Systems integration has many meanings and connotations but the aspect I will focus on is when a company outsources the design, development and implementation of a system for an in-house project. The first question that comes to mind is: why would a large company outsource an integration project to an outside company? The answer is: time and money. If your company makes widgets, then the focus of the technical staff is to make the best widgets possible. If that requires implementing a specialized system to make the widgets better, then the technical staff may have little or no technical expertise in that specialized system. The learning curve on that specialized system might be very steep and the amount of time dedicated to overcoming that learning curve might be beyond current resources. So an easy solution is to contract that system out to a company that has a high level of expertise and can implement the system in a fraction of the time than what could be done internally.
Let’s assume that your company has evaluated the situation and carefully considered all of your options and concluded that outsourcing the system integration is the best alternative. What are the considerations you should take in selecting the right integrator, and how should the project proceed?