1st Edition

The Real-Time Enterprise

By Dimitris N. Chorafas Copyright 2005
    368 Pages 77 B/W Illustrations
    by Auerbach Publications

    Successful management teams can identify the cost and return derived from the implementation of new technology, and they can properly apply the technology toward gaining a competitive advantage. IT and business managers alike need a resource that enables them to prepare for future operating conditions, identify beneficial solutions, and use high technology to achieve organizational goals.

    The Real-Time Enterprise analyzes the forward-looking implementation of IT within a business, focusing on how careful planning can improve efficiency while reducing costs. The book includes case studies that emphasize how the most profitable uses of technology are now the real-time response to customer requirements, and the accumulation of knowledge about markets and business partners.

    Divided into four parts, the text begins by explaining how advanced information technology is a moving target, and why companies that want to benefit from it must set priorities and move quickly. Part II covers many recent developments in IT and its implementation, including smart dust and straight through processing (STP). Part III is made up of case studies that address specific application areas, including credit institutions, treasury operations, risk management, and approaches to replace office automation. The book concludes by exploring a series of prerequisites made necessary by advanced applications.

    The Real-Time Enterprise provides a perspective on the deployment of strategic information technology, covering guidelines, advanced applications, and practical examples. It delivers a much-needed upgrade of knowledge and skills for IT professionals seeking to progress beyond traditional implementations.

    ADVANCED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
    IS A MOVING TARGET

    Technology and the Real-Time Enterprise
    Introduction
    Foresight, Insight, and Competitive Advantages
    Reinventing the Functions of Management
    Knowledge Navigation and the Real-Time Enterprise
    Past Breakthroughs, Advanced Knowledge, and Efficiency

    Strategic Planning, Technology, and Organization
    Introduction
    A Long, Hard Look Into the Future
    Organization, Identification, and Fast Deliverables
    Coordination Through Management by Objectives
    Strategic Plans Should Account for New Technology's Impact

    New Trends in Information Technology
    Introduction
    A Concept of Internet Ecosystem
    Trends in Networked Sophisticated Applications
    Back to Basics
    Miniaturization and Sensing Technology
    What Can Be Expected from Smart Dust?

    What Is Meant by High Tech?
    Introduction
    Using High Technology for Business Survival
    Extending the Current Technology's Frontier
    Managing Information as a Product
    R&D is Integral Part of High Tech Implementation
    High Technology and the Virtual Company

    STRAIGHT-THROUGH PROCESSING, REALITY ON-LINE, AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

    Straight Through Processing
    Introduction
    A Practical Example with STP: Continuous Link Settlement
    Continuities and Discontinuities: in STP Implementation
    Exception Handling and Straight Through Processing
    Connecting STP to Enterprise Resources Planning
    Cost and Benefit with Straight Through Processing

    Reality Online as an Integrative Solution
    Introduction
    System Design for Reality Online
    Reality Online, and Smart Cars
    System Integration by the Swiss Customs Authority. A Case Study
    Prerequisites for and Payoffs from System Integration
    Likely Social Impact of Reality Online

    Executive Information Systems
    Introduction
    Concepts Underpinning Executive Information Systems
    Executive Information System Examples with BNP Paribas and
    Wal- Mart
    A Corporate Memory Facility. Case Study with Magellan
    The Important Role of Visualization in Executive Information Systems
    A Well-Designed EIS Is Always User-Centered. A Case Study

    Client Information Systems
    Introduction
    The New Age of Retail
    Prerequisites to the Design of a Client Information System
    MIT's Virtual Customer and Accenture's Virtual Double
    Implementing the Client Mirror
    Using Customer Relationship Management Software

    CASE STUDIES WITH REAL-TIME ENTERPRISES

    Real-Time Applications in the Banking Industry
    Introduction
    A 21st Century IT Solution for a Commercial Bank
    Real-Time and Realspace Applications by Top Tier Institutions
    Bankers Trust: Repositioning in Right Side of Balance Sheet
    Use of Expert Systems by the Deutsche Bundesbank
    Taking an Integrated View of EIS and CIS

    Real-Time Treasury Operations
    Introduction
    Pillars of Treasury Control. A Case Study
    A Closer Look Into Assets and Liabilities Management
    Crisis of Fund Management. A Case Study
    Benefits from an A&L Acid Test
    Challenges with Home-Host Financial Reporting

    Real-Time Risk Management
    Introduction
    Organization, Technology, and Enterprise Risk Management
    Uncertainties Connected to Credit Risk
    Uncertainties Resulting from Market Risk
    The Real-time Evaluation of Gains and Losses
    Isaac Newton's Policy for Effective Control

    Implementing Realspace Solutions to Replace Office
    Automation
    Introduction
    Office Automation Must Be Upgraded with Real-Time Technology
    Case Study on the Revamping of Office Automation
    Cultural Change is Inevitable, No Matter Which Is the New System
    Advanced Solutions Rest on Re-Engineered Real-Time Applications
    Offshoring the Back Office and Real-Time Connectivity

    PREREQUISITES TO REAL-TIME SOLUTIONS

    Business Architecture for a Real-Time Enterprise
    Introduction
    Designing a Business Architecture to Promote Client Focus and
    Innovation
    Challenges a Business Architecture Must Overcome
    The Interim Business Architecture of a Money Center Bank. A Case
    Study
    Converging Towards Implementation of a Realspace Environment. A
    Case Study

    Data Mining Anywhere, at Any Time, on Any Subject
    Introduction
    End Users and the Need for Real-Time Databases
    Increasing Return on IT Investments through Data Mining
    Improving the Sophistication of Interactive Database Access
    Database Solutions and Quality of Service

    Case Studies on Internet-Intrinsic Models
    Introduction
    Internet Technology Towards 2010
    Internet-Intrinsic Business Models
    Case Studies on Internet Use in Retail Banking
    Rethinking the Horizon of Internet Retail Banking Services
    Internet and the Securities Industry

    End-to-End Deliverables through Internet Ecosystems
    Introduction
    End-to-End on the Internet
    Time and Its Challenges
    Virtue Is Knowledge Which Cannot Be Taught
    Learning How to Do Internet Ecosystem Studies
    Deliverables for the SMEs and the Virus Threat
    Who Can Make Money on the Internet?

    Business Continuity and Contingency Planning
    Introduction
    Management of Business Continuity and the Terrorist Threats
    Learning a Lesson from the Law of Unexpected Consequences
    Operational Risk Control, Contingency Planning, and Disaster
    Recovery
    Controlling the Company's Cost Structure through Technology

    Biography

    Dimitris N. Chorafas