One thing that is common in almost all route accounting systems and direct store delivery systems is that at some point we need to get the order, sales and inventory information back to an ERP or accounting system. Systems integration has been a problem for real world technology implementations ever since the very first computer system. As soon as you build something, you will need it to speak to something else. The problem is that the something else was likely built in a different technology that may be nothing like the first system. So how do you start?
The first things we always urge our customers to consider are:
1. Where does the single version of the truth (accurate information) need to reside and when does it need to be up to date?
2. Where (which system) will generate each type of transaction and do other systems need to know or be updated when that happens?
By carefully documenting all of the critical processes in the information chain, the interface requirements become self-evident. All that remains are the decisions about timing data management. You would think that over 50 years into the age of computing that there would be a nice onc-size-fits-all integration tool that anyone can plug into and voila you have an interface. Unfortunately, this toll has yet to emerge at a price point that is reasonable for most common business users. Integration is still largely a programming or scripting task that has to be done by technical people and/or programmers.
Many companies include interface toolkits that allow you to simplify the task. There is no common standard that allows everyone to integrate to a common point. In a world filled with standards and protocols you would think that some common point integration technology would have emerged. Until then we are left with creating our own toolsets that allow data manipulation, scripting and error correction. We will continue to work with the experts from the target system. However, it seems like the next emerging technology needs to bring us into an age of universal communications. XML and technologies of this nature were supposed to get us there but it seems to still fall short. What will the next ten years bring, maybe a new language?
Powered by Compendium Blogware
Comments for The Scary World of Making Systems Communicate