Why is Business Integration important?
From improved customer service to cost savings and greater efficiency – properly integrating your systems will improve the way you do business.
With integrated systems each area of your organisation will know what your customers have bought, the services they’ve used and the issues that are important to them. This knowledge is invaluable if you are to provide a seamless customer experience.
Plus, integrated systems mean increased productivity and less exposure to the errors that arise when business is done in a disjointed fashion.
How Content and Code can help integrate your systems
Content and Code can use Microsoft SharePoint 2010 to integrate your line-of-business systems quickly and cost-effectively.
The new Business Connectivity Services featured in SharePoint 2010 allow you to connect virtually any internal system to SharePoint and, subsequently, Microsoft Office.
Two examples of how integrated systems work in practice
Example 1 – Single access details
In many businesses, staff members have multiple usernames and passwords which they struggle to remember. This can mean that:
- They fail to access all your systems – so any decision they make is not a fully-informed one
- Frequent calls to your support helpdesk – this is a significant drain on resources
- Staff dissatisfaction – your people become unhappy that they can’t find the information they need
To solve this problem, Content and Code can create a SharePoint platform that your people can use to access multiple systems with a single username and password.
Example 2 – Connecting your CRM application
Content and Code can connect SharePoint 2010 to your organisation’s CRM application, so that by connecting their laptop or Outlook to SharePoint your sales people can:
- Visit customers armed with their data, stored locally on their laptop
- Input orders directly into Outlook which synchronises with SharePoint and updates the CRM
This is highly cost-efficient and reduces inaccuracies in data input.
Integrating your systems with Biz Talk
Biz Talk is an integration and reporting engine that acts as a central hub for all your systems when combined with SharePoint 2010.
We can use BizTalk in combination with SharePoint 2010 to connect your accounting system (for example, SAP or Oracle) to your production and warehousing system – and ensure consistent reporting across all three.
Why invest in a Business Integration Solution?
- Cost savings and efficiency: By integrating your organisation’s systems you will streamline processes, making a real difference to your bottom line
- Customer satisfaction: By making everything you know about your customers available at every touch point across your business, you can meet their needs throughout the customer life-cycle
- Improved cash flow: Integrated systems eliminate delay meaning you can bill your customers faster
- Strategic insight: When everything is integrated it’s easier for your senior people to understand how your organisation is operating and ensure processes are as streamlined as possible