Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The diagram shows a gradual migration of functionality away from the core of the
organization to a highly distributed model. This evolution can be explained by the
technology drivers that were available during each computing era.
In the mainframe era where computing resources were at a premium, applications
were focused on computations. Interactions with the mainframes required advanced
skills and training. There was marginal attention paid to the user interface and dis-
tributed computing.
With the advent of the client-server model, computing resources became distributed,
and this led to the first era of true business applications. The client layer focused
on presentation and simplistic data validation. The server layer provided data per-
sistence and complex processing. This approach allowed the first wave of true ERP
applications to be developed.
A whole host of applications from multiple vendors surfaced during this period. This
included applications such as Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, Siebel, SAP,
and Great Plains, apart from several industry-specific applications.
These server-oriented ERP applications had complex data structures, which resulted
in large monolithic databases. Also, the business-processing logic was tightly
coupled with the database structures resulting in applications that provided good
business functionality, but they had two major drawbacks, which are as follows:
•
They were hard to modify or customize
•
Integrations outside of the applications were complex
Middleware and SOA
With the advent of the Internet, there was a move towards moving business applica-
tions to a web-based frontend. This resulted in the evolution of middleware that could
insulate the data layer from the presentation layer. However, functionality provided
by ERP applications did not fundamentally change. The Internet simply provided a
powerful new mechanism for users to interact with the business applications.
Internet-based connectivity did provide new approaches for business-to-business
(B2B) communication. This also led to progress in the areas of business-to-customer
(B2C) capabilities. However, core business processes in the areas of Finance, Order
Search WWH ::
Custom Search