The Dozen 2003Ilog Inc.Paris/Mountain View, Calif."Automate or die!" was once a billboard slogan along Highway 101 on the way to San Francisco. Ilog, a provider of software components and services, might offer a more positive spin, something like: "Automate and evolve!" In the company's view, automation is part of a cycle that, guided by intelligence, opens up opportunities to do things that were unthinkable previously. In other words, to comprehend automation we must look not just at the ends — such as faster, more efficient, and cost-effective business processes that involve fewer humans — but also at what got us there. Automation is about the application of intelligence; each success enables the application of higher intelligence across a broader spectrum of processes. Founded in Paris in 1987, the name "Ilog" is an abbreviated version of intelligence logicielle — the French phrase for "intelligent software." The full name tells a great deal about Ilog's vision and what it contributes to enterprise applications. Ilog's software enables companies to exploit automation to pursue strategic goals for competitive advantage, such as improving customer relationships and tightening collaborative commerce operations. In 2001, Intelligent Enterprise named Ilog to the Dozen for its role as a provider of optimization components, particularly for the supply chain management portfolios of i2 Technologies, Oracle, and SAP. Optimization takes automation to the next level by enabling the system to invoke business decisions with speed and complexity that only software can provide. Business Rules: The Rosetta StoneMoving forward, Ilog's software mathematicians will be put to the challenge as organizations look to integrate systems that have their own sets of rules, decision processes, and constraints. At the same time, all these business processes — not to mention sensors, tags, and other media — will produce massive amounts of data, which systems must understand quickly to take action. Intelligence is needed — or else organizations will choke on too much data and become paralyzed by intractable integration problems. For Ilog, business rules are the key. Articulating the logic of business policies and objectives, business rules distill how a company does business into something software can interpret. Business rules are "intelligent data": And moving to this higher-level concept is critical to achieving objectives such as straight-through processing and XML-based Web services. Ilog's JRules is a leading software package for business rules management. By exploiting business rules, organizations will be able to weave together agile, automated systems that can quickly leverage the data flowing out of processes and act upon what's most important. It's a vision of intelligence that Ilog can bring into reality. MAJOR MOVES IN 2002· Released JConfigurator 2.0, combining business rule management with preference-driven configuration · Introduced JRules 4.0, improving storage for business rule management · Released CPlex 8.0 optimization software, with features for asset management and financial planning applications INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISES· Vodafone uses the Ilog rules engine to manage rules that enable real-time customer billing for communications services · Southwest Airlines employs Ilog components to increase the efficiency of its crew scheduling system, leading to better on-time performance
|
 |
Most Popular This Week
IE Weekly Newsletter
Subscribe to the newsletter
| |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
