ITCON ’21 in Review

Written by Maggie Gavigan

On August 11th RJ Reliance had the opportunity to present at this year’s ITCON ’21 conference hosted by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) in Chicago. IT professionals within the construction industry were able to connect and engage in dialogue about the future of IT technology and how to address existing technical issues.

​​On day two of the conference, our very own Tom Zellner presented alongside several other experts in a panel discussion titled “Lessons Learned Integrating Data from Point A to B.” Top industry professionals discussed real-world lessons learned to mitigate challenges and ensure project success when maintaining integration projects between multiple software applications. If you weren’t able to tune in, don’t fret! Here’s everything we learned:

​The first step to ensuring project success is understanding when to apply integrations and what options are available. Integration solutions have several use cases that can apply across a wide range of industries, including customer relationship management, human resource information system, and time collection for payroll. Ultimately, integration has the power to connect siloed workflows that have historically lived in one database that is only available to the customer. 

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​Data is exchanged via several different integration methods, such as CSV or TXT files, APIs, or other web services. The services used to exchange data also vary; Custom Code, for example, is great for small projects but doesn’t scale. Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) is typically reliable and scalable, while Robotic Process Automation (RPA) serves as a catch-all development strategy.

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Before getting your hands dirty with the integrations themselves, you must identify stakeholders early on. Stakeholder identification allows you to determine their expectations and shape the project organization accordingly. Clearly communicate to all parties, both internal and external, when the cut-off date is for starting the integration. By successfully managing your stakeholders, you can ensure project requirements are aligned, mitigate potential delays, and boost team engagement.

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​Take into consideration the importance of vendor partnerships and effective communication in addition to just the technical aspect of the software. Many integrations lack the necessary organizational-level training documentation for the business process. This weakness can easily be mended through process documentation, which improves business performance and operational agility. Also, be sure to set up a communication channel between the integration team and the end-users. Identify a single point of contact to streamline operations and improve the client experience. 

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​​Overall, ITCON ’21 was a resounding success. The conference served as an excellent opportunity to answer questions and share ideas about RPA and iPaaS with professionals in an industry that has previously been hesitant to adopt these solutions. Many thanks to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) for putting on such an enjoyable and informative event! Interested in learning more about what integrations could do for your business? Reach out today- our experts are ready!