However, these are not likely to align with those of the rest of the enterprise.

Whether managed internally or externally, too often the result is a data model, an object model, a business glossary, and set of business rules that conform to the needs of that business area. The organization evaluates each, selects one, and perhaps does a pilot. Then, a real project begins and often, the vendor leads the application implementation in a specific business area with a very narrow focus. The classic scenario is that a specific business problem is addressed with a set of competing commercial solutions. Therefore an organization seeking a cohesive enterprise vision, must get serious about evaluating the short-term versus long-term cost of such applications â€“ whether developed in house on modern BRMS systems, or implemented from COTS vendors. Without due diligence, such solutions are likely to become the new, disconnected islands in the already vast tangled web of legacy applications. At some point, proliferation of business rules for narrow business domains will become a business liability. Without proper planning and stewardship, they are likely to do so only within a narrow business domain.

So much the better if the solutions are business rules based. Such solutions will deliver on the promise of greater flexibility and lower maintenance costs over time. â€œNot that there is anything wrong with thatâ€ - as Jerry Seinfeld would add. However, the impact on an enterprise vision of introducing another â€œtechnology siloâ€ must not be underestimated. This paper explores this impact and a solution.ĭespite the promise of Service-oriented architecture (SOA) and other enterprise approaches, the use of self-contained applications will be with us for many years. The highly specific needs of particular functional areas of any business will continue to demand vertical solutions and (well-meaning) vendors will continue to deliver them.

In fact, the most common use of BRMS today is for self-contained point solutions in a functional area of a business. Business Rule Management Systems (BRMS) coupled with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) applications are prevalent today. Together and separately, they provide rapid and satisfactory solutions to particular problems in specific business areas.

Oh what a tangled web we weave