SERVICE 07 / MAKE YOUR SYSTEMS AGREE WITH EACH OTHER
One record,
moving where it should
Most operational pain sits between systems rather than inside them. We close those gaps and make the flow visible when something goes wrong.
THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE
What this work
is for.
Finance rekeys invoice lines from the operations system into the accounting package every week. Nobody planned that job, it simply appeared in the gap between two products that were bought two years apart.
WHAT WE DO
Integration is the work of deciding which system owns which piece of information, then moving it between them in a way that can be trusted and observed. We build the connections, define the mapping, and handle the parts people usually discover late: duplicates, retries, partial failures and what happens when one side is down. Where a platform has no usable interface, we are honest about the options and their limits. The aim is fewer manual transfers and one place to look when a record does not appear where it should.
BUSINESS PROBLEMS THIS ANSWERS
- Manual transfer between platforms. A person exports a file from one system and imports it into another. The business depends on them remembering to do it.
- The same customer, three times. Sales, support and finance each hold their own version of a record. Nobody knows which one to correct.
- Support cannot see order history. An agent has the ticket but not the order, so the customer is asked to repeat information the business already holds.
- Silent failures. A sync stops and nothing says so. The problem is found weeks later by someone reconciling totals that no longer match.
CAPABILITIES AND DELIVERABLES
What is involved,
and what you get.
RELEVANT CAPABILITIES
- CRM and ERP integration. Connecting sales, operations and finance platforms so a change in one is reflected properly in the others.
- API design and development. Building and documenting interfaces for your own systems so future connections are a configuration job, not a project.
- Data mapping and ownership. Agreeing which system is authoritative for each field, which is most of the real work.
- Event-driven flows. Using queues and events so systems can be temporarily unavailable without losing information.
- Legacy and file-based interfaces. Working with scheduled exports, flat files and database connections when a platform offers nothing better.
- Integration monitoring. Dashboards and alerts on volumes, failures and retries so a stalled flow announces itself.
TYPICAL DELIVERABLES
- Integration architecture map
- Field mapping specification
- Working connections in production
- Error handling and retry logic
- Integration monitoring dashboard
- Runbook for failed records
WHAT COULD IMPROVE
- Manual exports and imports removed from weekly routines
- Fewer duplicate records to reconcile at period end
- Teams able to see the context they were previously asking for
- Integration problems noticed by an alert rather than a customer
Possible improvements, not guaranteed outcomes.
EXAMPLE WORKFLOW
How an engagement
usually runs.
A typical shape. The order changes with the situation, and we say so when it does.
Trace the flow
We follow a real record end to end and write down every hop, including the manual ones.
Decide ownership
We agree which system is the source of truth for each field before writing any code.
Build one connection
We start with the flow causing the most manual work and prove the pattern on it.
Handle the failures
We design for duplicates, retries and partial success, then test them deliberately rather than hoping.
Make it visible
We add monitoring and a clear procedure for the records that still need human attention.
RELATED PATHWAYS
Where this service
usually fits.
Connect Business Systems
Priority flows move automatically between systems with a defined owner for each record, and failures raise an alert instead of passing unnoticed.
Simplify Operations
Each request has a defined path, a visible status and a named owner. Routine steps run on their own, and exceptions reach the right person with the context attached.
QUESTIONS
Questions we are
asked about this.
There is usually a route, though not always a pleasant one. Options include scheduled file exchange, a direct database connection where the vendor permits it, or a vendor-supported import format. We will set out what each option costs you in reliability and maintenance, and whether the honest answer is to plan a replacement instead.
Sometimes, and it depends on how many connections you expect and who will maintain them. A platform earns its license when non-developers need to build and change flows regularly. For a handful of stable, specific connections, direct integrations are often simpler and cheaper to own.
It will, so we plan for it rather than treating it as an incident. Mapping is documented in one place, monitoring catches failures quickly, and we version interfaces where we control them. Vendor-side changes still need work, but the aim is a contained change instead of a mystery.
Whoever you choose, and we will build so that choice is open. Your team can take them on with the runbook and documentation we leave, or we can keep an eye on them under an ongoing support arrangement. What we will not do is leave undocumented connections that only we can repair.
A CLEARER VIEW
Your next move starts with a clearer view.
Tell us what you want to improve, what is getting in the way, or what you want to build. We will help you explore a practical path forward.