Redesigning IT and business processes is certainly not an easy task. In many cases, IT departments find it hard to bring change on board, especially when their systems are out of date or when “risk enters the server room”. Here is how to effectively approach a system integration project and avoid overly complex, lengthy, and expensive situations.  

Tip 1: Carefully evaluate everything you have 

It is critical to review and carefully evaluate the systems your organization is now running. Check what is available, what runs smoothly, what does not run at all. Also, check what has proven most and what has proven least reliable so far.  

Tip 2: Assess your inhouse knowledge 

We see it often that IT teams try to do everything themselves. It often turns out that this is wrong. Internal knowledge is something that needs careful evaluation before launching a project. Mistakes and lack of experience can lead to serious drawbacks and significant increase in costs (both money and time).  

Tip 3: Identify the communication technologies involved 

This step will help you plan correctly and not lose time and data in the process. Webservices have made things easier at this end, enabling integration to happen faster and in a more reliable way.   

Tip 4: Think methodology 

 Agile processing where possible will increase efficiency and your chances of success. Unless your team is trained to comply with agile, you may go for something with a more traditional structure, such as the “waterfall” methodology:  

  • Design 
  • Build 
  • Test 
  • Train 
  • Test 
  • Go Live 

 

Tip 5: Plan ahead with data sharing/transferring  

“Invest” time to think how data will be transferred or simply shared between systems. Whether you will go for something automated, for a manual process or for a mix of both, you will need to monitor the process and validate results.  

Tip 6: Put the right team together 

A system integration project does require highly skilled technical personnel. However, they should not be alone in this. Management and people who understand business objectives also have to be on top of the situation.  

The role of the consultant: Having a consultant undertake your system integration project is probably the best solution under all circumstances. That is, a consultant with experience who will be able to plan accurately, foresee possible mistakes, and save you time and money from avoiding these mistakes.  

At Lamda Hellix we are proud for the quality of the consulting and integration services we offer for data center projects. Find out more here.