Integrated value chains and their implications from a business and technology standpoint

Unlike previous decades where enterprises prized independence, the next decade will be one of business alliances and competing, end-to-end value chains. Enterprise value chains comprised of powerful business alliance partners will exceedingly compete as single entities for customers. Such extended corporations reach out not only with business relationships; they must integrate their business processes and information systems. In this paper, we review the business and technological requirements of modern extended organizations and explain how adaptive business objects and controlled interoperability are the key enabling technologies to the challenge of integrated value chains.