Showing papers by "James D. McKeen published in 2002"

New Developments in Practice II: Enterprise Application Integration

Abstract: The term enterprise application integration (EAI) refers to the plans, methods, and tools aimed at modernizing, consolidating, integrating and coordinating the computer applications within an enterprise. The need to integrate across applications is being driven by customer demand for access to information and the desire of the business for a single point of contact with their customer base. The challenges are significant because of the variety of technologies in need of integration and because integration cuts across lines of business. This paper distinguishes among four different (but related) targets of EAI: • Data-level integration • Application-level integration • Process-level integration • Inter-organizational-level integration The paper then discusses the technologies that assist with this integration (the “EAI toolkit”) under the following categories: • Asynchronous event/message transport • Transformation engines • Integration brokers • Business process management frameworks The paper concludes by outlining six key strategies for managing EAI suggested by a group of senior IT managers from leading-edge firms.

Developments in practice v: it sourcing: build, buy, or market

Abstract: This paper describes the logical evolution of IT service provisioning through various delivery models over time concentrating on the “rent” era as well as the “market” era – an emerging external IT services marketplace that offers rich opportunities for IT organizations to become more cost-effective in the future. With the market era, IT organizations speculate that strategic business applications for mission-critical applications will remain in-house but delivery for standard and meta-industry applications, processes, and technology will be off-site. Thus, for most companies, it is likely that external IT providers will form part of their future service delivery package and that some IT departments will become both consumers and sellers of components. The implications of these developments for IT management are articulated and the elements of an IT sourcing strategy presented.

New Developments in Practice IV: Managing the Technology Portfolio

Abstract: Due to the unrelenting pace of technological change, the task of managing an organization’s IT portfolio can be formidable. Failure to accomplish this task effectively can expose an organization to technology failure and/or financial risk. This paper, based on discussions with a focus group of senior IT managers from a number of leading-edge organizations, outlines the challenges of managing the IT portfolio and presents recommended, “tried-and-true” strategies to tackle the problem.