Business Operations in Dell Corporation - Research Paper Example

? Business Operations in Dell Corporation Introduction Business process integration is an important strategy which has been considered by many scholars. The idea of process and data integration came first in the early 1960s after the emergence of computing technologies immediately after the first digital capacitor-based computer was developed. Integration was a new idea in town and only a few professionals understood its importance and its implications to the business. However, over fifty years later today, the idea of business process integration is one that has remained elusive for many professionals and many businesses. There are yet many businesses which can be said to have managed to fully integrate their processes through information technology. The first attempt to business process integration started with the use of Enterprise resource Planning (ERP) systems. These systems were usually generic off-the-shelf systems which were developed by software development firms (Conger & Kanungo, 2009). In this regard, as Themistocleous and Corbitt, (2006) say, for a business to be able to achieve integration, they had to change the business process in order to align their business processes with the ERP system they bought from the vendor. Else, the organisation would have to try to modify the ERP system in order to try to align it to the business processes. Either way, this led to a situation where integration was almost impossible. In this regard, very few businesses which bought these systems were able to achieve business integration. This led to new solutions being sought in order to help organisations to be able to integrate their processes in a more useful way. By the turn of the millennium, the Enterprise Application Integration systems were the new approach to integrating business process. This new approach came to solve the issue of the inadequacies which ERP systems had (Angus, 2013). ERP systems had proven incapable of seamlessly integrating the business process as well as integrating the data of an organisation especially with regard to the data of an organisation. This issue was caused by the generality of the ERP system which made them hardly suitable for any individual organisation. To be able to achieve maximum integration, it was necessary to come with a better way of integrating the systems. Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) became the solution to this kind of a problem and it offered the organisation a way to integrate different applications of different architecture. While this overcome some issues of enterprise process integration, it still left some gaps especially due to the fact that it focused too much in integrating data and not business processes. This was another issue to be looked at in order to make sure that organisations will be able to integrate in a way that is seamless. In the turn of the millennium, there was a new wave of enterprise system integration. This new wave used an approach where the technology resources are used to integrate both the organisation’s data as well as its processes in order to create a smooth flow of both data and information. This new wave uses both the ERP model as well as the EAI model in order to get the best of both. EAI is useful in integrating the data of the organisation while ERP model is used to integrate the processes of the organisation thus achieving the best integration. Dell and Integration Right from its inception and founding by Michael Dell, Dell Computers Inc. has always looked at integration as a way to enhance business. Dell was one of the first multinational organisations to embrace integration in order to achieve market efficiencies. Dell was always build around virtual integration where the procurement (suppliers), production (operations) and sales (customer systems) were virtually integrated into one systems. To achieve this, Dell had to integrate information about its customers in order to know which products to be manufactured for which market segment. This information was then shared with the suppliers in order for them to be able to supply the raw materials in time and with maximum efficiency. This enabled Dell to be able to achieve Just In Time (JIT) manufacturing and it was the first manufacturer to be able to use this approach. Dell Today Michael Dell’s vision of an integrated organisation has never changed. After new technologies have arrived in, Dell was the first one to take advantage of the new technology in order to help the organisation to achieve seamless integration of its processes as well as data. Dell was one of the first organisations to be able to understand that process integration can only be achieved if the firm integrates its systems with peripherals such as the customers and the suppliers. Integrating the internal processes and failing o create a seamless link between the outside processes such as marketing and procurement would only mean that the firm will not be able to achieve any efficiencies. In modern day, Dell has come to be known for its efficient use of cloud computing. Cloud computing is the height of process integration as well as data integration. Being a multinational organisation operating around the globe, this has been very useful for a firm like Dell as it gives it the ability to integrate its business processes internationally. This is important because as Rodney and Daniel (2001), multinational firms need business process integration more than any other organisation. Cloud Computing Cloud computing is a new form of business systems integration. Unlike the previous integration systems such as ERP and EAI systems and strategies, Cloud Computing is a new approach which uses a third party in order to achieve integration. Cloud computing is not just an integration architecture but also a service-based system where an organisation can host its data and IS with a third party. Dell has embraced this strategy to be able to achieve its business processes integration needs. Dell has not only used cloud computing to integrate its processes but has actually become a provider of cloud computing to other business, especially providing affordable and easy cloud computing integration solutions. Cloud computing can be seen as providing a way to deal with the issues regarding integration. With cloud computing, the organisation is able to integrate both its data resources as well as integrate its business operations making it easy for the organisation to achieve efficiencies. Cloud computing helps the organizations to be able to achieve the four architecture levels which Themistocleous and Corbitt, (2006) identified as necessary for the organisation to achieve total integration. Conclusion Looking at Dell, it becomes clear that integration is not only necessary but also achievable. However, businesses must be able to understand the issues regarding the integration process. Organisations must be able to look at the various issues which affect integration. The following issues as discussed by Themistocleous and Corbitt, (2006) are important for a useful data and business process integration to be achieved. Connectivity Cloud computing is able to provide connectivity for business which help the business to create a central access point for all its application. This helps in integrating the organisation’s data. Transportation This is a layer that is useful in the transfer of the data between the various different applications which the organisation uses. Translation After the data is transferred from one application to the other, there is need to interpret the data from one coding to the other. Different applications use different data coding methods and for one application to understand the data from other application, it must be able to have a way to interpret the data. Process automation This is the ultimate intention of cloud computing and which can be seen clearly within Dell with its Just in Time manufacturing strategies. Once an organisation is able to look at these issues, it will be able to achieve useful integration of not its processes as well as its data. References Angus, P. (2013). Streamlining Management Processes. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies , 7 (12), 471-482. Conger, J.A. & Kanungo, R.N. (2009). The Empowerment Process: Integrating Theory and Practice. Academy of Managemnt Review, 13 (3), 45-49. Rodney, M. & Daniel, M. (2001). Integrating business processes for global alignment and supply chain management . Business Process Management Journal, 7 (2), 113-130. Themistocleous, M. & Corbitt, G. (2006). Is business process integration Feasible? Journal of Enterprise Information Management 19 (4), 434-449. Read More