It is no secret that technology is developing rapidly. This fact alone makes the choice for a supplier that delivers independent, reliable, and adaptive solutions of paramount importance. But how do you select the right supplier? Sjoerd de Heer, Solutions Architect ICreative explains: "For the sake of those rapid developments, a supplier should not only adhere to these values, but must also offer continuity and flexibility, and the latter two not always go together very well".
Futureproof solution
"Independence, no doubt, is key. And by that I mean, a degree of independence of the business software that is being used today and tomorrow, so that newly acquired software can be smoothly implemented within the software environment that is in place. This is one of the reasons why we work with an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)", argues Sjoerd. In plain language: The usage of ESB simplifies the communication between us as a supplier and our customers, due to applying a so-called message bus. You could consider this as a translation mechanism between all sorts of applications, that can be fully customized for the customer situation. A mechanism which disconnects the process from content."
The benefits
"A big plus of the use of ESB is that it offers complete transparancy with regards to data. All data is traceable from end to end, so that possible mistakes can be easily identified. Moreover, the data is stored in such a way that it remains accessbile even after malfunction of computer systems. All in all is our service towards our customers greatly leveraged by the use of ESB. Sometimes we are able to address issues prior to becoming manifest for our customers," says Sjoerd. "The ESB also allows us to anticipate any data format in use or that is going to be used. We continue to further invest in the use of ESB and have adopted a cycle to release updates and improvements on our ESB on a regular basis.
Unsure what this implies for your situation? Drop us a line!
"I can imagine this is fairly theoretical for most of our key users. Even after reading this article! The take-home message should be to challenge colleagues and suppliers alike, whether they can offer something flexible yet future-proof, or whether they are using applications that are gradually wearing and tearing, unable to keep pace with rapid technology changes. As the specialist of purchase to pay solutions for large companies, we are convinced to offer our customers something that takes a huge weight of their shoulders." In case you would like to investigate the future proofness of your current solutions and ours, feel free to drop us a line!
Kind regards,
Sjoerd de Heer, Solutions Architect ICreative
sdeheer@icreative.nl
06 17 538 235
About ICreative
ICreative delivers purchase to pay and e-invoicing solutions. As the largest Basware partner in the world, we automate order placement and invoice processing for large companies, including Bol.com, Univé, Ballast Nedam, KPMG, Bilderberg, PON, Stork, Bavaria, PostNL, UWV, A.S. Watson, EndemolShine, Mediq, Van Gansewinkel and Universiteit Utrecht.
These companies benefit from clear and concise visibility and control on all orders, contracts and invoices processed, at significant lower operational costs. Regardless of the ERP systems in use, including SAP, Oracle and MS Dynamics, and regardless of the number of offices, countries, currencies and languages.