Pick an integration vendor who understands your domain

There are a lot of IT consulting companies that offer integration services. There are also a lot of iPaaS products that provide platforms to integrate a wide array of solutions. Unfortunately, both solutions view integration as a mundane data mapping exercise to connect two systems. They don't always understand the domain these software solutions operate in and therefore don't understand the transactions being synched across systems and what they mean to the impacted end user.

The result is often the following:

1. Missed requirements. Since they don't know what they don't know, they don't know what clarifying questions they should be asking, and therefore essential details are missed.

2. Delayed timelines. Due to missed requirements, they often find issues in testing when the clients verify the data because the vendors don't know the domain well enough to detect the potential problems.

3. Overburdened clients. Since the vendors need to understand the domain better to ask the right questions, the clients often have to lead the conversation. Therefore, even though they hired a team to manage this process, they must do it instead.

Often, these efforts take too long or are riddled with so many bugs that the clients cancel the initiatives and are left with nothing to show for their investment. Therefore, please vet the vendors to ensure they understand your domain's nuances and complexities.