In most IT orgs, developers identify with siloed projects, not enterprise architecture. Integration, therefore, operates at a scale of one. These fragmented integration efforts limit campus-wide integration capacity and build an “architecture by accident” that cripples IT innovation through brittle interdependencies between systems.
To realize the potential of technology investments now and in the future, IT leaders must recognize the temporal value of integration and prioritize developing campus integration maturity accordingly.
As integration takes on new importance in the institutional strategy, CIOs must respond with organizational, tooling, and process management changes. IT leaders should dedicate staff to integration work, aggregating integration skills from across the organization to professionalize the capability.
To increase speed and facilitate scale, CIOs should empower their staff to evaluate and adopt next-generation integration tooling to advance maturity and increase efficiency through standardized practices and automation. Conduct a workshop to discuss the right approach for your institution with our discussion guide.
Just as the integration problem presents uniquely on every campus, the integration solution that’s right for any given institution and its IT organization will vary. The institution’s needs, capacity, finances, and skillset will all impact the choice of tooling.
The integration tool marketplace is evolving rapidly, too, and its pace of change has left little room for the development of a shared language of service among vendors. Determining what’s right for your institution is not simple, but IT groups should consider peers’ experiences with integration vendors during the evaluation process.
To help you make sense of the landscape, we pulled together key facts and findings about ten integration vendors frequently encountered in our research conversations. While not recommendations or endorsements, our profiles provide an overview of the vendors and their products, as well as intelligence regarding their users within higher education.
Integration tooling is usually selected to meet particular project requirements, with CIOs having limited ability to give strategic input or guidance. This lack of thoughtful analysis of domain-specific tools and technological advancements is insufficient to serve an increasingly digitized institution.
Now, progressive CIOs are investing in integration research and development, empowering their own staff to undertake campus-specific strategic research into the best tools to help transform their IT org into one that is integrating strategically, and at scale. Download the iPaaS evaluation project guidance to learn more.
CIOs should select a change agent from the institution’s developer community to complete a review of the institution’s integration needs alongside the available iPaaS market offerings.
This developer should be selected for their capacity to innovate, given protected time to complete the analysis of campus needs and tooling options, and is expected to present an executive-level overview of findings and recommendations at the project’s conclusion. Access our iPaaS evaluation matrix template to document your evaluation and determine next steps.
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