Corporate Information Factory

CHAPTER 4

The Applications Component

Applications have been in existence since the earliest systems were built. The development lifecycle for applications, the day-to-day operation of the applications, and the ongoing maintenance that applications require is well documented. For all of these reasons, applications are well known to almost anyone looking at the corporate information factory.

Another way to think of the applications in the CIF is as a collection vehicle that is responsible for:

   Gathering detailed transaction data

   Interacting directly with the end user

   Auditing and adjusting data

   Editing data

Undoubtedly, the applications in the corporate information factory accomplish more than the simple functions listed here. For example, applications collect this data as part of their core function to automate key business processes within the corporation, such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, order processing, and transaction processing. The simple functions, however, are found in one form or another throughout the applications environment.

Dated Applications

The ...