Future Application Architecture for the Pharmaceutical Industry

As described in Chapter 2 profound changes are taking place in the way business is being done in the information age. An excellent example is provided by Cisco, the leading supplier of Internet-equipment, such as routers, switches and the like. Sales amounting to some USD 8 billion, highlight that only few companies have better understood the far-reaching management consequences of new technologies than Cisco. The company has been in the front line whenever it came to transforming management practices through the use of the new technologies. Cisco is thoroughly organized as a network. Existing and prospective customers, suppliers, other business partners and employees are tightly interlinked. This year, Cisco expects to sell products for more than USD 5 billion (more than half of its total sales) via the Internet. Cisco’s Business Networking solution links the systems of suppliers, contract manufacturers and assemblers to Cisco’s production processes. To the outside world, i.e. to customers, Cisco appears as a single enterprise. Through the Cisco Intranet, the contract partners directly process the orders placed by Cisco’s customers and deliver the selection of items ordered directly to the buyer, frequently without Cisco seeing the items at all. Outsourcing of 70% of production has enabled Cisco to boost its sales four times without the need for additional facilities and, on top of this, Cisco has succeeded in shortening the time to market for new products by two thirds.