Trolling through my networking groups on LinkedIn yesterday, a post caught my eye where an individual was lamenting how the disjointedness of running disparate systems compromised effective and efficient operations. The suggested solution was a desire for the creation of a unified enterprise platform to eliminate the disparity. I agree that unification is the answer…but not among disparate systems.
Taking systems out of the equation for a minute, I believe what we are really seeking is sustainable operation by end-users across whatever mix of business applications are deployed in the enterprise. Where we have the greatest opportunity to unify anything is in the creation of readiness to perform in the end-user population. And no, this is not an exercise in training; rather, this is facilitating the convergence of learning and support into the actual workflow of these systems.
Disparate systems in the enterprise are disparate for a reason; each has its own core competency and function in the operation of the business. To unify them all under a single platform, we stand to lose the power of specialization that defines the “sweet spot” each brings to the table. If it is consistency and simplification we seek, then let’s go after what is common to all systems – end-user capability…or lack thereof.

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