2013 will be about connections – among people, with the increasing growth of social media, – and within IT, with increasing integration of diverse enterprise systems that enhance performance by unlocking information silos.
In 2013 executives will be more focused on what we refer to as Bridging the Value Gaps; creating a seamless, streamlined organization where people and systems alike communicate in harmony.
Here is what my crystal ball says about integration in 2013. (I keep it on my desk and check it when no one is looking …)
It is clear that the demand for enterprise mobility and for apps on multiple mobile OS platforms is high. But these apps deliver much greater value if they are connected to back-end systems, driving business decisions on the fly. While this emerged as a clear trend in 2012, in 2013, IT departments will be forced to address integration needs – and fast.
As vast amounts of metadata related to business process integration become increasingly difficult to manage, Big Data techniques such as in-memory computing grids will be applied within a new category of “Big Data Integration.” Dealing with massive amounts of data – call it Big Data or something else – in any case, this is going to be important in 2013.
Enterprise software upgrades will require companies to go on an “integration spree.” Some will use integration to bridge gaps created by delays in upgrades.
Due to the complexity of SaaS and cloud-based services, integration can no longer be a home-grown solution. In 2013, IT executives will continue to pursue a policy of standardization of integration using tools rather than hard coding.
Big companies – like Oracle, SAP and others – will increasingly depend on smaller more agile vendors that are active in their ecosystems for technology and expertise to support their customers’ integration needs.
High-speed access will become critical. Big Data must be accessed quickly to make it useful.
Business critical applications, like JD Edwards and SharePoint, will take on strategic importance at a majority of large and mid-size enterprises as their ubiquity and ease of integration into enterprise apps makes them attractive for managing new business processes that bring value to the enterprise.
Consumerization of IT will continue with compelling business reasons for integration of social media and business networking sites with business processes and enterprise systems.
Enterprise IT departments will increasingly turn to on-shore/near-shore outsourcing of systems integration to increase control, reduce costs and reduce negative impacts from criticism, regulation and taxation.
Companies will change the way they do business when they experience the possibilities for innovation and efficiency that integration brings.
In 2013, more and more businesses will unleash value by integrating their different back-end systems. They will also have to make sure that their integration solutions support their enterprise mobility strategies and can handle the big data loads.
Wishing you a great 2013!
Regev Yativ is President and CEO of Magic Software Enterprises Americas. Magic provides powerful and versatile enterprise-grade application and data integration solutions.
