Extending the Enterprise through XML

First we had legacy systems that worked in independent silos. And then came the ERP wave. Promises of Enterprise class applications that sought to create an integrated enterprise. Connectivity was the mantra of the day as global giants like SAP, Oracle, Baan and Peoplesoft revolutionized the enterprise marketplace. Of course the huge investments in IT were only to be expected and it was not too difficult to get the budgets sanctioned in the race for real-time systems.

Then came the domain of Intranets (portals if you like the word) and Extranets. The implementation of Portals from the big ERP vendors was relatively easy at least to those who thought it worth the license costs. But when it came to extranets the picture turns a bit different.

Today most companies have primary sales data well and truly captured by their corporate ERP systems. Planning and demand forecasting is also well taken care of. But the real challenge comes in extending the enterprise on the sales side. We are talking of thousands if not tens of thousands or distributors and retailers who form the secondary sales channel. Most Corporate Enterprise systems do have the provision for supplier and vendor integration but the hurdles are imminent:

• All such partners are required to be connected through online channels (means hi speed internet access costs) in real time to be able to connect to the corporate ERP
• License costs per partner for getting a user login
• The bigger challenge of double data entry. Most partners who are not a single company vendor would be maintaining their own inventory and accounting system on separate software. Why would they want to make a double entry for the same data just for the benefit of one company

Here’s where the next stage of Enterprise application comes in - Integration of disparate systems to selectively communicate with the corporate ERP using the power of XML web services.

It’s so simple from the user and commercial sense that it's a wonder why everyone has not jumped on it yet. Discreet systems that uses a standard xml middle ware to communicate with the relevant parent system without the need for duplicate data entry and with the benefit of a single client system. It’s the future – whether its SOAP, XML or Indigo – the power of web services based system integration cannot be ignored. And now that Microsoft has powered forward with .net 2.0 increasingly new middle ware and applications will be developed without the need of BizTalk server to act as the communication middle ware.

Good times are around the corner and we at Interface are driving this advantage. Read the Interface CARE architecture for a flavor of this future trend.