The organizational and informational context of large business system integration projects

Many computer systems today have evolved into hybrids of assorted subsystems. This assortment can include systems of disparate technologies(batch, data base ...), hardware configurations and of different chronological ages.As managers try to 'forge' these hybrids into homogeneous, integrated systems, they are discovering that integration means more then simply the physical compatability of its component parts.Standardized protocols, gateway machines, and translation strategies can help, but after all of these 'physical' incompatabilities are resolved, a much larger problem, the problem of informational and organizational integration becomes apparent.When the practioner of large BUSINESS systems design attempts to apply readily available theory to these issues, he finds that his challenge is not only to 'solve' data management problems, but to 'uncover' what the real problems are when applied against the backdrop of business organizations and their often contradictory informational needs.The author proposes that this problem definition process can be greatly facilitated by a better understanding of the business's organizational environment and its relationship to the computer environment.By examining the organization itself as an information gathering/distributing system, the individuals' needs for information are described in terms of information requirements. Computer system organization, data storage and access methods are then evaluated in terms of their ability to meet those informational needs efficiently.Finally, an approach to large system integration based upon these informational requirements is proposed.