“Companies that invest more in digital transformation actually outperform their peers over time. These companies are more prepared for disruption, better able to monetize new digital channels, and better able to build a bigger user base. What’s more, this phenomenon exists regardless of industry.”

— Geoff Cubitt, CEO, Isobar US

The current frame of the business world stands defined by its digital transformation. The concept of integration in business has gradually gathered a fair amount of focus. It is owing to the rising number of organizations, customers, products, consumers’ demands, and expectations which together have resulted in the theory of integration in businesses. Here’s a better understanding of what integration is; why do businesses need an integration strategy; and what are these strategies.

What is Integration in Business?

As businesses today are digitally driven, staying connected through digital technology has become imperative for all organizations. Integration is essentially a comprehensive digital strategy that assists in automation, integration, and optimization of various business processes which help an organization to stay connected with its customers, suppliers, etc. In a way, integration catalyzes a company’s growth. More companies are opting for integration with various platforms for bridging the voids which exist between various businesses.

What is an Integration Strategy?

When companies need to exchange information efficiently and expeditiously, integrating it with the IT setup is important. The e-mails and faxes where the role of earlier digitization appeared are a passe. With the world striding ahead with digital growth, the traditional ways of business have also evolved with companies adopting technologically advanced software solutions to combat the issues of customer management, security, etc. This integration helps different companies to smoothly communicate with each other for a seamless working. Improvement of speed and productivity in an organization is the ultimate motive of business integration. There are two types of integration strategies that the companies adopt to refine their position in the industrial market that is overflowing with competitors:

Why Do Businesses Need Integration Strategies?

Information Technology has become an integral part of every business process today. From MIS, CRM, AI to all the other advanced software tools, the current organizations are dependent on these tech wonders. Integration has not only helped the companies in accelerating their productivity but has also reduced the time-consuming and financially strenuous manual working. The primary benefits of business integration are:

• Data accessibility improves across the departments in an organization as a result of integration. This helps in refined decision-making, thereby accelerating the overall business growth.
• Integration helps in end-to-end data visibility which makes data tracking and monitoring across the cloud services and SaaS applications possible. The real-time business visibility enables insight into the critical data flows.
• Through task automation and business orchestration, the delays in service provision or human errors are reduced. In this way, the manual workforce can be diverted to handle core business responsibilities.
• A company that is growing at a rapid rate can get entangled in the complexities of the applications. At times it also results in the formation of tech stack or data silos. But with integration, this can be dealt with accurately.
• Companies are able to save on maintenance costs by consolidating solutions.
• Each application requires its own risk and security management, which can be a cumbersome task. By integrating additional security tools and encryption methods, the company data can be secured from unrecognized access.

It wouldn’t be unwise to conclude that software integration has become crucial for an organization’s growth. It not only serves to simplify the business procedures but also helps in a seamless workflow. The primary goal of any business is to improvise the outcomes with the integration of advanced software across the organization. In a way, through integration, IT blends as a functional aspect of a business.