Basics of service integration

If your business is like most, then you likely use different services from different vendors.

Let’s think of a just one area: finances.

You may use Quickbooks or a similar accounting software to keep the books, a sales tracking software to project revenue, your bank account login page to see actual withdrawals/deposits, and a CPA to finalize your taxes.

You may not realize it, but your IT department probably looks similar.

One company may run your network cable and fiber backbone. Another may install the wifi, a network admin manages the hardware functionality, and no one quite remembers who’s responsible for the firewall… or what it looks like.

(I’ve personally seen that last one myself.)

Service Integration happens when a company like yours says, “Hey, we really need all these things to work together. It would be SO much easier to deal with one company – at least one manager – for these services!”

Now, since every business is a little different, there are all kinds of providers and consultants out there to serve them.

If you are a new business owner, adding a business line or campus, or expanding in any way, you may benefit from a refresher on what IT functions you actually want (and what employing 13 providers can actually cost).

After all, the pitcher Yogi Berra used to say, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere else.”