An integration solution is based on open standards and enables integration between corporate information systems at the business process level. Integration may be provided both within and beyond one office, involving information systems within the company and those of partners, suppliers and customers.
The purpose of implementing an integration solution is to automate distributed business processes involving heterogeneous systems operating in a heterogeneous environment.

Implementing an integration solution will help to eliminate the following problems in company operations:

1. Problems of data input into information systems:

• Duplication of data input into different information systems and duplication-related errors and extra costs;
• Out of sync data used by different information systems.

2. Problems of direct use of reference information by users in performing business functions:

• Reference information used in company information systems is inconsistent and/or differs in completeness, relevance or accuracy;
• High cost of user licenses of complex business support information systems used by the customer and consequently difficulty in providing all users with the required workstations.

3. Problems of information interchange between different business support systems:

• Large amounts of time and money spent on data interchange between systems, data maintenance and management at the company level;
• Difficulties in matching received interchange data to data already available in the information system.

4. Problems of primary processing of data collected for generating consolidated reports:

• Providing comparability of data obtained from different information systems;
• Providing centralized maintenance of reference information used in analysis, generating consolidated reports and for information interoperability between components of company information systems;
• Integration with different information systems at the program and information levels.

Integration solutions may also be developed and implemented in order to use existing information systems in a more efficient manner and minimize new system implementation costs by building the company’s common information environment.

Integration of information systems is about shared use of some of the information and software resources of one information system to meet information needs of other information systems and their users.

Integration provides solutions to an array of problems:

• Generating uniform standards and approaches in automation of business processes at the level of functional units (eliminating so-called “patchwork automation”);
• Recording and analyzing features of used applications and systems in order to shape an IT infrastructure development program;
• Making business processes supported by company information systems more transparent and manageable;
• Decreasing exposure to possible operating or other errors occurring due to manual input and transfer of business information.

Integration solutions may be implemented based on software products from a number of vendors including IBM, Microsoft, BEA, Oracle, Tibco, etc. Extensive implementation experience of IBS integration solution professionals indicates that integration solution implementation should preferably be based on IBM or Microsoft software products.

For more detailed information on IBS integration solutions, please visit http://integration.ibs.ru/.