Hybrid integration platforms… is nirvana around the corner?

Much has been made in recent Gartner, Forrester and other analyst conferences during 2018 and 2019 about the concept of a hybrid integration platform. Does it support expanding tech to business users and creating citizen integrators? Does it streamline integrations and magically absorb all the complexity IT and Dev teams deal with by simply having a few connectors and a dashboard communicate with legacy tech? Or, does the extension of API Management into hybrid integration solutions serve as the answer to the universe, 42?

Hype and reality

I don’t know, but my guess is, unlikely. You see, the value of hybrid integration solutions is really captured in the vision of a company’s leadership to recognize the complexity of keeping a business operating at high speed and innovating, while their technology and business teams collaborate to prioritize and deliver meaningful services to their customers. Having that vision and agreeing to invest is a crucial starting point towards an organization’s digital transformation. But it’s only the beginning.

In a recent survey commissioned by Axway on the hybrid integration platform, it’s clear that global technology leaders agree that a HIP is on their radar and very much a front-burner topic with 93% of CIOs projecting it will speed their digital transformation.

READ MORE: Read why you need digital transformation for the future.

So, with all this focus and tech embedded in turnkey offerings, what’s the holdup? It’s not just the tech that delivers value, it’s the people that consume, interact with, design and fine-tune the technology that brings success and propels the business forward.

Guardrails and Guidance

More times than not, it’s common to have a technology solution chosen or built only to see its implementation and lifecycle management miss the mark when it comes to business objectives. Is this because no one has a clue how to implement or develop features? No, absolutely not. More than the tech skills and vision, the challenge to success comes from having the right guardrails in place to protect teams as they learn. In conjunction with the applied learning, teams need to remain fluid and adapt, hence gaining access to some outside guidance that can shed light on pitfalls to avoid. Dodging common obstacles around architecture refresh and implementation issues goes a long way to pave the way for success.

KPIs, APIs and PDQ

Having identified KPIs–to begin the path toward APIs–noted the criticality of the team and the need to invest in a platform, what is left to address the business needs PDQ (Pretty Damn Quick)? An Accelerator, a Catalyst. Yep, many organizations have great people with a vision to execute and depth of experience but lack critical mass and urgency.

Thus, injecting a short-term team to help focus efforts and energy around Quick Wins with an aggressive timeline is exactly what’s required to optimize the results of investing in a hybrid integration platform. At Axway, we’ve recognized this gap and are working with our customers by providing a series of Accelerate Journeys delivered by our Axway Catalyst organization to provide help around Strategy, Design and Lifecycle Management, DevOps and overall Digital Transformation. This burst of expertise and urgency seeks to spurn teams and organizations to do more sooner and leverage their hybrid integration platforms to the max, achieving 43! (Answer to the universe +1.)

Hybrid integration solutions

If you’re interested in determining where you stand in your readiness to implement a hybrid integration platform and gain the best ROI, check out our Digital Maturity Assessment for a reality check.