Definition of Terms
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Definition of Terms
Integrated IT Systems
An integrated IT system refers to an architecture in a company, which is built upon
the prerequisite of enabling and maintaining an integrated information flow
throughout the company, covering all departments. Hence the proper information is
available to the right person or department, whenever or wherever demanded, in
the quantity and quality required. This flow of information is enabled on two levels:
on a physical integration level and an interoperability level. The physical layer
comprises the hardware structure itself, like for example client PCs, servers, or
routers. Interoperability refers to the functional interaction between the software, and
applications running on this hardware (Bernus, Mertins, & Schmidt, 2006, pp. 2-4).
ERP Systems
ERP is an abbreviation for Enterprise Resource Planning and denotes an integrated
IT-system for companies. Based on a common database available to all
departments within a firm, different modules like Finance, Marketing or Logistics
offer tailor-made interfaces for each department (Götz & Hesseler, 2007, p. 5).
The great advantage from using such an integrated system within a company’s
network derives from the fact that redundancies can be avoided by providing the
same data to all departments and business units. Usually ERP systems are
customized to the special needs of a company or industry and can be expanded by
adding new modules.
