Our History
Integration has been documented as consuming 80% of IT budgets. It is a topic that is worthy of executive level attention because the lack of process, data, and system integration can have a dramatically negative impact on business.
This service area includes the following specialties:
Enterprise Integration
Within a single enterprise, integration is necessary to optimize business process efficiency by implementing supporting systems and the automated flow of required information. All layers of the business automation framework should be addressed: strategy and goals, business process, application presentation, business rules and logic, and data. Strategies can be developed to address each layer separately, but the optimum approach is to insure integration across all levels.ASIX can provide support for all levels of enterprise integration. Our analysts
and developers understand the importance of smooth connections across all systems
and business components to achieve success. ASIX has specific services that
address integration including enterprise data modeling, data warehousing and
process integration.
Extended Enterprise Integration
Today even small businesses are considering the use the internet to improve communication with their customers and business partners. Many businesses are searching for E-business solutions that incorporate the use of the Internet to improve the efficiency of their value chain. These solutions typically involve changes in both process as well as the underlying systems that support these business processes that cross the boundaries of the individual companies involved.
ASIX supports implementation of e-business and the extended enterprise by helping our clients' align business processes, and by modeling the E-business interactions and the technology that automates them. Our consultants are familiar with the required tools of the trade: XML, Web Services and Microsoft's .NET initiative.
Integration Software and Tools
The use of formalized software quality assurance processes has become mandatory with the complexity of web-based system architectures. A comprehensive development process must incorporate requirements centered testing that insures quality by tracing requirements through to the final delivery of an application.
ASIX uses a proven set of manual and automated testing procedures to make
our products as robust as possible. Our testing begins with accurate identification
of user needs via test cases, and follows through all development phases. We
apply QA processes developed for our Ascend software package that include automated
testing tools, maintenance of standard data and test cases.
Implementation and Data Conversion
Modern software standards greatly facilitate integration, but the standards come at the price of increased complexity. System integration now requires understanding of technologies from multiple vendors, standards bodies and methodologies. A bewildering variety of vendor solutions is available to assist integration on all levels of the automation framework.
ASIX has employed integration tools on many of our projects. We have used
the standard point-to-point integration products, and are familiar with the
newer EAI integration engines that require knowledge of a various process and
data integration approaches.