Looking to be more agile

A growing wave of energy and excitement surrounding the benefits of IT systems integration as led an organizations to see the substantial benefits of such a complex undertaking and the operative word is “complex” While the technical aspects of an integration Projects rely on partnering with a service provider with a proven track record, the path to overcoming complexity also comes from having standardized solutions automated tools trusted frameworks and strong methodologies.

Fortunately, we’ve come a long way in just a few years with integration. A little more than a decade ago, as many as 70 percent of enterprise application integration projects would fail, as reported at an EAI Industry Consortium workshop in 2003. But today, the integration landscape is much different.

Consider the following facts and forecasts:*

• Ovum estimates that sending on integration middleware is growing at a compound growth rate of 9.1% between 2012 and 2018, reaching $17.9 billion by the end of 2018.
• By 2016, midsize to large companies will send 33% more on application integrations than in 2013; the integration of data on mobile devices will represent 20% of integration spending.
• By 2017, over two-thirds of all new integration flows will extend beyond the enterprise firewall.
• By 2018, more than 50% of the cost of implementing 90% of new large systems will be spent on integration; 40% of midsize enterprises will replace all data center servers and storage with integrated systems.

Clearly, integration is mission-critical in the eyes of today’s and the spending and forecasts support that outlook. But what are the paths to integration that yield the greatest results and the best chance for success? And which path is right for our enterprise?

For example, a company integrating systems as a result of a merger or acquisition must follow a path that helps the new business model and IT assets come together. That’s a different path than an integrated solution designed to Optimize a B2B supply chain (although it could certainly include this supplier/vendor focus as part of an M&A integration program.

Bottom line, the face of integration as it relates to your company depends on where the disparities, silos, and disconnects; appear in your organization. And it’s based on the overarching situational environment, such as growth downsizing or M&A.

Yes, integration is complex. But there are proven and methodical paths that can help your enterprise take the first steps on a very beneficial journey toward true IT integration. To explore four winning integration paths.