Press Release of The first-international MEGA Software User Day

In constitution of Business Process Management International Ltd. (BPMI) the First MEGA User conference was held at 18th November 2010. The goal of the event was to make the clients, prospects and partners to get acquainted with the new features of MEGA software, to get information on trends of the development and market, furthermore to change their experiences, discuss their ideas and profit from the common knowledge. As the conference was a user event it was colored by case studies.

The user conference was organized by BPM International Ltd. (hereinafter BPMI), who is the distributor of MEGA business architecture management software in the Central and Eastern European region.

The event started with the presentation of Mr. Jean-Marie Zirano, Vice President of MEGA

International Co. who is in charge of MEGA product development. Mr. Zirano presented the French mother company, MEGA International. He reviewed the news of MEGA software for 2010 and gave an insight into future developments. They are planning to introduce MEGA Anywhere in 2011-12. which module makes possible to everyone (who has access) and everywhere to be able to open or design business process models. A further under development product is IT planning solution, which supports the timing, planning of IT strategy actions. They are going to step forward for 2012 with a new solution for system planning, online collaborative process planning, which is a mixture of social marketing tools and web access. (webex, gtalk)

Mr. Man Jang, Senior Consultant from the Slovenian partner company of BPMI, explained in his presentation, titled "Is the Business Process Management (BPM) an answer to current crisis?", that economical crisis showed that operation should be more client oriented, in addition the company and its complex business processes should be optimized and observed from client’s viewpoint. For this purpose the toolkit of BPM and MEGA gives an outstanding support. A properly built and managed BPM gives a comprehensive overview of the corporate customer chain, clients, enterprise architecture, and is used to determine the critical modification points of value-adding processes.

Mr. Ákos Bóta Process Control Manager of GE Money Bank spoke about the experiences of the implementation of MEGA and gave details of the two-year period, since they actively use the software, and outlined the improvements planned for the coming period. GE Money Bank has set a strategic target to provide services to their customers that deliver real value. To achieve this, they had to organize their front office, during which several challenges were faced, for example, the issue of detailed level processes, determining the composition of the process team or the challenges of developing an effective IT architecture. Future development plans include MEGA Process support system for storing data in a related database and to cover the entire operation of the company with process management.

Mr. Ákos Bálint Services Director of HyperTeam Ltd. with is a consulting company of MEGA in Hungary held a presentation about the Integrated Operating Model. He explained that the organizational, process and IT models handled in an integrated system significantly increases the efficiency of managerial decisions. Due to integration any change in one model results an effect to the other models. Thus, modification of an IT system will reveal its impact on processes and organizations, hereby reducing the risks of decisions.

Representing the National Institute of Pharmacy(NIP) Dr. Csaba Haraszti, Head of Coordination Department shared his experiences with the audience about the development project of the (workflow) system that supports process oriented daily administration. In 2008, after a process assessment The NIP implemented their Case-following System. A reasonable system development was implemented due to the increased quantity- and types of tasks of the authority. The goal of implementation was twofold: first of all the support of system development specification, and on the other hand the application of process models in the preparation of quality regulations. Currently organizational-, process- and architecture information can be found in a consistent single database. Future target is set for the further assessment of processes, and the possibility to print the Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) directly from the MEGA System.

The event concluded with the presentation of Mr. Zoltán Kóczé, Consultant of the partner company of BPMI. He presented a "live" demo showing the software in action. Mostly corporate strategy (BSC), organizational structure, business processes, IT architecture, systems engineering and technological infrastructure -related models were introduced. He highlighted the importance of analyzability of system architecture information in different dimensions, and such built-in teamwork and work flow support options, which are for example approval process or change management. He also emphasized the benefits of the feature, which is able to produce documents from graphical models in any format, be it regulation, handbook, job description, or system specification.

At the event - organized by BPM International Ltd. - the prospects had the opportunity to get acquainted with the new features and possibilities of MEGA software, furthermore they could familiarize with the operation of the software through case studies.

Clearly seems from the presentation of entertainers that the complexity of applications of MEGA software respectively that how easily interpreted form can be fixed in a single database to document the entity’s target system, organizational structure, processes, IT architecture, technology infrastructure and operational risks. It gives effective support whether it be the establishment of the IT system or the implement of the Front office.

Nowadays the companies are no longer with their products, but also with their process compete each other.

From this race those companies come out victorious which have support system of business architecture and with this support both process and product innovation ideas will be able to adapt more quickly, therefore we can say that today, or in the future these devices will become indispensable.

For further information, please refer to BPMI (info@bpminternational.eu) or visit the following link:

http://mega-bpmi.blogspot.com/

Zachman Framework

The Enterprise Architecture Framework (EA) frequently called the Zachman Framework, was introduced in 1987 by John Zachman and extended by Sowa in 1992 (Sowa and Zachman 1992). As it applies to enterprises, this framework is a logical structure for classifying and organizing the descriptive representations of enterprises that are significant to enterprise management as well as to the development of enterprise systems

What does the Zachman Framework look like? 

The Zachman Framework appears as a matrix containing 30 cells, each cell focusing on one dimension or perspective of the enterprise.

Rows often represent the levels of abstraction involved in system development processes, while columns represent the different perspectives also involved in the cycle. These rows, however, are really different dimensions, each one being candidate to decomposition and realization layers and handling various levels of abstraction.

Zachman and his followers established a set of rules for interpreting and using the original framework (see Bruce, 1992). These may be summarized as follows.

                Rule 1: The columns have no ordering. None is more important than the other but focusing on one may have significant practical implications.

                Rule 2: Each column represents a unique model.

                Rule 3: Each column is unique although they are all interconnected.

                Rule 4: Each row represents a unique perspective.

                Rule 5: Each cell is unique (no item should appear in more than one cell).

                Rule 6: Each row is a complete model, from the row's perspective.

                Rule 7: The logic is recursive and generic.

Advanteges of Zachman Framework

There are four reasons why you do Architecture: "Alignment", "Integration", "Change," and "Reduced Time-to-Market".”

               - Do you care that the systems I/S is producing actually are aligned with Management's requirements and warrant the expenditure of funds allocated to I/S?

               - Do you care whether the data in the Enterprise means the same thing to anyone who uses it, that messages can be cost-effectively transmitted and received whatever time of day or night or day of the year, and that business rules can be uniformly enforced throughout the Enterprise?

              -  Do you care whether changes to the Enterprise can be made with minimum time, disruption, and cost?

              -  Do you care whether I/S can produce "custom" implementations on demand, reducing their time-to-market to virtually zero?

If you care about any or all of these things, YOU ARE GOING TO DO ARCHITECTURE, because without Architecture, you cannot do ANY of these things.”

Architecture is an asset. You can save orders of magnitude more money and time, but you have to invest in Architecture to enable you to do something you otherwise are unable to do, namely: "Alignment", "Integration", "Change", and "Mass Customization".

Modeling techniques are the best way to efficiently manage enterprise assets. Powerful modeling approaches require a large range of modeling artifacts to be able to cover the entire scope of enterprise architectures. However, it is not always easy to know which modeling technique to use. The most common question asked by Business and IT architects when modeling is: “Where should I start?”. The usual answer is that there is no one starting point; it has to be defined on a project basis. This statement usually adds more confusion than it really brings any help to modelers.

The Zachman Framework is a powerful answer to these questions: by providing a global view of the multiple aspects of enterprise architecture, it offers a navigation tool that acts both as a starter and a compass for enterprise modelers. It provides a context in which Business and IT architects can build a flexible, consistent information system, in accordance with the strategy of their enterprise.

The Zachman framework can successfully be used as a tool for defining project scope, for checking project completeness, and as a learning tool for enterprise architectures.

MEGA Anywhere

MEGA International introduces a new class of products to model the enterprise architecture while ensuring consistency with all other clients and the MEGA repository. They are fully web compliant with no user workstation footprint.

With MEGA 2009 SP4, the following products are now available:

                MEGA Process BPMN Edition Anywhere

                MEGA Architecture Anywhere

Compatibility with Desktop Products

MEGA Process BPMN Edition Anywhere and MEGA Architecture Anywhere are fully compatible with Desktop products; they share the same repository. The same diagram can be viewed and edited from either the Desktop product or the Web product. For instance an Organizational Process Diagram can be edited by both MEGA Process BPMN Edition (Desktop) and MEGA Process BPMN Edition Anywhere (Web).

All object types and diagrams available in the Desktop product are also available in its corresponding Web product.

MEGA Anywhere Desktop Showing BPMN Diagram

Languages Supported

MEGA Anywhere supports English, French, German and Italian. The user can change the data language during the session.




MEGA Anywhere showing language dropdown list

 

Insert toolbar
On the left side of the diagram the insert object toolbar with cascading button commands for the creation or insertion of objects in the diagram
The Link command, or bobbin, is used to draw lines and establish corresponding links between objects

The MEGA Anywhere Insert Tool Bar

Context Popup Menu

Each object in the navigation trees, as well as in the diagram, has an associated popup menu (accessed via right click) that permits the user to access the characteristics of the objects (diagrams, properties) or to create new diagrams (depending on the object type).

MEGA Anywhere Context Menu

Properties Dialog

The Properties Dialog box displays in read/write mode all the characteristics of the object, including all tabs, attributes, links and texts associated with it.

Properties Dialog Box

Online Help and User Guides

MEGA Anywhere has online User Guides and Help.

 User Guide and Support

Required Technical Infrastructure

The MEGA Anywhere product requires a classic Web infrastructure:

                Server‐side ‐ Windows Server 2003/2008 and IIS (Internet Information Server).
                Client‐side ‐ Recent Web browsers with the Adobe FlashTM plug‐in are supported (Internet Explorer 7 and 8, FireFox 3).


MEGA named a leader-The Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Architecture Tools, November 2009

   

Download the report

 Garnter declared 

 “We believe MEGA’s position in the Leaders Quadrant reflects the value our solution provides to companies that are seeking a cost-effective, efficient way to model, transform and control business processes, resources, assets, and risks.” noted Lucio de Risi, CEO of MEGA. “We have worked with hundreds of organizations worldwide, helping them understand how to align business priorities with IT, measure the value of EA, and use EA to improve business.”

The report contains an analysis of 10 software vendors that offer EA tools meeting specific minimum requirements for EA capabilities. Vendors are evaluated on their ability to execute and completeness of vision. Vendors are positioned in the report in one of four categories: leaders, visionaries, niche players, and challengers.

Proven record of innovation

The MEGA Suite has been the foundation for better business performance at large enterprises worldwide for nearly 20 years. Improved productivity, higher market share, and significant cost-savings are typical results realized by companies using the MEGA Suite.

MEGA places a strong focus on adding value to customers’ businesses by consistently providing them with new features and capabilities for process analysis, IT planning, EA management, and architecture modeling. Complementing this advanced software is a team of expert consultants who help customers identify and optimize their business processes and IT plans.

MEGA  has the abality to exchange information with a range of products, including modelling and developement tools, as well as the abality to export to a number of integration middleware suites. This benefits organizations that want to automatically incorporate this information into their repositories.

In addition to competing in the EA tool market, MEGA partipates in several other related markets, including the BPA; governence, risck and compliance (GRC); and application analysis and design markets. This is a good solution for organizations desiring a single integrated tool to porvide for multiple stakeholder needs beyond EA.

With a full EA suite of products, MEGA provides a well-balanced EA tool (balance being defined as equal weighting against the criteria used for this Magic Quadriant)
The MEGA Modelling Suite contains a rich metamodel out of the box, with coverage of business, information, technology and solution architecture viewpoints.
This provides a firm   foundation on which to structure and relate the variety of information that is of interest to enterprise  a architect.

MEGA 2009 New or Updated Products

 

In addition to new features such as TOGAF 9 support and MEGA Anywhere, our new Web modeling platform along with several performance enhancements, improved platform tools, updated functionality, and improved usability make this new version of the MEGA Suite a desired update.

The new or updated modules of MEGA 2009 SP4 are:

Platform Tools

MEGA Anywhere: (New) this new platform allows users to model their BPMN processes and IT architectures over the web.

MEGA Analysis Platform: (Improvement) now allows MEGA analysis reports to be written in JAVA rather than VB.

Libraries and Frameworks

MEGA for TOGAF 9: (New) for Enterprise and Business architects, to describe, analyze, and improve the organization, the processes, and the company functions according to TOGAF 9 requirements.

MEGA Suite for NAF: (Improved) you can build NAF‐based system architectures, guarantee impact analysis and object reuse across views and architectures, and easily generate documentation to enable the effective collaboration of multiple participants in highly distributed and interconnected environments.

Modeling Tools

MEGA Process BPMN: (Improved) for business analysts and architects, to describe, analyze, and improve the organization, the processes, and the company functions.

MEGA Architecture: (Improved) for IT architects, to describe, analyze, and improve the whole IT of a company, its assets, their exchanges, and their technical infrastructures.

Transformation Tools:

MEGA IT Planning: (Improved) for IT architects, IT strategists, and the PMO, to plan and roadmap the information system evolution.

MEGA System Blueprint: (Improved) for IT professionals, MEGA System Blueprint is a system design tool that offers a coherent and cohesive approach to defining, documenting and communicating specifications.

Communication Tools

MEGA Advisor: (Improved) you can consolidate and deliver information in the context of the viewer with a web‐based portal.