Integrate expectations

THE MAKE-OR-BREAK question in systems integration is: who do you get to do it? For a systems integration project of any size, it?s unlikely that you will have all the requisite skills in house.

Consultants are often appointed to head projects. Independence and breadth of experience are the main reasons given by customers for choosing consultants rather than vendors.

Birmingham Midshires recently chose consultancy CMG to carry out a #1m systems integration project providing infrastructure for a new call centre. Head of customer services John Suffolk says: ?What we were looking for when we appointed CMG was both breadth and depth of knowledge.

?Vendors have depth in terms of a specific system. From consultants you can get people with experience of systems from several vendors. They can also bring experience of complementary areas. Vendors often have consultancy arms, too, but they tend, as you would expect, to push their own specialist areas.?

Bendicks of Mayfair chose consultancy ECSoft to produce a sales order processing system to be integrated with its existing Bpics manufacturing system.

Ian Macintyre, financial director with Bendicks, reveals: ?The trouble with vendors is that they keep shoving products in your direction. We were drawn to ECSoft for their independence, and their experience in understanding and meeting business requirements.

?We were able to have a piece of bespoke software written that costs less than a packaged solution would have done ? so we got a better product at a lower price.?

Since then, ECSoft has integrated other features into Bendicks? systems. One is a laptop-based solution allowing salespeople to take orders in the field. ECSoft achieved that using Lotus Notes ? which Bendicks was already committed to ? as the mechanism for transmitting information.

Sometimes a vendor rather than a consultancy is the obvious choice of integrator. In 1991, Crawford Door bought JBA?s finance systems and needed to integrate them with software developed by its parent company, Cardo Door, in Sweden. It gave the work to JBA. The initial interface took JBA just three weeks to construct. Subsequently, the interface has had to be overhauled a couple of times because of changes to the Cardo software.

Crawford Door?s financial controller, Anthony Podmore, says: ?On each occasion the Swedes send a specification of their software to JBA, via me. We discuss the impact of it with JBA and talk about costing implications. JBA produces a spec, which is reviewed in Sweden, and we iron out any inconsistencies. Then we agree how we?re going to implement it.?

Podmore says that the relationship with JBA is ?second to none? and it has had no reason to look elsewhere for an integrator.

Typically, on a large project, a mixture of vendors and consultants will get involved in different capacities. Some companies decide to hand the whole project over to a prime contractor, which may be either a consultancy or a vendor. Any other suppliers are subcontracted to the prime contractor, who charges a premium for taking on a share of the risk of the project.

Other users contract a number of suppliers in parallel, one of whom may be charged with project management. Or the user may decide to retain that responsibility in house.

The Grampian Police Force used Bull Information Systems as the prime contractor on its recent mobile incident control and field information project, which brought together products and services from other suppliers, including RAM Mobile Data, Xyratex and M3i. The system allows officers access to detailed information about an incident they?re attending ? such as where it is and who reported it.

Chief inspector Ian Duncan, who is responsible for IT within Grampian, says: ?We?ve worked with Bull on a number of applications over the past couple of years. We?ve gone for a one-door approach with Bull as prime contractor.?

It?s sometimes mooted that having a prime contractor puts you at arm?s length from the technical expertise you might otherwise acquire from the sub-contractors. Duncan repudiates this idea: ?We?re not precluded from talking to the other suppliers, and in fact we do have ongoing contact with them regarding technical issues.?

Often a contractor will want to bring in specialists to help with an integration job. That can work fine provided all parties, including the customer, agree. Gerber Foods in the US is conducting a project with two vendors. Manugistics has provided supply chain software and consultancy and has brought in middleware specialists Frontec to integrate Manugistics? inventory planning functions with standard EDI software.

Gerber Foods? director of MIS, John Kraley, explains: ?We have a contract with Manugistics to provide the solution, and Manugistics contracted Frontec to help. We have a team consisting of people from Manugistics, Gerber and Frontec and I wouldn?t say anyone was in overall charge. We believe that this is the only way to go ? in a teaming environment, where you share the responsibility.?

The rewards are also being shared, since at the end of the project Manugistics will be marketing the result to other companies. Kraley says: ?We are keen to have the software sold to other companies. It will provide Manugistics with revenue to help it maintain the software. We?ve been working with other prospective users to make sure that the solution will work in the market, not just for Gerber.?

Even when the contract is awarded to a single vendor, consultants may get involved in an advisory capacity. The Meteorological Office chose Digital to implement its new nationwide Weather Information Network (WIN). WIN distributes up-to-date weather information swiftly to remote sites, such as RAF stations and commercial weather stations, replacing a less-than-reliable asynchronous feed.

Digital has supplied hardware and software and integrated everything together, but the Met Office has also been using consultancy Level-7 throughout.

WIN project manager Mike Johnson explains: ?Level-7 got involved when we decided to go the X400 route, because it?s a X400 specialist. It?s particularly important for us to be seen to be awarding contracts on technical merit because we?re spending tax-payers? money. Involving a third party helps you to be seen to be fair.

?Level-7 has been involved in evaluating documents and test procedures throughout the project. It attends project meetings and monitors proposals from the contractor. Now it?s helping us with the final network acceptance procedures.?

And what does Digital think about having consultants keeping an eye on it? ?The only complaint from the contractors is that Level-7 can be a bit pernickety when reviewing documents ? but we have ended up with excellent quality.?

In putting together a project where close collaboration is necessary, compatibility is essential. John Suffolk has experienced a situation in which two companies bid jointly but then experienced a culture clash when it came to actually working together. ?The bid was seamless, but differences in culture came out during the project. One company liked to think creatively, while the other was very pragmatic. One wanted vision and the other wanted Gantt charts. The customer can?t just sit on the sideline ? you have to get in and manage the relationship.?

Sometimes, keeping a dog and barking yourself is sometimes not such a bad idea. Almost all IT managers agree it?s essential to maintain a hands-on approach. Duncan at Grampian says: ?You have to be there to explain what you want, listen to the contractor?s proposals and then reach a compromise.?

Suffolk advises: ?Make sure each participant is clear on what each element of the project is trying to deliver and who?s responsible for delivering it. Even after you?ve communicated the message 100 times ? tell them again.?

Choosing an integrator IT directors? tips

?Look for an integrator with a track record in your vertical market, as well as in the type of application. ?Review the companies? cultures to see if they will be able to work together. ?Don?t rely on contracts and penalty clauses ? manage the project to ensure you get your deliverables when you want them. ?Communicate the objectives of the project repeatedly to make sure that everyone understands them. ?Be aware of the relationships between parties working on your project. Stipulate that any subcontractors used must be identified and approved. ?Be flexible. Relationships may evolve in the course of the project, or new skills come to light. ?Prime contractors are sometimes used when an organisation doesn?t have adequate programme management skills. But consider recruiting those skills, too: not everything can be contracted out.

Bupa Ireland Fixed price, fixed time contract

Bupa Ireland is a new operation. Shortly after IT manager Donal Clancy joined last summer, the company contracted Cambridge Technology Partners to implement a customer service and a member registration and quotation system for use in the company?s call centre. The project had an immovable deadline. ?We chose Cambridge for its RAD approach, and it did the project on a fixed price, fixed time basis.?

The project ? one of a number taking place in parallel ? drew in products and services from several companies. Some Bupa developers worked under the Cambridge team. Other contractors were brought in on a time and materials basis as needed.

The systems had to interface with PeopleSoft financial applications. Consultants from Bupa International?s PeopleSoft team (including outside consultants CPI) got involved, as did consultants from database supplier Sybase. Siemens provided the PABX and automatic call distribution.

Everyone worked closely with Cambridge, but all the projects remained under Bupa Ireland?s direct management. ?You can?t afford not to retain control,? says Clancy.