1. Introduction
It is impossible to imagine our today’s life without the use of modern information technologies. Smartphones and voice assistants, the Internet of Things and data mining, online cinemas and virtual reality [1]. The situation is similar in the workplace: we are surrounded by the industrial Internet of Things, robotics and predictive analytics, as well as many various automation tools [2]. Thus, digitalization affects almost all areas of our life. The unifying link in all these technologies is the need for analysis, development and implementation of software. The latter, depending on the application area and the scale of implementation, are characterized by the generally accepted terms information systems and corporate information systems [3]. Despite the fact that both definitions, in principle, say the same thing, the process of implementing these systems varies greatly. Ways, methods and approaches for deployment of information systems by default are trying to be applied to implement a more complex corporate information systems, which is not always applicable, rational and effective [4]. The practice of implementing software solutions related to ERP, ERP2 or ERP3 standards [5-7] confirms the existing knowledge gap in the theory of deployment of corporate information systems, which will be discussed in this paper.
Everyone who is interested in the field of information systems and technologies has the opportunity to easily find literature to their liking. Here we can highlight the works devoted to software development [8-9], information systems design [11-13, 3], as well as project management for the implementation of a similar class of software systems [14, 15]. The works [8, 9] are rightfully considered classics, thoroughly describing the ways, methods and algorithms of building software development. However, the issues of the implementation of big projects are practically not covered here. A greater emphasis on the design of software systems is made in [11-13, 3], where implementation methodologies, methods of modeling business processes and organizational structures, as well as typical realization problems are demonstrated. In these works, information and corporate systems are represented by synonyms. Finally, the monographs [14, 15] provide a foundation for managing any implementation projects, regardless of their subject orientation. Summarizing all these, we can say following: information and corporate systems are considered in most literature sources as software products of equal scale both in terms of their realization and implementation.
The purpose of this paper is to propose a theory of corporate information systems that demonstrates the distinctive features of the analysis, development and deployment of corporate systems as opposed to information systems. Consideration of the differences will allow us to approach the implementation of corporate information systems more rationally and ensure a more likely success of the project.
2. Computer programs, information systems and corporate information systems
Depending on the coverage of the business processes of the enterprise by the programs, several types of software can be distinguished (Fig.1). The first of which is a minimal unit: a computer program. A computer program is a set of data and ordered commands designed to obtain a certain result by a computer [16]. Application development requires structural thinking, which makes it possible to present the logic of the program in the form of a sequence of operations, i.e. an algorithm, on information. Thus, this class of software almost always involves data processing and consists of three elements:
- ordered commands;
- structured data;
- algorithms.
It should be clarified, despite the fact that data is mentioned in the definition of a computer program, they are mainly having a secondary role: considered as input parameters. Examples of this class of programs are applications ABBYY Lingvo, FineReader, etc. Thus, computer programs allow you to solve single application tasks only.
A set of software that defines the only problem domain and ensure its automation is called an information system (hereinafter – IS) [11]. Quite often in literary, IS is understood as a communication system for collecting, transmitting and processing information about an object that supplies employees with the data necessary to implement the management function [3]. Examples of such systems include 1C: Accounting and BOSS-HR, covering, respectively, the financial and human processes of the enterprise, which will be called automation standards later. The classical approach to the implementation of projects for such class of software implies execution of tasks in the following areas [3]:
- processes;
- application;
- data;
- technology,
which in [17] are called implementation levels. At the process level, the organizational structure and business processes of the enterprise are designed in AS-IS and TO-BE models, which allows a more balanced approach to identify requirements and bottlenecks in the company's work. The determined business processes are implemented in the IS at the application level, which requires software development for particular problem area. The processes reflected in the IS are continuously connected with the creation, modification and deletion of data, for which corresponding level is allocated. The data level within the IS is about tasks of data control and normalization, which requires the deployment of database management systems (hereinafter – DBMS). And, finally, the technical level at which the developed IS and implemented DBMS «live» and successfully functioning. Using levels of software implementation, it is possible to formulate following statement characterizing the IS.
Statement 1. In information systems implementation projects, much attention is paid both to the development of software that automates a certain subject area of the company, and to processes, data and technology, without which successful deployment of the solution is impossible. Thus, increasing the number of programs to be developed leads increasing additional project tasks indirectly related to software.
The development of information systems provides automation of the only subject area of the company. And what happens if we try to process several problem areas at once? In this case, we are talking about corporate information systems (hereinafter – CIS). In [18], the corporate information system is defined as a set of methods and solutions for creating a unified information space for management and ensuring the company's activities. In short, the CIS is a set of IS combined together [17]. Examples of such systems are software solutions SAP ERP, Oracle EBS, 1C: ERP, etc. Then it is natural that corporate systems have the same implementation levels that are used in IS projects, is not it? This is true, however with a few comments: an increase in the number of IS creates the need for better management of project activities on the part of both the supplier and the customer, moreover data priorities are also changing – more attention is paid not to control, but to migration [19].
Statement 2. The implementation levels of corporate systems in comparison with information systems are complemented by the tasks of project management and changes, moreover, the data level is used mainly to the issues of migrating information from legacy to the target software system.
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