OS & Hardware
Operating System & Hardware Compatibility
When implementing a new system and hardware compatibility has to be considered, especially where legacy hardware and software is used or it the old systems worked on different operating systems. Specialist knowledge is required to port of from legacy programming languages such as Cobol. Where organisations used specialist manufacturing or scientific equipment this equipment may only function with specific hardware or only be supported be specific operating systems.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/08/business/coronavirus-cobol-programmers-new-jersey-trnd/index.html
Data
Data Compatibility
When moving data from an old system, or systems, to a new system, data compatibility issues need to be addressed.
- Different Units of measurements
- Different date formats
- Different time zones
- Address formats
All the existing data that is stored needs to be analyzed.
Merger Issues
Merger Issues
When two businesses merge together, or one acquires the other, then the systems need to be merged in some manner. This may mean replacing the hardware and software in either or both organisations.
There are 4 ways in which this can be handled
Keep one system and replace the other
This is the simplest solution but may result in serious consequences for side of the business being replaced, and may affect the functionality of the business
Create a whole new system
This means choosing which aspects to keep and which to ditch, depending on required functionality and available development resources.
Selecting elements of the existing system and combine them
One possibility for complex systems is to cherry-pick the best elements of each of the systems. This would only work in certain situations and would required highly compatible data and workflows.
Upgrade and maintain both old systems
This requires a large, ongoing investment and has a significant long term impact on the cultures of the organisations being merged.
Cultural Compatibility
Cultural Compatibility
When two businesses from different fields or countries merge together then there can be significant cultural compatibility issues that need to be addressed.
- Different workflow processes
- Different expectations in terms of support and user knowledge
- Different Languages
- Character Sets / Encodings
- Different time-zones and office hours
Example