However, a lack of integration among IT assets—systems, applications and data—makes it difficult for IT to respond quickly and effectively to changing business needs. Consequently, worker productivity is negatively impacted, and growth and competitiveness are compromised.
At the core of these challenges is the lack of readily accessible, relevant information presented to stakeholders in a coherent, unified manner. They cannot readily share information with one another, and therefore cannot effectively provide insight into business processes that span cross-functional areas.
What is needed is both a standards-based means of integrating diverse systems and applications over a heterogeneous set of platforms and communication protocols, as well as a loosely coupled means of achieving integration so that the underlying infrastructure promotes rather than impedes further change as business needs evolve.
