In today's digital landscape, businesses need to stay ahead of the game. Yet, with data scattered across multiple systems and workflows, achieving innovation and growth can seem like an uphill battle. That's where enterprise architecture comes in - it can help you streamline your processes, improve data-sharing, and eliminate silos. By implementing an efficient integration strategy, you can boost collaboration, increase productivity, and gain a competitive edge.
But how to make sure the services you get are aligned with your organisation's goals? Is it possible to get tried and tested solutions that are customisable to your stage of maturity? And finally, what type of vendor could quickly get you where you need to get?
How to select an integration strategy provider?
Enterprise architecture is like building a house: it requires a comprehensive plan, carefully selected technology infrastructure, and specialised personnel. And in that sense, implementing an integration strategy is like building too. You can do it yourself. You can hire people to do it, and hope they know what they’re doing. Or you can commission a company that has a proven track record of housebuilding and a bunch of tried and tested house designs for you to select from.
But the question is, can an independent enterprise architecture firm help you accelerate your business growth?
Choosing the right architectural style can be a tough nut to crack. It begins with defining your goals and assessing integration maturity. Next, you need to choose the appropriate integration architecture based on its capabilities, cost, fit-to-purpose, and ROI. You should also consider your business requirements, technology stack, and scalability needs. Finally, you need to design the domain structure and other structural elements for the success of your system.
What makes a good integration strategy?
A well-structured integration strategy can bring a wealth of benefits to your business, both tangible and intangible. On the tangible side, operational efficiency improves as manual effort and errors are reduced, resulting in faster time-to-market and cost savings. Plus, data quality is improved, leading to better decision-making. Studies by Forrester Research indicate that automation can save organisations up to 80% of the time required to integrate systems manually, while implementing an integration strategy can reduce time-to-market by an average of 23%.
Want to streamline your company's integration process? Go with Marx ICE, the Integration Centre of Excellence by Marx Technology Consulting. With 20+ years of integration experience, our team simplifies the implementation of your integration strategy with pre-built content, frameworks, and accelerators. We specialise in cloud, application, data, think, and user integration to help organisations achieve their integration goals faster and more efficiently.
Benefits of integrations strategy for your organisation
But the benefits don't end there. On the intangible side, a solid integration strategy can provide better visibility into business processes, increasing agility and improving collaboration. Companies that invest in data integration are 70% more likely to have timely access to information for decision-making. Furthermore, organisations that invest in integration technologies are 2.5 times more likely to have highly innovative business models. With these benefits, it's clear that an integration strategy is more than just a technical solution - it's a business strategy that can set you apart from the competition.
Accelerated integration strategy customised for your needs
What many consulting firms do is provide hired hands. They make their money selling skills and time, whereas independent providers can provide architecture as a service. What does it mean for you and your business? An independent firm is not tied to any specific technology so they can provide unbiased recommendations based solely on your unique goals. When getting architecture as a service from an independent supplier, you get a customisable and cost-effective offering. A tight team of experts can offer blueprints and streamline your infrastructure, pivoting quickly in response to changing business needs and technology trends.
How are we simplifying integrations strategy implementation?
Marx Integration Centre of Excellence – Marx ICE – is a comprehensive integration framework in just four steps. Developed by experts and implemented successfully by our customers, our pre-built content includes best practices, templates, reusable APIs/microservices, and more, all tailored to achieve a practical and valuable integration strategy. With a range of materials from top providers like SAP, Mulesoft, and Google, you'll have everything you need to succeed.
Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Give us a shout!
Reach out to our Enterprise Architecture expert Lucas (lucas.goncalves@marx-ltd.com) and book a free consultation today!