Moving Forward with the On Demand Real-time Enterprise

Chapter 2. The real-time enterprise 37

asynchronous processes are not? Not at all. We are not talking simply about

speed, but about the currency status of the data. Is it the most current result of an

execution of a particular process?

A key in determining real-time data status, is the time lag or delay within and

between the knowledge creation process, and reaction time for decision-making

and adaptation. Here are a few more attributes that need consideration in a

real-time enterprise:

1. Decision makers and executives need to become time-based. To support this

requires, as an example, event-based technology. They must be made aware

of critical events as they occur, receiving appropriate information to support

decision-making.

2. Processes must cross organization and company boundaries. There must be

increased emphasis on processes, as they are the vehicle for tracking activity

execution and capturing real-time status information. This information should

be available to all who need it, immediately. It can be available as an entity, or

integrated with other data from data warehouse to be in context.

3. Business process changes must occur quickly (for example, in a matter of

hours rather than days). Processes should be integrated into the overall

information infrastructure. As such, they participate in the delivery of real-time

data. And, to do so, they must be kept up-to-date and accurate. Moving to an

automated process development environment can make this update

requirement easier and faster to meet.

2.2.1 Attributes of the real-time enterprise

We have discussed the terms real-time and on demand. They have meanings

themselves. But when we put them together and form the term

on demand

real-time enterprise

, we have a new entity. Unfortunately it is an entity that can

also have many different definitions. So, we will not try to define it. But, rather we

will characterize it. What are some of the characteristics of the on demand

real-time enterprise? Or, what are the attributes by which we can recognize such

an entity?

In the following sections, we discuss and describe some of these attributes.

Agile and flexible

By definition, an environment that is agile and flexible is able to deal with change.

This can take several forms. For example, integrating applications and the data

warehouse environment with processes for access to real-time data. The

enterprise needs to become

process aware. That is, to move towards a flexible

environment where processes, and process workflows, can be changed in