* A look at one of the hottest trends around: the extended enterprise
The time has come to put aside petty differences and work together as a team. Sound like maybe a high school football coach’s last words of wisdom before a big game. Of course, it could be your CIO telling your varied IT departments to simply get in the game and play as a single unit.
This week, I want to direct you to a special Network World supplement that talks about one of the hottest trends around : the extended enterprise.
The term is pretty all encompassing but basically we talk about how you can create a single environment where local employees, remote workers, road warriors, customers, the sales channel, suppliers and other partners can easily access business services. The extended enterprise is a place where all users work in real time across heterogeneous environments, and across public and private networks, to get needed information to the right person or application.
In a survey of 150 Network World readers conducted in December 2002, we found that most organizations have begun the design and development phase of their extended enterprises, which they see as growing in business importance. Some 98% of respondents said the extended enterprise has some level of importance to the successful operation of business, with 84% calling that level either “important,” or “very important.”
And the extended enterprise concept is shaping purchasing decisions on new enterprise applications. More than 90% of respondents said they want new applications to have solid security features as a result of the extended enterprise. More than three-quarters also want support for Web standards and a clear strategy for how the vendor plans to implement Web services. The ability to integrate with external partner applications is considered by 61%, and 45% want their new enterprise applications to be outfitted for mobility and wireless access.
Readying the infrastructure for an extended enterprise model also means embedding intelligence into the network in every feasible way. Improved automation methods within storage, server, routing and network management products will let systems heal themselves. This will improve resiliency when so much rides on a single, interwoven system. Such intelligence also promises to ease problem diagnosis – a sticky issue when multiple parties own systems.
But most importantly, network executives must take responsibility for visionary leadership. Your work now touches everyone who comes in contact with your company. The changes in your IT systems affect how your company does business and vice versa.
For more on what out extended enterprise issue covers, take a look: www.nwfusion.com/ee2
