By Daniel R. Matlis
In the early 90’s I was involved in a project called Total Business Integration (TBI). The goal was to implement integrated systems to run the all business functions efficiently and effectively.
The objective was clear; the team motivated and capable but the implementation was yet To Be Done (TBD). The missing link was technology. I am a believer that technology can only enable change, not drive. However, without the mature technology needed to support and organizational transformation of this magnitude, the results cannot be realized.Today, I saw a glimpse of what is to come. PTC (http://www.ptc.com/), announced that it has integrated Windchill 8.0 and Arbortext 5.2, delivering the first end-to-end technical publications solutions from a single vendor.This Integrated solution provides an integral connection between content and process management software and XML authoring and dynamic publishing software. The integrated product serves both Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Enterprise Content Management (ECM) needs.This class of solution would optimize the publishing process in Life-Sciences companies where complex content continually changes and must comply with industry and governmental regulations. In addition this type of system would enable applicable downstream output to be automatically regenerated and republished to the selected audience in the appropriate media.
This is the kind of technology needed to enable Total Business Integration.Can we take TBI off hold once and for all?