General Session IV: Third Party Integrations – Does it make sense?Aaron Hosey and Alan Minton

“Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” Niels Bohr, Danish physicist

 “If you have a choice of two things and can’t decide, take both.”

Gregory Corso, American Poet “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just

sit there.” Will Rogers

“Competition is the keen cutting edge of business, always shaving away at costs.”Henry Ford

“The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage.”Arie de Geus, Shell Oil Company

 

The travellers of tomorrow will demand higher levels of control, comfort, security and personalization from the travel experience, and the growing sophistication of Information Technology will underpin travel providers’ ability to deliver to these expectations, transforming the customer experience from booking to baggagecollection.

Future Traveller Tribes 2020 - Henley Centre HeadlightVision/Amadeus

“How do I stay competitive in a hyper-

changing business and technology

landscape?”

1 : the act or process or an instance of integrating as :

a : incorporation as equals into society or an organization of individuals of different groups (as races).

 b : coordination of mental processes into a normal effective

personality or with the individual's environment. 2 a : the operation of finding a function whose differential

is known. b : the operation of solving a differential equation.

(1620) merriam-webster

Integration noun \,in-tə-`grā-shən\

1990 today

A System of

Systems

1950

System

Integration

(Engineering)

1970

Computer

System

Integration

Enterprise

Application

Integration

• B2Cloud

• Cloud2Cloud

Islands of Automation

Business

• Partnerships

• Client/Vendor

• User (Cloud/Free)

Technical

Integration Types

• Direct

• Indirect

• Mashup

• Enter new markets

• Fill gaps in your product portfolio

• Retain existing clients

• Provide a service or product at a lower cost

• Not a core business function

• Limited resources and skill limitations

• Attract new prospects/clients

Why Integrate?

Increase

Revenue

Decrease

Cost

Gather

Fame

When?Only After You Know WhatYou Are Trying To Do!

Far too many integrations are driven by technology rather than business objectives.

• Cost to Return Analysis• Build verse Buy Analysis• Think Long Term – 3, 5 or Even More Years• Have an Exit Strategy• Test Assumptions

“As a general rule of thumb, when benefits are not quantified at all, assume there aren’t any” Tom DeMarco and Timothy Listner

Define

Success

Criteria

Relationship

Model

Responsibilities

Communication

When Is Done

Done?

Delivery Operations

Responsibilities

Communication

How Are Client

Issues Resolved?

Support

Contracts

Financial Models

Privacy

Governance

Legal &

FinancePositioning

Message

Media

Sales

Marketing

How to IntegrateBusiness Areas

Define

Measurement

Processes &

Tools

Web Service

File Transfer

SDK

Type1

23

XML

Flat Delimited

Proprietary

Format

Workflow

Business Logic

Security

Complexity

Click to add text

How to IntegrateTechnical Areas

Give Extra Attention To:

• Use and Processing Measures• Stability and Scalability• Delivery and Support Requirements

1 Plan For the New & Unknown

Is Everyone Ready?

Take Small Steps

When Things Get Off Track

2

3

4

How to IntegrateProject Management

Build “Slack” into Your Schedule

Slow Responses Cost Time

Validate! Validate! Validate Along the Way

Get Everyone Together and Regroup

Define

How to IntegrateProduct Development Process

Analyze

DesignDeploy

Test

Manage

Develop

Iterate

Integration Evaluation PlanTask Responsibilit

yComplete Partnership Opportunity Assessment (POA) CIS/PartnerExec Committee reviews POA CISTechnology Process Map (TMP) created CISTMP Reviewed by Partner Candidate PartnerProject Scope created* CISProject Scope Reviewed by Partner Candidate PartnerProduct Roadmap Impact Assessment (PRIA) completed CISExec Committee reviews TMP, Project Scope and PRIA CISPartner Agreement Presented CISPartner Agreement signed CIS/Partner*includes internal resource allocation, external costs, and time requirements

What Good Things?

How Much Good

Things?

Cost of Good

Things?Great?

Valuable Partnership

Things to Think About

Evaluation Funnel

OCI: Primary - Brand, Secondary - Revenue

Platform: iQCX

What did we do?•Partnership•Direct integration using web service API (Tripit proprietary)•Complex workflow•Leverages iQCX business rules

What good things did you get?•Integration between iQCX Mail and popular itinerary tracking application•Customer satisfaction via offering in demand technology•Competitive advantage in sales presentations

OCI: Brand

Platform: iBank

What did we do?•Partnership•Direct integration using file transfer (XML and flat delimited formats)•Simple workflow•Leverages iBank’s on-demand data output model

What good things did you get?•Secure data transfer from iBank to flight status application•Automation of customer required task•Customer satisfaction via offering in demand technology•Competitive advantage in sales presentations

1

Final ThoughtsIntegration is a powerful method to extend the reach of your

business and maintain a competitive edge.

2 Have clear business outcomes before starting the project. Evaluate on revenue, cost or fame.

3 Think long term and set objective measures for success (and failure). Have an adoption AND exit plan ready just in case…

4 Create a detailed integration plan and manage to it. But remember to build-in time for any uncertainties. Measure twice and cut once.

Questions?