Enterprise Resource Planning & System Integration

Carmaine Ariza

MMIS

Reading & Research Assignment 1:

 Enterprise Resource Planning & System Integration

September 11, 2016

Abstract

Systems integration has been very vital in the business arena since businesses started using computers to run daily processes. Many systems were created to carry out task such as accounts receivable, accounts payables, inventory etc. These systems were by no means integrated. Getting information from several systems to get an idea of how the business really works can be very difficult, almost impossible. ERP was developed to integrate daily operations into one single system. However, ERP integration is still a challenge for many IT organizations as they advance enterprise systems to support the cloud, mobility and also new data types.

Introduction and Background

Microsoft defines an Enterprise resource planning as a system that helps businesses manage their financials, supply chain, inventory, operations, reporting, and human resources. However, a system must be integrated with other software applications to share data and also to improve business processes at large. ERP is the central information center of any organization, it is a tool that will help an organization improve its daily processes and also help to improve the distribution of available resources. Most ERP systems can be installed on-premises or in the cloud, to improve and computerize the main parts of a business. 

ERP systems play a vital role in permitting systems integration at several levels of the application structural design. Getting information from several systems to get an idea of the business really works can be very difficult, almost impossible. ERP was developed to help solve the problems users faced by assimilating back-office operations into a single system. However, ERP integration is still a challenge for many IT organizations as they advance enterprise systems to support the cloud, mobility and also new data types. Many companies have struggled with selecting the right integration structural design for syncing an ERP with other Best-of-Breed enterprise systems such as Customer Service Management or supply chain management. The best-of-breed approach to the implementation of ERP involves picking and choosing the best modules available to create the ERP system.

 Internally, ERP system integration is considered complete and all-inclusive. Once, the ERP systems covers all of your information management needs, and there are no external systems or applications in place or planned, integration should not be a concern. However, ERP system integration externally is the completely opposite. Most organizations have more than just an ERP system and many also want to interchange information with trading partners (Aptean) Integrating several ERP systems with each other and with other enterprise applications can make system integration an even more overwhelming job. Syncing ERP to several sources from multiple vendors with different upgrade schedules could also be very complex. As quoted by Hestermann “The more connections and integrations, the more complex the whole picture will be. However, Stackpole quoted in her article if the use of underlying technologies like service-oriented architecture, web services and using standard business objects are used, integration is much easier.