Integration Capabilities
Every serious business is invested in some kind of technology stack. Don’t let the fanciful phrase spook you: a stack is simply jargon for the variety of digital systems that combine to deliver results for the business. For example, you could refer to the combination of an email server, the connectivity that puts it on the network and the applications users rely on to access their mail as a ‘stack’ of sorts.
The point is, every business has these. But this is where it gets complicated…
Ever had that problem of the ERP not talking to the CRM, or data languishing in one database far removed from other processes? This haunts businesses more and more every day because they are impeding the speed and effectiveness of the organisation. As a result, many hours are wasted manually copying data from one application to another, time that could be spent on more pertinent business problems and opportunities.
Such segregation makes business technologies far less effective. Even though modern business applications can offer amazing levels of granular, contextual reporting, they are unable to deliver if they are not fed the right data in the right way. Again, countless hours are spent manually filling these gaps, Expensive systems bought on huge promises fall short because employees are still expected to make up the difference.
Integration is the answer. If systems are able to talk to each other, they don’t need those manual middlemen. They can do it themselves, delivering results at the speed of light, not the meandering of hands.
Traditionally, integration was not as big a consideration, since there were fewer systems supporting a company. Yet as sophistication grew, opening more business doors, so did the demand for more systems that couldn’t readily communicate with other business systems. For them to meld back into a unified base for the business, you need integration.
This is a key reason why modern application platforms are different. These were born into the integration problem and thus tackle it from the start. Platforms such as Salesforce invest deeply to ensure their services can conveniently link with other business systems. Today’s application platforms have integration in their blood, connecting to everything from a mainframe to a modern cloud service.
It’s not a surprise that Riskonnect scored full points for integration in Forrester’s evaluation of Governance, Risk and Compliance software. As it was built using Salesforce’s Force.com platform, Riskonnect is primed for any type of integration, even for those time-worn yet critical systems at the heart of many organisations. This is why deployment cycles can take months or even weeks, not the years of traditional IT implementation, and how you can get the right answers in front of you when you need them – without chasing them first.