‘joining the dots’ of your applications and systems – the benefits of integration

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It is widely acknowledged that data is often an organisations biggest asset. In order to maximise the potential benefits of the data held, effective integration of applications and systems is essential; whether internally across your enterprise or externally with other businesses and customers via public APIs. Using the right combination of strategy, architecture and technologies is the key to building a successful integrated IT platform; one which can not only improve collaboration between staff, partners, customers and suppliers but deliver genuine improvements in productivity and efficiency.

TRANSCRIPT

@Waterstonsltdwww.waterstons.com

‘Joining the dots’The benefits of

IntegrationPresented by

Richard BeggLead Specialist: Integration & Software Architecture

Agenda

@ A typical SMB IT landscape challenges@ How using Integration can help@ Importance of Integration strategy@ Forms & Approaches of Integration@ Conclusion

Typical SMB IT Landscape

Typical SMB IT Landscape

Customer Relationship Management

£Enterprise Resource Planning

Bespoke

CRM Data

@ Contacts@ Customer Interactions@ Sales Orders@ Sales Invoices@ Products@ Incidents

Customer Relationship Management

ERP Data

@ Sales Orders@ Sales Invoices@ Products@ Inventory Levels@ Shipments

£Enterprise Resource

Planning

Bespoke Data

@ Anything

Bespoke

SMB IT Landscape Challenges

@ Customers and employees working with data that could be incorrect or out-of-date

@ Employees being less productive due to the need to interact with multiple systems to do common tasks

@ Customers and employees not having the right information available in a timely manner

@ IT unable to adapt to changing business needs

How does Integrated IT help?

@ Reduce data replication and increase data currency@ Make more use of your data and business functions@ Increase the agility of your IT@ Improve business process monitoring and manageability

Integration Strategy

Integration Strategy

@ Using the right strategy is critical@ Integration projects are often large and complex@ Smaller Integration projects delivered in an iterative manner are

more likely to succeed@ The correct architecture and technology choices allow the solution to

grow to meet business needs

Forms of Integration

Forms of Integration

@ Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)@ Integrating applications within your Enterprise

@ Business-to-Business (B2B)@ Integrating your business with other businesses

@ Cloud Integration@ Integrating with Cloud-based resources

Using Cloud Software as a Service

Customer Relationship Management

£Enterprise Resource Planning

BespokeCloud-based Customer Relationship Management

Using Cloud to Scale

Customer Relationship Management

£Enterprise Resource Planning

Bespoke

Utilisation

Using Cloud to Scale

Customer Relationship Management

£Enterprise Resource Planning

BespokeBespok

e

Utilisation

Using Cloud to Scale

Customer Relationship Management

£Enterprise Resource Planning

BespokeBespok

e

Utilisation

Forms of Integration

@ Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)@ Integrating applications within your Enterprise

@ Business-to-Business (B2B)@ Integrating your business with other businesses

@ Cloud Integration@ Integrating with Cloud-based resources

@ Public API@ Providing an interface into your business

Public API

@ Exposes your business functions and data via a documented web service API (REST/SOAP)

@ Allows third-parties to add value to your business@ Public doesn’t mean open access (e.g. OAuth)@ Decreases complexity by providing a common API to all parties@ Large growth area

Public API - Examples

@ Google Maps API@ Facebook API@ Twitter API@ National Grid UK Energy & Gas Flow API

Approaches to Integration

Approaches to Integration

@ Each form of Integration can be realised using different approaches@ Not one right answer@ Using a combination of approaches can give greater flexibility

Point-to-Point Bespoke Integration

Customer Relationship Management

£Enterprise Resource Planning

Bespoke

Point-to-Point Bespoke Integration

Pros@ Simple to implement@ Simple to operate

Point-to-Point Bespoke Integration

Customer Relationship Management

£Enterprise Resource Planning

Bespoke

£

Point-to-Point Bespoke Integration

Pros@ Simple to implement@ Simple to operate@ Initially simple to implement

Cons@ Difficult to implement a resilient

and scalable solution@ Difficult to monitor and manage@ Changing a component is

challenging.

Point-to-Point Vendor-Supplied IntegrationPros

@ Easier to implement/setup@ Provides some resilience to failure

Cons@ Integration possibilities defined by

the vendor@ Further lock-in to the vendor@ Difficult to monitor and manage@ Changing a component is still

challenging.

Lightweight Integration Framework

Customer Relationship Management

£Enterprise Resource Planning

Message-Oriented

Middleware

Bespoke

Lightweight Integration Framework

Customer Relationship Management

£Enterprise Resource Planning

Message-Oriented

Middleware

Bespoke

Lightweight Integration Framework

Pros@ Provides failure resilience and

scalability features@ Simplifies routing@ Out-of-the-box monitoring and

management

Cons@ Limited flexibility of the solution@ Transformation may still be

required at each point.

Using an Integration Platform

Customer Relationship Management

£Enterprise Resource Planning

BespokeIntegration Platform

Using an Integration Platform

Customer Relationship Management

£Enterprise Resource Planning

BespokeIntegration Platform

Integration Platform

Using an Integration Platform

Integration Platform

• Content Based Routing• Business Process Management• Business Rules Engine• Business Data Analytics

Content Based Routing

Integration Platform

Content Based Routing

Integration Platform

Message is an OrderMessage is an Invoice

Message is a Customer Enquiry

Content Based Routing

Integration Platform

Invoice

Invoice

OrderInvoice

Customer Enquiry

Content Based Routing

Integration Platform

Order

Order

OrderInvoice

Customer Enquiry

Using an Integration Platform

Customer Relationship Management

£Enterprise Resource Planning

BespokeIntegration Platform

£

Integration Platform as a Service (IPaaS)

@ Provides Integration Platform in the cloud@ Windows Azure BizTalk Services@ MuleSoft CloudHub

@ Should be used for@ Integration entirely in the cloud (Cloud <-> Cloud)@ Hybrid cloud Integration (Cloud -> On Premise, On Premise -> Cloud)

@ Not suitable for on premise only Integration

Integration Platform as a Service (IPaaS)

£Enterprise Resource Planning

Trading Partner

Trading Partner

Integration Platform

EDI

Integration Platform as a Service (IPaaS)

£Enterprise Resource Planning

Trading Partner

Trading Partner

Integration Platform

XML

JSON

Using an Integration Platform

Pros@ Provides a flexible solution@ Capable of scaling to meet changing

business needs@ Simplifies routing and transformation@ Out-of-the-box monitoring and

management@ Reduces effort required to develop

Integration solutions

Cons@ Specialist knowledge required@ Upfront cost.

Using an Integration Platform

Pros@ Provides a flexible solution@ Capable of scaling to meet changing

business needs@ Simplifies routing and transformation@ Out-of-the-box monitoring and

management@ Reduces effort required to develop

Integration solutions@ Simplifies infrastructure complexity and

cost@ Payment by subscription lowers TCO

Cons@ Specialist knowledge required@ Possible legislative or commercial issues

regarding data in the cloud@ Only suitable for Integration in the cloud.

Conclusion

@ The right combination of strategy, architecture and technology is key to building a successful integrated IT platform and allows the solution to grow to meet business needs

@ Integration maximises the availability and currency of data and business function across the enterprise

@ Integrating services in the cloud lowers TCO and increases the agility of your IT to respond to real-time demands.

What’s next?

The Business case: why bother?Friday 28th March 2014, 11:45amJo Adair

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