FAQ
- Is this a standards group?
No. The Business Ecology Initiative is not a
standards group, but an advocacy group. However because
it is managed by the largest IT industry standards group
(OMG) it does have influence, in terms of helping to
prompt and promote usage of open standards, that may be
relevant to the work of Business Ecology.
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- Who are the members of the initiative?
Business Ecology Initiative members will include
users and vendors of business and technology products
and services, universities, analyst groups, government
agencies and non-profit companies interested in
promoting the message and value of Business Ecology.
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- What is the definition
Business Ecology?
The current approach to IT in most companies is a
dead-end. However, IT is uniquely positioned as a vital
asset to the enterprise due to its inherent and vast
knowledge of supporting the automation of business
processes. Given this, the future role has to be
optimizing - streamlining -- taking the waste out of all
business processes enterprise-wide. That waste is in the
form of resources (paper, water, electricity, people,
space, signatures, etc.). The purpose of Business
Ecology is to optimize the business processes of an org
while maintaining and extending business capabilities
for suppliers & customers.
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- What is meant by
sustainability with Business Ecology?
Sustainability is about physical waste (electricity,
paper, water, space, etc.) and how this waste affects
the business. In order to "sustain" a business, the
company must look at minimizing this waste in an effort
to optimize processes.
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What is an Actionable Architecture?
An Actionable Architecture is one that supports
Business Ecology through the output of business process
analysis and supports decisions that maximize value and
minimize waste. It supports the creation, automation,
termination and optimization of business processes,
applies to governance of these processes, identification
of opportunities to promote sustainability (minimize
waste in the process) and provides for the reuse of
existing processes to support new business needs.
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- How does Cloud fit into the
overall approach?
The Cloud is only a part of Business Ecology;
outsourcing business processing. The natural extension
of cloud would be that eventually there is no IT
department in the company, however there is still IT in
the organization. One way to think about this is to
consider that just because a company may use an electric
company to provide service, there are still wires and
outlets, etc. IT people become business optimization
people (automating, streamlining and outsourcing).
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- How does BEI relate to the OMG-managed programs
BPM Consortium, SOA Consortium and GCIO?
The OMG Business Ecology Initiative (BEI) provides
information and education on the OMG’s overall
mission statement for all programs – that is to help
enterprises create sustainable, open business
processes through IT. Each of the OMG programs
provides an important focus on the attributes of BE.
SOA-C is about capturing business processes and
governing the extension of existing process to new
capabilities. BPM-C is about optimizing existing
processes, finding opportunities for reuse and focusing
efforts on business targets. GCIO is about finding
economies in processes throughout the business that can
minimize resource usage without downgrading value or
efficiency.
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- Why is OMG starting this
group now?
A downturn in the market means a need for innovative
thinking. IT must recognize its current shift in the
enterprise dynamic and look beyond “usual business”. The
current climate provides a great opportunity for IT
leadership to better integrate itself with the business
and provide a broader and more crucial role. This new
role will enable the sustainable, efficient, agile
businesses of the 21st century. Enterprises need to
manage and optimize their business processes (lean,
efficient, sustainable, adaptable, etc) and have the
architecture and structure in place to support this. The
technology to do so is in place today, so the time is
NOW. OMG has positioned itself as an instrument for
widespread collaboration to support this trend.
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- Why is IBM Sponsoring this
new group?
IBM sees value in supporting a cross-organizational
non-vendor specific group that works to help clients be
successful in today's new economy. The OMG Business
Ecology Initiative is focused on bringing together
business and IT to create business capability around
Sustainable BPM and SOA. The idea that IT become a full
partner with business is one that IBM has been espousing
based on SOA for a number of years, including as a
sponsor of the SOA Consortium.
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- How can I join the BEI?
Members and sponsors of an OMG-managed program
(SOA-C, BPM-C and / or GCIO) are eligible for
involvement in this exciting new initiative. For more
information on membership or sponsorship for BEI or any
of the OMG programs please contact the OMG’s Director of
Business Development, Ken Berk at
ken.berk@omg.org or
+1-781-444-0404 Ext. 150.
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Last updated on
December 10, 2009
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