Business Process Integration

[Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) ]

Creating Value From Business

Process Integration
Introduction

Do you sometimes feel that your accounting department
is across the country rather than down the hall?

Or that your data is being held hostage?

Getting systems to work together, extending legacy
applications, and creating end-to-end business process
integration are some of senior executives most
frustrating challenges.

Challenges that have frequently been too costly, time-
consuming, and complex to solve.

data is being held hostage

means:
Current system stopping you
from integrating into other
business systems specification
Enterprise Application Integration

Advancements in Enterprise Application

Integration (EAI) technologies are finally
putting the benefits of integration within
reach.
Business Process Integration

Business Process Integration (BPI) is the strategy of
finding ways to connect individual technology systems so
that the flow of information between those systems is
efficient and seamless.

The idea of this type of integration is to eliminate the
need to duplicate data in several different systems, and
increase the overall efficiency of the business operation.

When structured to best advantage, business process
integration can save the business a great deal of time
and money.
Business Process Integration

Business Process Integration (BPI) is the
synchronization of a companys internal operations with
those of its other divisions and its trading partners by
connecting disparate systems in real-time.

The software glue required to communicate between
incompatible systems has been known by different
names from Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to
Message-oriented Middleware (MoM) to Enterprise
Application Integration (EAI) and now the latest
incarnation: Business Process Integration. But BPI is
genuinely distinct from its predecessors in several
important ways.
Business Process Integration

Business Process Integration (BPI) is essential for
businesses looking to connect systems and
information efficiently. BPI allows for automation of
business processes, integration of systems and
services, and the secure sharing of data across
numerous applications. Overcoming integration
challenges allows organizations to connect systems
internally and externally.

Moreover, BPI allows for the automation of
management, operational, and supporting
processes. This gives businesses an edge over
competitors as they can spend less time concerned
about the challenges of integration and more time
and energy on driving new business.
Business Process Integration

Previously, business process integration software was
only available to large enterprise companies that could
afford it. Today, businesses of all sizes need an efficient
integration solution to streamline processes between
marketing, sales, customer service, and supply chain
management, etc. Integration among administrative,
operational, and support processes increases
productivity by simplifying regular enterprise functions.
Integration Barriers

Integration without the proper tools is
complicated. Many businesses implement
custom integration to take on the challenge of
creating seamless connectivity. This method
calls for a developer to create point-to-point
integrations between applications and services.
As a business grows and the number of
integrations increases, the point-to-point
architecture or spaghetti code, becomes
complex, fragile, and expensive to maintain.
Integration Barriers
Integration Barriers

Companies without an integration solution often

resort to manual data entry. This method
requires individuals to transfer data from one
application to another by hand, often resulting in
swivel chair data entry. Such a technique is
time consuming and expensive. Some
companies employ data loaders or other tools to
help integration, yet with limited connectivity to
certain services, they are not always scalable.
Business Process Integration
Solution

Organizations seek a solution not only to
synchronize applications and systems internally,
but also to connect externally to partner,
supplier, and customer systems.

Business process management strives to
improve processes and align the needs of
customers with company objectives. This gives
businesses visibility and flexibility, making them
more efficient and innovative.
Business Process Integration
Solution

Moreover, workflow automation promotes
efficient interactions between process models
and data models. Business process re-
engineering works towards improving efficiency
across the business model by helping
companies evaluate and implement best
practices for process automation and business
integration.
Business Process Integration Solution

Critical governance and operations processes

can be automated and synchronized to ensure
businesses follow standards. Core business
processes relating to marketing, sales, and
purchases can be integrated with support and
accounting to enhance visibility and improve
communication across the team. With critical
business processes automated, companies are
free to focus primarily on driving new business.
Business Process Integration Solution

One example of business process integration involves

establishing a relationship between the sales and billing
systems within a company. In some cases, the
connection is reciprocal, in that specific data within the
sales database can be accessed from the billing system,
and vice versa.

This means that if the integration is configured with the
right protocols, a salesperson can access current billing
period figures for a given client by going to that clients
profile in the sales database and executing a request.

At the same time, a billing specialist could initiate a
query from the billing system to the sales database and
download information regarding the newest contract
rates extended to a customer.
Business Process Integration Solution

The concept of business process integration can aid in

making sure that customers orders are processed,
executed, and billed with relative ease, simply by
establishing connections between all relevant systems.

For example, if a customer schedules a conference call

with a service provider, the details regarding that order
are entered in a reservations department, and the
information is downloaded to the conference bridge
where the call will actually take place.
Business Process Integration Solution

This means there is no need for the conference operator

to enter the data manually, and possibly make an entry
error that negatively impacts the conference call itself.

Once the call is complete, the data for the call is

automatically downloaded from the conference bridge to
the billing system, where the correct rates are applied
and the invoice automatically prepared by the system,
without the need for a billing specialist to manually enter
data from a printout of conference bridge activity.
Business Process Integration Solution

By effectively using business process integration to
establish connections between internal systems,
businesses can often manage tasks with a greater
degree of speed as well as accuracy.

The ability to retrieve customer names and addresses for
a mass mailing is simplified when an integrated system
can combine a letter template with that contact
information, download the created documents to a
printer, while at the same time preparing an email listing
that makes it possible to notify those same customers to
expect the mailing in a few days.

A project of this type can be managed by a single
employee in a matter of a couple of hours, rather than
requiring several employees to devote time to the project
over one or two days.
BPI & The Business Process Life Cycle

Business Process Integration (BPI)

solutions are uniquely positioned to enable
organizations to implement process
improvements with a minimum of hassle.
This is due to the comprehensive features
covering all aspects of integration-related
development (refer to the following
graphic).
BPI & The Business Process Life Cycle

BPI solutions address each phase of the

business process life cycle as follows:

Define Phase: Graphical modeling
capability is provided that enables teams
to visually create process flows. Dynamic
web forms capability is also provided to
enable effective movement of data
between the parties.
BPI & The Business Process Life Cycle

Create Phase: In this step of the business

process life cycle, the models created in the
definition stage can be directly interpreted as
executable java code at runtime. This can result
in the total elimination of manual coding efforts
and is the key reason why reduction in
development times can be so significant when
using a BPI tool.
BPI & The Business Process Life Cycle

Execute Phase: In this step, the value of the linkages

that bind each of the integration silos (application, B2B,
data & process) becomes clear. Complicated integration
activities can now be centrally orchestrated within a
single management environment that enables effective
sharing of data and business processes that span the
entire organization. Over time, the productivity of
development teams is enhanced even more as they
become more proficient in the use of a single,
comprehensive integration environment.
BPI & The Business Process Life Cycle

Monitor Phase: In this phase, business

activity monitoring features that enable
business users to see the real-time status
of key processes as they execute and this
allows for more rapid identification and
resolution of business issues that may be
causing process bottlenecks.
BPI & The Business Process Life Cycle

Optimize Phase: The optimization phase is

enhanced by the availability of features that
improve process outcomes. For example,
simulation capability can facilitate impact
analysis of potential changes to the existing
process. In addition, the definition and selective
implementation of key business policies can be
provided by an embedded business rules
engine.
BPI & The Business Process Life Cycle

So, if your organization is looking to

implement business process
enhancements you should consider the
benefits that a BPI solution can provide.
Dont restrict your search to a BPM
solution since BPI tools are much more
capable.