Guidelines for Successful Systems Integration

Featured article by Walter Moore, Independent Technology Author

Given the ever-increasing competition in today’s business world, it is necessary that businesses have systems that work synchronously. Companies that do not have their systems in sync may incur a significant cost as well as extensive resource consumption. Those enterprises with multiple Information Technology (IT) systems also showcase inefficiency, confusion, and decreased productivity. It is, therefore, important to integrate the numerous IT systems in a business to reap total benefits and stay ahead of the game.

About system integration

System Integration indicates bringing together various subsystems, namely computing systems and software applications, into a single system. By doing so, all the subsystems function as a single system. Due to the increased level of connectivity in every aspect of human life, the role of SI has become very important. It is necessary that SI engineers have vast knowledge about electrical systems, control systems, mechanical systems, software applications, data management, and visualization. System integrators also need to have the technical expertise in programming, testing, engineering, and commissioning.

A successful systems integration solution aids in making facilities more efficient. Instead of visiting multiple computer systems, managers may work from a single workstation. Additionally, firms with successful SI in place have noted lower labor costs and better response time through streamlined operations. Such firms have also displayed better performance, a uniform data pool, as well as a centralized data storage location.

Due to the numerous benefits SI has to offer, its application has spread widely. The following five guidelines will assist you to successfully integrate systems.

1. Initiate the process of application analysis

The first step is analyzing the needs of the project, be it a proposed process, operation, or automation. This process, also known as application analysis, involves identifying the criteria for the target application. It is then necessary to make a thorough description of the components, parts, and assemblies which are to be processed by the proposed systems. While performing this step, remember to consider the various business issues and define schedules, responsibilities, and various other performance expectations.

2. State the specifications for success

It is imperative for system integrators to have knowledge about the specifications that are required to meet the proposed acceptance criteria for the system. The specifications must be clear in terms of the technologies to be used, the functions and operations to be executed by the system, as well as the use of the integration. Besides, it is also necessary to state the possible system limitations and scope of errors that may occur in the system.

3. Identify critical path components

Critical path components are those components without which the entire operation may fail. The absence of these components may thwart the project and cause a huge failure, resulting in wastage of resources, time, and money. It is, therefore, important to identify and focus on these critical components. Examples of the same include technologies like robotics, machine vision, and flexible feeding system. Additionally, you may test the critical technology to examine if the performance is up to the expected mark.

4. Develop a plan

The next step is creating a document that entails the detailed function of every subsystem and describes how every subsystem is supposed to be interacting with the other. A system validation should then be carried out. This means a set of actions to analyze the compliance of the system, whether or not it meets the requirements and specifications that were defined before. Once the formal validation plan is in order, it is recommended not to make any changes to the system requirements or expectations beyond this point.

5. Test the system

Once the plan is developed and is in place, the next logical step is testing the system on a significant sample set. The importance of this step is to identify any potential problems or flaws. Once a formal function acceptance test plan works well, you may go ahead and implement the system.

Successful SI is where design meets reality. It is an essential contributor to the success of a company. The entire purpose of hiring systems integration services is to add value,which is made possible due to the interaction between different components of the system.

About the Author

Walter Moore is a freelance content writer. He has written many good and informative articles on different categories such as Technology, health, fashion, beauty, education, career, travel etc. He is very responsible towards his job. He loves to share his knowledge and experience with his friends and colleagues.