Agility has become an increasingly urgent requirement for business success. Customers want customized solutions and more product choices, and they want them faster, with global service and support, and at the lowest cost. Whether it means adopting Web-based business models from front-end storefronts, developing a unique brand experience, or reorganizing back-office payments and partner-based supply-chain management, successful companies - no matter what their size or organizational structure - must be quick and flexible enough to respond to customer demands, market opportunities, competitive threats, regulatory mandates, and other events and pressures.

However, companies cannot just decide to transform or reinvent themselves at a crucial moment if their core business processes and operational systems are not architected for flexibility.