First, let\u2019s discuss the questions you need to ask yourself:<\/p>\n

1. Are you ready for integration and what strategy should you use?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll go into more detail on this below in the methods section, but the key point here is to avoid forcing a strategy on your company that simply won\u2019t work. Your IT department or vendor will first help you determine if your infrastructure is ready for integration. It will need to be able to handle data, application, business-to-business, cloud and legacy connections.<\/p>\n

2. What applications do you want to integrate and what software do you need?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As you know, companies of all sizes are adopting Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions to run their operations. These cloud-based solutions tend to make life a lot easier for the companies using them and the vast majority make their APIs public, which will make integration much easier.<\/p>\n

Many applications have their APIs set up to make communication with other applications simple. The problem is that you have to build a way to make those applications talk to each other. This is where an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) comes in. An iPaaS solution finds the best way to connect different software \u2014 basically the glue that holds everything together. Work with your integration partner to determine the right iPaaS tool for you.<\/p>\n

3. What kind of data do you need to integrate?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Data can be anything\u2014numbers, people, companies, orders, products, and more! When setting up your integration, you have to determine what databases you need to combine. Each of these databases can label data differently. One department may label clients as \u201cclients,\u201d while another might label them as \u201ccompanies\u201d or \u201ccustomers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

When you and your partner identify similar data sets that need to be in more than one location, you can begin integration. Over time, having data for the same element (like a client) in different applications will give you the ability to view the data from a holistic perspective. Do make sure that one application is designated as the \u2018source of truth\u2019 for any given piece of data.<\/p>\n

4. How is the integration going to affect present and future processes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your integration partner will need to have a complete understanding of your IT landscape before the integration actually begins. If your various applications and databases are disjointed, it could spell disaster once the integration takes place. Make sure your integration implementation plan is well-aligned in order to minimize any effect on your processes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Furthermore, this process is not a one-off event. You need to consider how scalable you want your business and IT ecosystem to be. As such, go for an integration plan that offers versatility, flexibility, and plenty of ways to upgrade down the line. This will protect you from unforeseen issues in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n