Chapter Five 
Chapter Five 
Constructing the e-
Business Architecture:
Enterprise Apps

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The Premise
The Premise
CEOs want next gen enterprise apps that make their
businesses more competitive and deliver quicker benefits
CIOs challenge: develop e-business architecture
–
Bridge chasm between customers, back-office operations and
supply chain
–
Cost of the chasm: several million dollars in higher service
costs and longer order-fulfillment cycles
Application design and business design irrevocably linked
–
How you manage information determines whether you win or
lose
Companies manage information through business apps
Central theme of e-business execution: Linking isolated
business apps into a cohesive architecture

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The Challenge
The Challenge
Not an easy to achieve vision
–
Failures more frequent that successes
–
TCI, Hershey Foods
Reason: many solutions dead-on-arrival
–
Complexity of problems implies long lead times for
solutions
–
But rapid morphing of problems demands short
lifetime solutions
App investment decisions rising to the top of
mgmt agenda
–
Actual cost of enterprise apps greater than what
firms anticipate

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The Implication
The Implication
When businesses apply technology to address
new opportunities, bond between business

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Trends Driving e-Business Architecture
Trends Driving e-Business Architecture
Velocity of business increasing
Enterprise boundaries disappearing
Expectations for technology solutions rising
Other internal IT events also happening
–
Integrating apps from mergers and acquisitions
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Moving apps to the Internet
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Moving apps from legacy systems to new platforms
–
Upgrading network infrastructure to handle high-
bandwidth traffic
–
Building an integrated data model

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Inc.
New Customer-Care Objectives
New Customer-Care Objectives
Integrated application architecture key to serving the

Deregulation and demand for better customer
service began to strain existing apps
–
Forced to reevaluate business processes, esp.
customer service functions

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Fast Moving Competitors
Fast Moving Competitors
Established firms forced to scrutinize existing app architecture
–
M&As
–
Compete with new entrants
Norwest Mortgage
Traditional Norwest
Systems
Required For Future
Success
Norwest’s Challenge
Design the Future
•
Business and customer
focused proactive
•
Structured in line with

•
E-business must be
the operational
enabler of efficiency
•
Internally focused;
reactive
•
Structured around
technical
•
Chief role in
providing back
•
Emphasis on
technology skills