The Surprising Secret to System Integration Success

System integration initiatives aren’t simple. In fact, they tend to be just the opposite – months-long, tense projects requiring extraordinary attention to detail, patience, and the ability to keep an eye on the prize. At the heart of each successful system integration project is one often-overlooked element: the project team.

Today’s system integration teams are made up of members from various organizations working together to meet the project goal. Without a sense of unity among the project staff, the chances of successfully completing the integration drops. While their expertise and experience may have landed their position on the team, it’s the chemistry, morale, and communication that keeps the project on course to meet the deadline. What’s the best way to create a positive atmosphere and open communication? A DevOps-inspired culture.

Stemming from the practice’s hallmark collaboration between software development and operations teams, the DevOps-inspired culture quickly became synonymous with a cohesive team unified through engagement and teamwork. This philosophy cultivates a collaborative culture to support staff and enable organizations to achieve business goals through employee engagement and an open environment.

The emphasis on a collaborative atmosphere is essential, even critical, as organizations launch large complex initiatives – like system integration projects – with unfamiliar teams, tight deadlines, and scarce resources.

Why? Encouraging a DevOps-inspired culture helps team members to think collaboratively, finding a way to work together as a unit to solve a problem, not a meeting of different business departments. This shared atmosphere not only reinforces the project mission but the team itself, a crucial ingredient to success when embarking on a long project.

Do you need to use this philosophy to make a system integration initiative, or any other project, successful? Maybe not. But coordinating and encouraging a collaborative teamwork culture might be the final element needed to achieve success. In today’s highly-competitive marketplace, why wouldn’t you want your teams to embrace collaboration to ensure project success?