How The Nexbridge Methodology Fits Into the ZLE Critical Success Factors
Toronto, March 22, 2001: Randall Becker gave a seminar to the Canadian Tandem User's Group (CTUG) on the Zero Latency Enterprise (ZLE) entitled Are You Ready For The Launch. This presentation addressed the business issues of launching and maintaining a ZLE, and pitfalls of resting on laurels of an initially successful launch. Response to this seminar was an overwhelming thumbs up.
Toronto, June 23, 2000: Randall Becker was asked by CIO Canada Magazine to write an article discussing the implications of the Zero Latency Enterprise concept on the chief information officer (CIO) of corporations as well as for the information technology and information services departments. For more details, please look the article published under the title Are You Ready For The Zero Hour?
Cupertino, March 8, 2000: ZLE is presented to Randall Becker, CEO of Nexbridge Inc., by Compaq Computers Inc.'s Product Management and Marketing Groups for NonStop Systems, in direct personal meetings. Mr. Becker has been developing solutions for HP NonStop Servers since 1983. This brief outlines the Nexbridge position on ZLE and how Nexbridge will fit into HP’s ZLE strategy.
Latency refers to the amount of delay between data capture and usefulness to an organization. Zero latency means that as data is captured, the enterprise can immediately obtain benefit from that data.
A ZLE is a company, rather than a system or an architecture concept (e.g., Data warehouse). ZLE companies use their system resources to keep all of their enterprise data current and continuously available to all user and consumer applications. Users should expect that all data presented to them reflect what is current in all systems across the corporation.
It is also a philosophy. In order to be a ZLE, a company must change their focus from static to dynamic information. People and associates of the company will come to expect data to be fluid, requirements to be dynamic, and corporations to be responsive.
A ZLE company must be technologically adaptive. Putting in place a ZLE requires an investment in converting many independent data sources and data consumers to make effective use data in the repository. As with more traditional data-warehouse implementations, changing data requirements directly influences the critical success factors (CSF) of a ZLE implementation. These changes are ongoing. The user community of an application drives requirement changes to the overall enterprise throughout the ongoing evolution of the company. In order to succeed, a ZLE company must be able to adapt quickly to changing requirements during and after implementation.
A ZLE company must also have flexible business processes. ZLE brings many changes to an organization at a business process level. The necessity of capturing data at a finer granularity, as the data is generated, can easily result in major corporate shifts. No longer, for example, can data be batched up. Closer control of inventory, especially in the e-World, is essential if the ZLE information is to be valid, all the time.
Nexbridge teaches companies to adopt methodologies encouraging flexibility. We show IT organizations that Change is the one common asset of all computing endeavors. We teach people to be adaptive by embracing a product development model.
We help focus corporate policies, processes, and procedures to be more responsive to changing requirements - the primary CSF. Our approach helps our clients build flexibility into strategic plans, architectures, and designs to minimize the negative impact interface changes. This is the hallmark required to make ZLE a success in supporting the overall corporate enterprise.
We believe our distinctive methodologies are important to the successful ZLE implementation.