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Successfully managing systemsintegration through agile workflows

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Many businesses - from SMEs to large enterprises - are currently thinking about or undergoing a process of systems integration, whether this involves

integrating a variety of software systems in the cloud, or integrating legacy on-premise systems to new cloud software. Mitra Innovation manages this

process for many clients from a variety of industries. This article shows how we typically manage a systems integration project, step by step, and how

we follow an agile approach.

What are the benefits of integrated systems?

Up Next

Mitra Innovation’s six step

systems integration process

• Single sign on (SSO)

• centrally configurable systems

• distributed data is made accessible via a single request

• lowered risk of unidentified security breach

• improved reporting and systems monitoring.

Integrated systems allow for visibility and visualisation of end-to-end

organisational functions. Other benefits of fully integrated organisational

systems include:

Ashok Suppiah, CEO - Mitra Innovation states that

“The primary benefit of integrating systems is to be able to view

accurate, aggregated information in the form of comprehensive

operations dashboards. This provides business owners, divisional

heads and key decision makers with up to date insights relating to

organisational functions and performances.This is invaluable to

organisational heads who are increasingly pressed to make

spontaneous decisions.’

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Mitra Innovation’s six step systems integration process

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Step 3

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Step 5

Step 6

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Deploy

Support

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At Mitra Innovation, we follow an agile approach, normally utilising

WSO2 technologies, when building comprehensive integrated

platforms for our clients. The integration team, starting with a

shared vision of an integration map covering all applicable

components, initiates a typical systems integrations project utilising

the step-by-step process shown below (Diagram 1):

Step 1: Quick start programme

When a client engages Mitra Innovation to manage a

systems integration project on their behalf, the first step

in our process is the quick start programme. During this phase, Mitra

Innovation experts spend time at the client’s site to understand what the

client’s problem is, assess the client’s systems and decide

if they will align to a WSO2 technology solution. The quick start process

normally takes two weeks. At the end of the two weeks our Mitra

Innovation experts present the client with a proposal to carry out the

whole project.

Diagram 1: Step by step process

Step 2: Discovery

The Discovery phase comes next and allows our

integration team to familiarise themselves in more detail, with the

overall requirements and expectations of the ‘to-be delivered’

integrated system. During this phase, our team is further exposed

to the client’s current way of doing things, to gain an understanding of

the ‘as is’ set up of their organisational systems.

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The integration team focuses on identifying and gathering requirements

to successfully conclude the project. Requirements that will be identified

as part of the integration include:

• APIs, interfaces, volumes of data flow

• workflow endpoints and related behaviour

• protocols on each interface

• security policies

• privacy policies

• system administration and governance

• getting a clear, agreed upon picture of ‘as is’ set up.

Steps 3 - 5

The next three steps are the ‘continuous integration’ part of the

project, where we design, build and deploy the integration.

At Mitra Innovation, our integration teams follow agile methods, and

invariably use WSO2 technologies (such as API Management,

Analytics, Identity Management, and Integration), through these phases.

Steps 3-5 are outlined below.

Step 3: Design

The main objective during the design phase, is to

conceptualise and direct the architecture stack that will

power the middleware platform. During this phase, the integration team

focuses on identifying and mapping out the middleware platform that

will be the glue to the wholly integrated system. We often use WSO2

middleware as our preferred platform.

The key activities we consider during this phase are:

• the high-level integration design

• mapping the source and target systems through integration

• selecting the necessary components of middleware

• low level design describing the functionality of each

component in detail.

Design Build Deploy

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Step 4: Build

During this phase, our integration teams use agile

methodologies to seamlessly switch between Designing,

Building and Deploying the integration solution to deliver timely, all

encompassing, comprehensively integrated systems. Agile methodologies

enable integration teams at Mitra Innovation to closely work with clients in

iterative cycles, to deliver the best possible integration solution.

While building the designed solution, integration teams at Mitra

Innovation concentrate on a few key activities such as:

• implementing message mediation flow

• end-to-end orchestration

• integrating different types of systems using different protocols

(HTTP/S, JMS, SFTP, etc)

• unit tests and integration tests

• continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD)

• message transformation - (JSON to XML/ XML to JSON).

Step 5: Deploy

Whilst designing and implementing the integration project,

our integration teams also work on deploying the integrated

solution. Continuing to use agile methodologies, our expert teams can

iterate the right development to best solve any issues arising from any

individual stage. Whilst working on deploying integrated systems, the

team concentrates on a few key activities such as:

• User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

• Quality Assurance (QA)

• Automated Acceptance Testing (AAT)

• Systems Integration Testing (SIT)

• local development and developer testing

• performance testing

• pre-production and production deployment.

Step 6: Support

Once a newly integrated system has been deployed, and is

ready to be used by the client, Mitra Innovation then

provides ongoing support and maintenance for the client.

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We provide up to three levels of support, listed below:

Level 1:

At Level 1 we support basic customer issues such as difficulties in usage

of the system and service desk requests that require technical expertise.

If our Level 1 technicians are unable to solve an issue, it is escalated to

Level two support.

Level 2:

At Level 2, we provide support using experienced and knowledgeable

technicians who assess support requests and deliver solutions for

problems that cannot be handled by Level 1 support personnel.

Level 3:

At Level 3, we provide the highest level of technical resources necessary

for problem resolution. We even consider new feature creation in rare

cases. Level 3 support technicians attempt to define root causes of

problems using product design, code, or specifications.

New fixes created are then documented for use by Level 1 and Level 2

support personnel.

Craig Anderson, Managing Director Cloud Operations

at Mitra Innovation states: “When all of your organisational

systems are integrated, your organisation is geared to almost

spontaneously respond to emerging situations with informed

decisions. At Mitra Innovation we aim to help organisations and

businesses reach this level of integration and decision-making.”

For more information on how we carry out successful systems integration

projects on behalf of clients at Mitra Innovation, please talk to us

on +44 (0) 203 908 1977 or write to us at innovate@mitrai.com

to let us know your requirements.

LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3

Would you like to know more?Get in touch today!

innovate@mitrai.com | +44 (0) 203 908 1977 | www.mitrai.com

Mitra Innovation is passionate about helping smart entrepreneurs, enterprises and public service organisations to accelerate innovative ideas into amazing global businesses or solutions.

We are specialists in product incubation, digital transformation, and Cloud-to-Cloud systems integration, with expertise in WSO2 and AWS technologies.

Think Integration. Think Incubation. Think Innovation. THINK MITRA

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