captured through different business processes, touch points and channels.