Build Or Outsource That Business Integration Project?
The first question with any IT initiative is do you buy on-premise software and manage it yourself or outsource the work to a service provider? The same is true when it comes to business-to-business (B2B) integration projects, whether you are looking to replace a legacy B2B system, consolidate multiple B2B solutions or automate a manual process.
Fri, April 29, 2011
Network World — This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter's approach.
The first question with any IT initiative is do you buy on-premise software and manage it yourself or outsource the work to a service provider? The same is true when it comes to business-to-business (B2B) integration projects, whether you are looking to replace a legacy B2B system, consolidate multiple B2B solutions or automate a manual process.
If you have managed the B2B process yourself, you know integration is hard. In fact, the management overhead, infrastructure costs and overall complexity often leads companies to look for external service providers. Today, enterprises also have the option of leveraging a cloud-based integration solution delivered as a managed service, providing not only complete outsourcing, but the additional economic and technical benefits the cloud can bring.
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If you're leaning in that direction, here are the top five decision-making criteria in the build vs. outsource debate for integration projects. While this list was developed with B2B integration in mind, it is applicable to nearly any IT challenge.
* Core competence: Does your internal IT team have the skills and expertise to build, implement and manage B2B integration? Chances are you have staff that is highly knowledgeable about applications, database administration and network security, but not necessarily integration. Evaluate the costs around training and ongoing management by your internal team. Remember that business integration can involve many other related technologies and processes, such as business process management, Internet protocols, APIs, EDI, ERP systems, etc. A successful integration project requires a deep understanding of the unique systems, processes, security needs and business rules of both your company and those in your multi-enterprise integration community.
* Time to market and value: How quickly do you need to implement the integration process? And how many customers, partners or suppliers need to be integrated within that timeframe? If you have more than six months and only a few companies to integrate, you may be able to manage it in-house. However, if the business requires fast integration and you have dozens or hundreds of companies to integrate, having an integration services firm handle the on-boarding, implementation, mapping and other areas may be the best solution. Second, how quickly do you need to show an ROI? Is your time to value also a matter of 90 days or six months? As an aside, this is also a key area to evaluate when looking at cloud vs. on-premise. If time to market and value are critical, a cloud solution gets you up and running in days or weeks versus months.
