SaaS, Cloud and Social Media are changing the nature of applications and data - not just where the data and applications reside, but how we use them, our expectations of them, how rapidly they get deployed, how often they change, and how their value is measured.
As the nature of applications and data change, so must the nature of the integration suites that bring them all together.
The EDI hub from 1990 isn't going to provide the right architecture for this. The B2B or EAI server from 2001 can't do this. The nature of the problem has changed.
Cloud, SaaS and Social Media are changing the nature of Integration.
This is the fourth installment of a series of articles based on the "2011 Application Connection Priorities report from GatePoint Research and SnapLogic.
Social Media - A New Integration Twist
Much of the new data that companies plan to integrate is social media data such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin - and will be used for Sales, Marketing and Customer Service applications. This kind of data is highly time-sensitive, and its value often diminishes rapidly as time goes on.
There is also the potential for large volumes of data, depending on how this data is to be used. For example, a scenario where Tweets are to be integrated into a (presumably) SaaS-based marketing application which measures public sentiment on certain issues.
In this case, the volumes of data are not only potentially large, but very time critical. In this situation, the value of information declines as the information ages. In some applications of this - perhaps Public Relations or political elections, that drop-off in value can be extreme.
Increasing Velocity of Change
The survey also signals that organizations are being savvy and planning for a lot of change - over half of organizations indicate that reusability and adaptability are key requirements.
It is my strong belief that the "velocity of change" in integration connections or "end points" (i.e. sources and/or targets) at most organizations will accelerate significantly over the next few years. Furthermore, there will be quite a lot more change in the number and variety of these integration connections than most IT executives are planning for.
There are four fundamental reasons why I believe that the velocity of change will significantly outstrip what most IT executives are anticipating, leaving many unable to cope with integration demand. IT executives:
1) Are already underestimating the number of new SaaS/Cloud implementations in their companies (partially due to "rogue" deployments). Yesterday I mentioned some work from Loraine Lawson on SaaS Sprawl. Another worthy article (this time on Cloud) is from David Linthicum "What Rogue Cloud Usage can Teach IT"
2) Underestimate growth in data volumes.
3) Cannot preduct new innovations in areas like social media, mobile data and Cloud, which will inevitably appear.
4) Will be facing increasing demand for integrated data/applications, as the use-cases for integrated data and applications proliferates.
More data, more sources, more formats, accelerating change, increasingly time-critical data and the spectre of "surprises" on the horizon - which cannot be planned for but MUST be anticipated. Now THAT makes for a formidable challenge.
This will make it difficult for organizations which have "invested" in rigid integration architectures to get value out of their data and stay competitive in their respective markets.
______________
For some additional perspectives on Data - I'd recommend Robin Bloor's (founder of Bloor Research) blog. He has some unique and compelling analysis on the topic.
Leave a comment