The terms “integration” and “interfacing” are sometimes thrown around interchangeably when discussing this subject – but is there a difference in the real meaning of these terms?

The answer is definitely Yes.

Let’s take one specific example, which involves Warehouse Management Systems. When it comes to ERP/legacy to WMS interactions, there can be a huge difference.

Here are my observations about this.

Inexperienced people do “interfaces.” Also, unfortunately, many IT people think about connecting systems as “interfaces.”

But experienced people and people who have operational sensibilities think about things as “integrations.”

Here is an example: In a recent project where we were integrating a WMS with SAP, I was discussing the intricate nature of inventory recognition. Sometimes the lines of the warehouse boundaries can be a bit blurry and sometimes it is more like a hard line. In this specific case, the IT members of the team, all smart well-meaning people, insisted we do a particular interface a certain way.  What they were proposing would place an unreasonable burden on the receiving operations, in my opinion.

This caused me to pull out a couple of lines that, if you’ve done projects with me you know, I am famous for.  The first is “Information is virtual.  If we can’t figure out a way to not impact the physical part of the operation with requirements that are merely virtual – we are all a bunch of idiots.”

To which there was silence on the phone.  After some more discussion, a manager who should of known better said “You are doing the interface, you are not in operations.”

I thought this might be coming and got to use one of my other favorite lines. Unlike the first one, I cannot take credit for this. This is Brendon Sullivan in his defense of Ollie North in the Iran/Contra hearings of the 1980s:  “Because I, sir, am not a potted plant.”

In other words, I was not here just to do an interface. I was here to do a proper integration.  In an integration discussion, someone has to be the defender of the operation. I like to call this role the “operational conscience.”

The role of operational conscience is entirely about understanding, mitigating and/or removing the pain points that operations might feel when certain decisions are made by staff in other areas, such as IT, who although well-meaning have little domain experience.

In other words, there are a lot of good IT people doing interface work who have never set foot in a warehouse or DC. They do not understand the consequences of things like an extra keystroke or field entry on a mobile terminal.  They don’t understand that saying something as simple as “You’ll have to hold all of the inventory in receiving for a return until it is all ready to be processed in our interface” means a clogged dock.

Well-meaning does not imply well-versed.

So, how can you tell the difference between someone doing interfaces versus integrations?  One is just working on plumbing, the other is doing the plumbing and making sure it fits in the best way with the rest of the structure.

Good integrators are not, to borrow Mr. Sullivan’s line, “Potted Plants.” They are the operational conscience that determines the difference between successful integrations and those that do not serve operations the way they could.  When you are building an integration team, make sure you get integrators and just a bunch of “Potted Plants” writing interfaces.

http://www.scdigest.com/assets/experts/Fralick_10-04-08.php

And most IT people will say, “So?  What we are supposed to do is technical stuff, relationships shouldn’t matter.”

Maybe relationships shouldn’t matter, but they do.  Unfortunately, I have seen superb technical organizations which are perceived by their internal customers as incompetent.  They are doing all of the right “technical stuff” — they have 99.99% system availability, clean databases, virus-free LANs, capable help-desks and a responsive network — but they are still perceived as incompetent because they have failed to build and maintain good relationships.

Some IT execs have also noticed this and as a result there is a great deal of IT executive coaching focused on improving relationship skills.  Many executive search consultants and their clients have also started evaluating an IT exec’s “soft skills” and fit with the corporate culture during the selection process.

But having a relationship-savvy exec heading IT is not enough to change the perception of IT as an un-caring bunch of propeller-heads.  To change the entire IT organization requires three things:

1. One person in the organization accountable for IT’s relationships, both internal and external, reporting directly to the CIO
2. Measurement and reward focused on relationship building and maintenance
3. Training, coaching and mentoring focused on building “soft skills” across the entire IT organization so that every IT person is doing “relationship management” as part of his/her job

Being an IT leader has become more complex.  Not only do you need to know technology and stay on top of trends and advances, you also need to know the industry your IT organization is part of and how you can best align IT with  business needs.  Now some consultant is telling you that you also need to have relationship building and management skills.  And not only do you need to have these skills, but everyone in your organization needs them and you need a direct report to manage all of your organization’s relationships.

It would be human nature to shrug this off.  It is just too much to cope with and you need to stay focused on technology and business.  But the truth is if you want to take your organization to that next level of achievement, if you want them to be viewed as intelligent, capable, business-savvy and focused on customer-service, then relationships have to matter. You and your entire organization have to build and maintain good relationships with your counterparts in the business and contacts at the vendors.  All great IT organizations have figured this out.  It is what distinguishes them from the merely good IT organizations.

Yes, I understand, relationships shouldn’t matter, but they do.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is a term used to describe the combination of computer and telecommunications.  There are a lot of devices used for ICT and numerous ways it can be useful.  It is a necessary and essential tool for national and international development and is crucial for socio-economic and technological growth.

According to a report by the World Economic Forum (in cooperation with INSEAD):

 “Focusing on the transformational opportunities posed by the global economic turmoil, leaders from industry, government and civil society attending the 2009 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland agreed that information and communications technologies (ICT) can play a vital role in the pathway to an economic recovery…leading academics, global organizations and industry analysts agree that there is a direct correlation between the use of ICT and positive macroeconomic growth.”

For further information, see the full report titled ICT for Economic Growth:  A Dynamic Ecosystem Driving The Global Recovery at http://www.weforum.org/pdf/ict/ICT%20for%20Growth.pdf.

The World Economic Forum, along with INSEAD, also produces an annual report on Networked Readiness.  The following information can be found at http://www.insead.edu/v1/gitr/wef/main/about.cfm.

(According to the INSEAD website)  Since it was first launched in 2001, the Global Information Technology Report has become a valuable and unique benchmarking tool to determine national ICT strengths and weaknesses, and to evaluate progress. It also highlights the continuing importance of ICT application and development for economic growth.

The Report uses the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), covering a total of 134 economies in 2008-2009, to measure the degree of preparation of a nation or community to participate in and benefit from ICT developments.
The NRI is composed of three component indexes which assess:

·         the environment for ICT offered by a given country or community

·         the readiness of the economy’s key stakeholders – individuals, business and governments

·         and the usage of ICT among these stakeholders

According to the report, Denmark, Sweden and the United States hold the top three ranks in Networked Readiness.  The full report can be found at http://www.weforum.org/pdf/gitr/2009/Rankings.pdf. 

In a Press Release published February, 26^th 2009, the US Census Bureau reported, “U.S. businesses spent $264.2 billion on information and communication technology (ICT) equipment and computer software in 2007, a 4.4 percent increase over 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.”  (http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/economic_surveys/013382.html)

An interesting side note…India, where the US outsources much of our IT these days, is ranked at number 54 in Networked Readiness.  I encourage everyone to learn more about how technological innovations in ICT are changing the world.  Another excellent source for information can be found at http://www.ictliteracy.info/.

Cloud computing is basically just the ability to leverage new platforms and resources that you don’t happen to own.  It goes hand-in-hand with SOA, which is laying the groundwork for a loosely coupled business that both creates and consumes services from an ever-growing selection of sources, both inside and outside the firewall. Web Oriented Architecture is another key term, and a more appropriate way to describe this, since more of these services are coming from outside providers.  Web 2.0, including sites like Linkedin and Facebook, is also a form of cloud computing.

Tight budgets and skills shortages are the main catalysts behind the growing interest in cloud computing.  With most of the major players involved and platforms already being introduced by Google (http://appengine.google.com/) and Amazon (http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/), there is no doubt cloud computing could become as big as the invention of the internet.

Although the technology is still evolving, companies large and small can see the advantages and abilities of cloud computing:

Reduced Cost

Increased Storage

Highly Automated

More Flexibility

More Mobility

More Time to Focus on Innovation in IT

So what kind of skills might be needed to obtain a new opportunity created by cloud computing?  These are just a few areas in which skills will be in high demand:

·         Open-source programming- typically JavaScript, J2EE, Flex, Ruby on Rails, Python, Perl, HTML, XML and tools like Hadoop

·         Technologies such as grid computing, utility computing and virtualization

·         Understanding of Linux operating system

·         Newest storage technologies

·         Platform as a service and SaaS (software as a service)

If you are looking to expand your career or obtain a new position, it is important to research the skills currently needed and sought after.  Cloud computing is just one of the many “hot” areas upcoming in IT.  So if you don’t want to be left behind, it might be a good time to hit the books and learn some of these in-demand skills.