Spend, spend, spend - but integrate, integrate, integrate (page 2 of 2)

Integration also reduces costs by consolidating technology around a limited number of platforms. Not only does this enable organisations to take advantage of economies of scale, it also cuts management overheads and focuses the skill pool on strategic technologies.

Many organisations are, for example, faced with a growing demand for integrated customer service. Banks are obliged to offer customers access through the traditional branch, a call centre, the Internet and over the telephone. Soon they will also have to provide mobile phone facilities and, not too far in the future, access from interactive digital televisions. The public utility companies and retail organisations face similar demands for high-quality, integrated customer service.

Manufacturing and distribution organisations also need to work towards integrated business processes and IT infrastructures to meet the challenges of e-commerce. They must be able to link their IT systems to their suppliers and partners to exploit fully the cost savings that e-commerce can bring.

Integrated communications and information processing systems underpin common business processes. The organisations that can successfully re-engineer their business processes and the technology infrastructure which supports them will thrive. Those that do not will lose customers.

Integration not only helps to meet current challenges - it can also provide a lasting foundation for future developments. A well-thought out IT infrastructure will be able to accommodate novel technologies such as mobile devices and digital television alongside existing technology.

Re-engineering processes and technologies that have evolved over ten or 20 years is a huge challenge and few organisations are in a position to go right back to the drawing board and start from scratch.

Budget constraints and business priorities prohibit a 'Big Bang' approach. Progress must come from identifying pragmatic actions which meet short term challenges - but within the context of a long-term integration strategy.

Typically hardware technology sits at the top of the list. But investment in hardware-independent software can deliver a much faster return on investment with far less effort. Many organisations have, for example, recognised importance of standards-based middleware as a tool for integration.

Improved network control and systems resource management can also serve the long-term cause of integration, and yet still deliver short-term benefits by getting more out of existing hardware.

Integrated storage management is another example. By separating storage management from hardware, organisations can make immediate savings from better use of resources and lay a long-term foundation for the future.

VERITAS, for example, expects to save a typical customer hundreds of thousands of dollars in hardware expenditure through more efficient use of existing storage resources. Such savings enable greater investment in other areas of integration.

No one knows when the current downturn will end. But the combination of pent up demand and new products suggests that technology spending will see a modest turnaround quite soon. Businesses still need to find ways to cut costs by automating processes and refining their technology infrastructure to cope with market demand and technology advances.

Tight budgets limit investment options to those that can deliver short-term gains in a slow market. Organisations that put these short term gains within the context of a long term integration strategy are likely to be the ones best prepared for a new period of economic growth.