Opening Up the Enterprise

Because the Oracle Customer Data Hub is built on an open information architecture, the Oracle Customer Data Hub can be used with applications from other vendors such as SAP, Sage Group, and Lawson Software. In fact, Oracle recognizes that some companies want best-of-breed products from different vendors whereas others must deal with highly decentralized purchasing across various departments, so moving to a suite may not be possible for many years or, in some cases, ever. So integration is available at all levels, from application-to-application integration to integration between applications and business processes.

After consolidating basic customer information such as name and ID number from multiple sources into a single repository into which transactional applications are integrated, the Oracle Customer Data Hub identifies and reconciles duplicate data, cleans the data, and sends it back to the source systems. Everything is done in near real time. Two additional components—Oracle Customers Online and Oracle Data Librarian—provide customer management, viewing, consolidation, and data-quality tools. "Oracle has done a good job of defining an end-to-end customer hub that addresses creating the customer, enriching the customer data, handling changes to that customer, and monitoring and managing the quality of customer data over time," says Forrester's Kinikin.

Breaking down barriers between applications and creating a clear picture of each customer will be a big benefit for companies that have invested in best-of-breed applications, are experiencing the challenges of mergers and acquisitions, have created multiple data silos across the enterprise, or are trying to go to market with new products and services. Companies that are moving into the global marketplace, have given individual departments free rein when it comes to purchasing software, or allow untrained users to add information into their systems will also benefit.

Keys to Success

"Integration is critical for companies, regardless of industry," says Brian Wood, research director of corporate performance management at Gartner Inc., in Stamford, Connecticut. "It's especially valuable for B2C companies such as telecom and financial services, which have large amounts of data and huge numbers of customers. B2B companies also benefit from integration but tend to focus more on collaborative applications."

At the world's largest padlock manufacturer, both integration of information and agility in the marketplace are essential. "Whether our customers want customized products, packaging, or merchandising, we have the flexibility to meet those requirements," says Rick Kolaczewski, chief financial officer at Master Lock, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Recognizing that sustained growth required the consistent delivery of better products and services, Master Lock decided to reorganize its business around customers, by improving customer service, offering more product innovation, and controlling costs more effectively. The company chose Oracle E-Business Suite as a key element of its strategy and for its integration, flexibility, scalability, availability, and process- driven approach.

"Our business is growing quickly, but we've minimized fixed-cost investments to support that growth," says Kolaczewski. In fact, having a flexible and scalable integrated system working with a world-class supply chain has allowed the subsidiary of the US$6 billion Fortune Brands to improve customer service as well as efficiencies across the enterprise. The cost of IT maintenance has been reduced by 40 percent. Delivery time of customized products has been cut by two weeks, with work in process (WIP) reduced by 70 percent. The number of product inquiry calls has dropped by 25 percent, and pay-on-delivery (POD) inbound calls have dropped by 14 percent. And the financial close cycle has been reduced by two days. "The biggest benefits have yet to be realized," says Jim Johnson, Master Lock's director of IS. "This is a foundation that will continue to be leveraged for cost- effective business growth."

Expert View

What are the technology and business issues to consider if you're thinking about trying to integrate your various applications with the Oracle E-Business Suite and take advantage of the Oracle Customer Data Hub?

The Big Picture. "Think not so much in terms of what to integrate but how to exploit integration to handle business processes more efficiently," says Benjamin Grosof, assistant professor of information technology at the MIT Sloan School of Management. "Otherwise, you lose the best opportunities to boost productivity."

<Digi-Fact> In a survey of 100 companies in 2003, 87 percent of respondents said they had already launched initiatives to streamline their business processes. Nearly half [49 percent] expected to undertake such projects during the next 12 months. The biggest barriers to enabling real-time business processes: lack of funding and lack of understanding of how the new approach would benefit the company. Source: Gartner Inc.

"CIOs should review their corporate architecture every year and ask themselves, 'What do I want it to look like three years from now?'" says Bruce Richardson, senior vice president of research at AMR Research, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Getting Buy-in From Users. Breaking projects into discrete chunks and beginning in areas in which there is clear user demand ensures a smoother transition, according to Richardson. "For example, companies may want to start with portals or data analytics, where their users can see the benefits more easily."

Technical Detail. "Companies should be aware that in a few years, the big tool for data management will be XML data management engines— so they should start building their expertise now," says Grosof. In a dynamic company in which business information changes frequently, linking business services rather than investing in customized coding will be more effective, asserts Judith Hurwitz, president of Hurwitz Consulting, in an April 22, 2003, column in CIO magazine. "Companies considering the Oracle Customer Hub should look at their existing middleware strategy and determine if there is a standard, whether that standard integrates with the Oracle Application Server 10g, and whether it is used purely for messaging and data integration or for process integration," adds Gartner's Wood.

Return on Investment. Of course, it's always valuable to consider ROI. "Exploiting this integration can be seen as a good dividend on the amount of time and money you spend implementing your ERP system," says Grosof. And leveraging your IT investment is always good—especially when you're on the rebound.