Integrating SaaS and legacy apps: 5 steps for success

While the task of integrating on-premises systems with software-as-a-service, platform-as-a-service or cloud computing services might seem daunting, the process is a simpler than you might imagine.

The secret is focusing on why the business will benefit from integration, what problem integration will solve and how to keep the costs in line. Here are the key steps in an integration project.

Step 1 - Define the business process. Work with the business to define the processes from the user perspective that requires integration so you can figure out the answers to the following questions:

-- How are employees using the on-demand system? Will it be the main portal or just used for particular tasks?

-- Is integration driven by the need to leverage a shared business process? For example, some organizations must vet all accounts before they are officially added to the account master file. If users are constantly creating accounts in a system such as salesforce.com, the organization may have a strong need for integration.

-- Will integration involve connecting the on-demand application to a larger workflow that extends across many departments and systems, say an order-to-cash and fulfillment process?

-- Will the project require active or passive integration? Active integration requires data to be moved between systems at the specific request of the user. Passive integration moves data at scheduled times, without any users triggering the process. Active integration requires different technology than passive integration, and the efforts can vary widely in cost and time.

Step 2 - Calculate the value. Determine the value of the integration to the business, not by building a complex ROI model but by simply outlining basics such as:

-- How will the integration improve adoption of the business process?

-- How will automating the process reduce operating costs?

-- How will it drive higher sales or profit margin, and by roughly how much?

-- How quickly do users need this and why?

-- What is the cost of not integrating? In wasted hours? In incomplete data? Dollars?

Step 3 - Determine technical requirements. Now that you've examined the business issues, it's time to think about technical solutions. The first thing to remember is that, for the most part, on-demand systems have APIs that are programming language and tool agnostic (SOAP, REST, XML over HTTP, etc). Confirm this with the vendor, ask yourself the following questions and move on to Step 4.

-- How are you integrating your premises-based systems today?

-- Do you already have an ETL, ESB, EAI tool or have you been thinking about getting one?

-- Are you a custom development house?

-- Are there software tools available for integrating this on-demand application rather than building it and supporting it from scratch?

Step 4 - Risk assessment. Now that you have confirmed that this on-demand system has a rich API, ask yourself the following questions:

-- What would be easiest (lowest risk) for your organization? This is critical. Nothing is worse than an integration that can't be trusted by the users or requires too much effort to maintain.

-- If you are evaluating a product solution, is the company selling that solution viable? After all, vendors in the integration market tend to be either dot-coms or companies that have been dropping in value over the past eight years. (Note: Over the past eight years standards like SOAP, REST and XML has been driving down the complexity in integration and the needs for big middleware products).

Step 5 - Solution selection. Now that you have a few options on the table, it's time to judge them and pick out the best one for the problem at hand. The best way to do that is by asking the following:

-- What is the total cost of ownership (TCO) of each solution and remember to factor in these issues: 

Custom code requires staff to maintain and enhance. Your environment will change regularly. Don't assume it will be static.

You may think you are an exception to this rule. You are not.

Many products are similar to custom code. If you are writing if/then for loops, for example, you are coding, that means you need to have people in-house who are trained in this tool and are able to maintain it and enhance it. Or you need to calculate the costs of a professional-services provider to code and support your integration effort.

And, while it may seem obvious, don't forget about the cost of the tool.

-- Is the TCO low enough to justify an ROI case?

-- Will this solution get the job done quickly enough to keep the business happy? Will it be easy enough to change as the business changes?

-- Does the initiative require a project that will be measured in months or years?

-- What is the success rate for integrating with this technology, using the software tools that you are choosing?

-- What effort will it take to track down issues? For example, say your integration project involves a large workflow that extends across systems, departments, etc. If an order becomes stuck somewhere along the line, what effort will it take to figure out where it got stuck? If an error happens, will you know before the business complains?

By taking this careful approach to determine the best model for integrating on-premises systems with hosted solutions, you'll be sure to reap the benefits such solutions provide.

Fox is chief technical officer for Bluewolf and can be reached at Louf@bluewolf.com.