ICT is not the most popular topic for most managers. Managers often lack specific knowledge, and because the jargon used does not help, ‘selling’ much-needed but complex IT functionality to these decision-makers is often a huge challenge.
What especially doesn’t work is using a lot of jargon and terminology to explain that, thanks to integration techniques like RestAPIs, ESBs and other solutions, it is possible to retrieve data from application A automatically so that it can be processed in application B. Or that you should invest in an iPaaS because it provides a solid foundation for an environment secure enough to exchange data with government agencies and/or partners.
Before answering this question, we must first understand ourselves why digital integration is such a complicated topic for non-IT managers. After all, you and I know that integrations in any form are the WD40 (lubricant) of IT, ensuring that data can be shared smoothly and efficiently. But if you don’t understand what a nut or a bolt is, you also don’t understand why WD40 is needed when these two components, due to, say, rust, don’t do what is expected of them.
What is needed is a 3-step plan. Because apart from the IT technicality, many managers (rightly or wrongly!) find it incomprehensible that investing millions of euros in software does not mean that data from different software solutions can also be easily exchanged or shared. A frequently heard statement is therefore; ‘then those expensive consultants who are implementing that new product will just do the integrating!’. To make the problem tangible, decision-makers need to be well aware of the complexity. And by asking questions within a specific roadmap, you achieve that the overall problem becomes visible and can even be captured in clear figures.
Step 1 consists of making it clear that sharing data smoothly and efficiently will make a company more flexible, efficient and customer-friendly. During Step 2, you show that the current IT complexity (lots of nuts and bolts that don’t fit together nicely) makes this very complicated. Then, in Step 3, you introduce a solution to this problem; WD40 lubricant, or digital integrations.
We have listed the questions for you step by step.
Questions belonging to step 1: making it clear that smooth and efficient data sharing makes a company more flexible, efficient and customer-friendly
Do we actually know which data is correct and most up-to-date? A lot of company data is stored multiple times.
Result: Many duplicates, multiple owners of the data, problems with audits.
The digital integrations (from step 1) create enormous complexity. In what way does that affect your digitisation strategy? Even if data is somehow exchanged between only 50% of applications, we are soon talking about hundreds of digital integrations. Sometimes dozens of integrations are needed to exchange data between two applications, not to mention exchanging data with partners, government agencies and other organisations.
Consequence: You don’t want to secure, store, monitor and document hundreds of integrations in multiple places. That’s not more efficient, not smart and, above all, not cheaper.
Who is responsible for operation when new versions of applications are installed and when the operation of other applications depends on this integration?
When a new version of an application is installed, who figures out whether all integrations still work? And how do you know which integrations you all need to check? Consequence: If one element of the chain fails, the chain no longer works. Complexity and large numbers therefore require central management so that impact analysis can be done easily and reliably).
Privacy and business-critical data is often exchanged between applications. When internal or external auditors ask how that data all ‘moves’ through the organisation and whether it is all done in a secure way, they expect quick and accurate answers
Consequence: Because it is so complex to keep track of exactly what data is exchanged from hundreds of integrations, a huge amount of time is lost in every audit. In addition, the risk of high fines and theft is high due to lack of a working audit mechanism.
In many organisations, no- and low-code tools seem to be part of the solution to meet the increasing demands of ‘the business’. Those products will also need data from various internal and external data sources. Will this data be available on demand?
Consequence: If citizen developers (the users of no- and low-code tools) are dependent on the IT department when they need data from legacy or cloud applications, then these solutions too miss the mark. But even if these tools are used as integration solution #7, the complexity of IT will only increase again.
Is the company an integration specialist with everything that goes with it (an integration platform, building and maintaining knowledge, training and certification, a specialist staff) or do we want an IT department that can simply support new business initiatives quickly and efficiently?
The importance of digital links is growing. IF data is already available inside (or outside) the company, it must be able to be used quickly and securely for new business initiatives. Flexibility is a must!
Solution:
If building integrations is seen as one of IT’s core competences, it is important to use an (externally managed) iPaaS solution or API Store. If you find that IT is just a user of integrations and links and thus prefer to leave the responsibility for building, managing, security and reporting to others, you can be relieved by a solution like Connections as a Service.
‘Selling’ an integration strategy and everything that actually goes with it is a complex business that you can enjoy (or suffer from) for years to come. Therefore, bring in a partner with more than 15 years of experience in this matter as early as possible. Because only then can you be sure to avoid disappointments.
If you are at a loss on your own, know you are supported. Our integration consultants can always assist you through a free consultation.
