- Even though organizations are now planning for Application Integration (AI) in their projects, very few have developed a holistic approach to their integration problems resulting in each project deploying different tactical solutions.
- Point-to-point and ad hoc integration solutions won’t cut it anymore: the cloud, big data, mobile, social, and new regulations require more sophisticated integration tooling.
- Loosely defined AI strategies result in point solutions, overlaps in technology capabilities, and increased maintenance costs; the correlation between business drivers and technical solutions is lost.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Involving the business in strategy development will keep them engaged and align business drivers with technical initiatives.
- An architectural approach to AI strategy is critical to making appropriate technology decisions and promoting consistency across AI solutions through the use of common patterns.
- Get control of your AI environment with an appropriate architecture, including policies and procedures, before end users start adding bring-your-own-integration (BYOI) capabilities to the office.
Impact and Result
- Engage in a formal AI strategy and involve the business when aligning business goals with AI value; each double the AI success rate.
- Benefits from a formal AI strategy largely depend on how gaps will be filled.
- Create an Integration Center of Competency for maintaining architectural standards and guidelines.
- AI strategies are continuously updated as new business drivers emerge from changing business environments and/or essential technologies.
Build an Application Integration Strategy Research & Tools
Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:
1. Make the Case for AI Strategy
Obtain organizational buy-in and build a standardized and formal AI blueprint.
- Storyboard: Build an Application Integration Strategy
2. Assess the organization's readiness for AI
Assess your people, process, and technology for AI readiness and realize areas for improvement.
- Application Integration Readiness Assessment Tool
3. Develop a Vision
Fill the required AI-related roles to meet business requirements
- Application Integration Architect
- Application Integration Specialist
4. Perform a Gap Analysis
Assess the appropriateness of AI in your organization and identify gaps in people, processes, and technology as it relates to AI.
- Application Integration Appropriateness Assessment Tool
5. Build an AI Roadmap
Compile the important information and artifacts to include in the AI blueprint.
- Application Integration Strategy Template
6. Build the Integration Blueprint
Keep a record of services and interfaces to reduce waste.
- Integration Service Catalog Template
Infographic
Workshop: Build an Application Integration Strategy
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
1 Make the Case for AI Strategy
The Purpose
Uncover current and future AI business drivers, and assess current capabilities.
Key Benefits Achieved
Perform a current state assessment and create a future vision.
Activities
1.1 Identify Current and Future Business Drivers
1.2 AI Readiness Assessment
1.3 Integration Service Catalog Template
Outputs
High-level groupings of AI strategy business drivers.
Determine the organization’s readiness for AI, and identify areas for improvement.
Create a record of services and interfaces to reduce waste.
2 Know Current Environment
The Purpose
Identify building blocks, common patterns, and decompose them.
Key Benefits Achieved
Develop an AI Architecture.
Activities
2.1 Integration Principles
2.2 High-level Patterns
2.3 Pattern decomposition and recomposition
Outputs
Set general AI architecture principles.
Categorize future and existing interactions by pattern to establish your integration framework.
Identification of common functional components across patterns.
3 Perform a Gap Analysis
The Purpose
Analyze the gaps between the current and future environment in people, process, and technology.
Key Benefits Achieved
Uncover gaps between current and future capabilities and determine if your ideal environment is feasible.
Activities
3.1 Gap Analysis
Outputs
Identify gaps between the current environment and future AI vision.
4 Build a Roadmap for Application Integration
The Purpose
Define strategic initiatives, know your resource constraints, and use a timeline for planning AI.
Key Benefits Achieved
Create a plan of strategic initiatives required to close gaps.
Activities
4.1 Identify and prioritize strategic initiatives
4.2 Distribute initiatives on a timeline
Outputs
Use strategic initiatives to build the AI strategy roadmap.
Establish when initiatives are going to take place.