Without Integration, Real-Time Business Is Only A DreamWithout Integration, Real-Time Business Is Only A Dream

Real-time business--the ability to make decisions immediately based on real-time information--simply isn't possible for large companies without integration, according to a panel discussing corporate governance on Monday at the information Fall Conference in Tucson, Ariz.

Few industries illustrate both the need for real-time business and the headaches that integration pose in pursuing that goal like pharmaceuticals.

Walter Hauck, VP of global research and development at Pfizer Inc., said the protracted period it takes to get a new drug in pharmacies, several years in most cases, has to be reduced. IT will play a significant role in making this happen, but first, it must be able to deal with the many mergers and acquisitions that Pfizer has completed.

Pfizer needs a "slick pipe" of data, one that doesn't choke on information or inadvertently block the flow, he said. Incompatibilities in apps, hardware, networks, databases--even cultures--are mostly likely to gum up the works.

Hauck said there's no one set of practices to ameliorate the situation. It's more of a personal and organizational focus: Create a corporate data model, then deploy apps that serve that model and relentlessly intervene to change processes that slow down the model.