In an earlier volume in this series, published in 1990 [1], leaders of the US computer industry concluded (accurately, as we have seen) that “the hardware sector was under serious competitive pressure….” The “U.S. competitive position in the software market was deemed to be strong, but precarious….” This slim and readable follow-up from a 1991 meeting reports on the area in which the industry feels it can still compete: systems integration. It should be read and internalized by anyone who wants to understand how the industry will evolve between now and the year 2000. US industry should take special note because systems integrators will be extremely competitive with in-house information systems organizations.

Unfortunately, the term “systems integration” lacks precision. Several classical definitions are cited, including “assemblage of diverse component technologies and disciplines” and “process innovation--to simplify…to compress the time….” The authors state that the meaning is best approached by starting with a fundamental question: What is the problem in the first place? No simple answer exists. The authors help frame an answer by pointing to a number of drivers. Foremost are distributed or network computing and the need for process integration (of people, systems, and information). Anyone who owns a TV, VCR, and stereo from three manufacturers, subscribes to cable TV, and wants to use the codes in the newspaper to simplify recording has discovered this firsthand. Even I found myself wishing a systems integrator would appear to assemble and set up the components and show me how to use them. The book points to examples in systems architecture, data communications, security, network management and reliability, and information presentation. “Open Systems” is identified as an important enabler.

The book concludes with a discussion of the prerequisites for the business success of systems integration. Key success factors addressed include making strategic investments (by government, academia, and industry), implementing standards, enhancing the role of universities, pursuing enabling technologies, and providing for security and privacy. “Developing a Shared Image of the Information Age” and “Attending to Human Elements” are briefly discussed.

By the time you read this review, the colloquium upon which the book is based will be about two years old, and the thinking a bit older. US industry has demonstrated that it believes the proposals in this book. The large hardware manufacturers have grown their systems integration businesses (while hardware and software continue to be standardized and made into commodities). Independent systems integrators are thriving, with business from industry increasing as fast as qualified integrators can be trained. Despite the current popularity of open systems, you can rest assured that continuing innovations will maintain the need for systems integration, at least until everything is standardized decades from now--if ever.