In the eighties the corporate world worked to computerize core processes.
In the nineties the focus was on networking and connectivity. In the new
millennium we find our offices computerized and computers networked, but
our business running on a patchwork of disparate applications not designed
to work together. Creating a smooth and reliable information flow between
these systems is one of today's biggest challenges.
Today's enterprises rely on varied sources of information: file exchanges
to and from multiple sources, multiple client and vendor systems, inventory
management systems, local accounting systems, head-office ERP systems,
and back-office mainframes. Complicating matters further for multinational
and multi-cultural organizations is the fact that these systems are often
running in different languages.
Enterprise integration sometimes appears a Herculean task. However, since
successful integration can greatly reduce operational costs, significantly
increase overall efficiency, and virtually eliminate data-entry errors,
it is almost always worth the effort.
The traditional approach to enterprise integration is to pay application
vendors customize their applications to fit your integration needs. Unfortunately,
this almost always involves multiple vendors, huge expense, long testing
cycles, and incessant finger-pointing.
Vanguard's approach is faster and less expensive. Vanguard first examines
and documents existing business processes and systems to construct a detailed
data-flow model. We then use this model, draw on our extensive middleware
experience, and leverage the functionality of your current systems, to
achieve enterprise integration with minimal changes to existing systems
and in a very cost-effective manner.