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On demand overview
Can you see it?

The on demand era is here. A time when the people who touch your business - your customers, suppliers, partners and shareholders - will expect everything you do to be delivered better, faster, cheaper. It's a time of enormous opportunity for people who accept the change.

How did we get here?

Stage 1: Access
Stage 2: Integration
Stage 3: On demand
Advanced on demand

 Stage 1: Access
Stage 1: AccessTransforming communications, increasing market reach
The first step happened when e-mail replaced snail mail. Simple online queries - like checking a bank balance or flight arrival times - superseded telephone calls and standing in queues. All that was needed was a browser, Internet access and a simple Web site.
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 Stage 2: Integration
Stage 2: IntegrationFrom simple access to complex transactions
The 'superhighway' is replaced by 'e-business'. Banks let you move money between accounts. Airlines let you make online reservations. You can trade stock, apply for loans, shop online, even get an education. All this requires more than a simple site. It requires behind-the-scenes integration of internal systems and business processes.
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 Stage 3: On demand
Stage 3: On demandAn organic system leads to e-business reality
Until now companies have been 'on the Net'. Now they're part of it. Experience new levels of integration: of processes and applications inside the business; of suppliers and distributors at either end of the business; of customers outside the enterprise; of employees inside it. .
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 The world may be unpredictable but you don't have to be
Demands may be unpredictable.Hail storms, hackers, and changing hem lines. Are you ready for the unexpected? With on demand business, IT is an adaptable solution to a variable problem.
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 The ripple effect: sense and response
The ripple effectWhether it's planning for disaster recovery or anticipating the demands of a fickle customer base, an on demand business is resilient, responsive, variable and focused. In an on demand business, a customer order, for example, will create a ripple effect in which every part of the organisation responds appropriately to the impact of the order: logistics, manufacturing, distribution, supply.

Find out more about the IBM on demand operating environment: Integrated, Virtualised, Open and Autonomic.

Learn more >>

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