From parking garages and train stations they emerge, shuffling, glassy-eyed and staring… There is no rest for them… They are CIOs and they are haunted by Nightmare on Integration Street! Unlike most nightmares, however, this one is never-ending. It haunts them when they sleep and remains when they awake. One simple, nagging question rests at the very heart of it…

How can I make it all work?

Integration, while consistently identified as an extremely high priority, ranking above most other enterprise application development and deployment plans, is maddening in its complexity. Keeping on top of it all requires the ability to see the big picture while still understanding how every little piece of that picture affects every other piece.

No wonder CIOs are having nightmares!

IDC's "Nightmare on Integration Street?" is designed for CIOs, CEOs, and other senior executives who just want to sleep in peace again.

Hard Luck, Horror Stories, and Hope
Today's leading CIOs see integration as critical and expect its importance to increase dramatically over the next two years. While cost reduction and operational efficiency are often the forces behind most business initiatives, the need for rapid and flexible response to changing business needs is the major force driving enterprise integration.

Information technology is a huge part of business today and the CIO, guided by the CEO, is tasked with ensuring that all of a company's IT works together seamlessly. Usually this means trying to get systems acquired, over a number of years, to do things that they were never designed to do, while ensuring uninterrupted service to internal and external clients. Obviously, the need to link disparate systems together is crucial however IDC's research shows there are pressures from the technical perspective as well, including two that are considered essential:

Previously, companies typically acquired IT systems to perform a function within the company. Whether it was a billing system or a database, the system existed to solve a specific problem the company faced. Connecting with other systems outside the companies was, until recently, not a consideration. The widespread adoption of the PC changed everything of course and heads of IT are no longer dealing with a few systems and a small group of users.

Today, business pressures require more from both executives and systems. CIOs cite multiple factors driving them to integrate, including but not limited to:

Successful integration depends on three basic capabilities: scalability, accessibility, and reliability.

Scalability is an issue for many companies as they grow. Whether that growth is organic or the result of acquisitions, systems that were sufficient before can no longer handle the load. Legacy systems from acquisitions or existing lines of business also aggravate the problem. A well-integrated system is not only able to meet today's needs but tomorrow's as well.

Accessibility issues arise when users cannot get the information they need to do their jobs when they need to do them. An integrated system is supposed to ensure that everything is accessible- and in the form required- when needed. Easier said than done. Such integration also requires careful planning to ensure the data is secure and users can only access what they are authorized to use.

Reliability underlies everything else when it comes to integration. Systems must work and they must work all the time. Shutting down systems for hours or days to make changes or do maintenance is not an option. Even scarier is an unplanned failure. These failures can cost companies time and money, not to mention damage their reputations when it make the news. Therefore, knowing which technology to stake your future on is serious business.

IDC's "Nightmare on Integration Street?" will show you how to understand the issues, plan your approach, and overcome the obstacles surrounding enterprise integration. By addressing issues both technological and non-technological, "Nightmare on Integration Street?" enables you to understand the big picture.

Attendance at IDC's "Nightmare on Integration Street?" will deliver numerous benefits to anybody concerned about the integration of their enterprise, including: