Understanding and Managing Enterprise Systems Integration

Abstract

The need to implement different enterprise systems to automate business processes in companies has generated complex environments consisting of various kinds of information systems based on different technologies. In these environments, enterprise systems integration is an unavoidable but remarkably demanding problem. Besides technical issues, it raises managerial and political questions. This thesis approaches the problem of enterprise systems integration from the organizational and managerial perspectives. The main research question is How to manage enterprise systems integration efficiently? A qualitative and interpretive research approach is used with the Grounded Theory as the means of data analysis. To have a broad perspective on the topic, the empirical data analysis focuses mainly on the development of a long-term customized ERP system in a large manufacturing enterprise. After having been under constant development for more than 20 years, the system had reached its retirement phase. Most of the challenges and problems in enterprise systems integration are socioorganizational. To address them, understanding of the nature, interactions and operations of an ERP Development Network, i.e. a group of organizations that develop the enterprise system collaboratively, must be reached first. The mostly distinct research domains of enterprise systems integration and IT governance should be more closely intertwined. Better management of enterprise systems integration should be an important goal of IT governance. Existing enterprise system life cycle models lack the ability to express the nature of integration properly, and need to be updated. The practical implications of this thesis can help managers to make integration processes more systematic, and avoid the pitfalls of integration. Integration is a continuous effort that is never fully achieved. As suggested by a model that provides an explanation for how challenges emerge in organizations dealing with integration issues, it is important to recognize and focus on the root causes behind operative problems. Integration governance needs to be established and practiced to enable better control of enterprise systems integration. A high-level integration strategy ensures that the integration efforts are aligned with the goals of the organization. An architectural description of the systems landscape is needed to impose the integration requirements. As the need to integrate enterprise systems is not likely to be diminished in the future, the conceptualizations proposed in this thesis need further validation through studies with a variety of research methods, addressing different domains and organizational contexts.