Software integration

by David Kukral

It can save you time and money, but how?

in·te·gra·tion—
1. A combination of parts or objects that work well together; 2. The act of combining into an integral whole; 3. Combining software or hardware components or both into an overall system.

The definition above seems simple enough, but the claims and promises made by software vendors can cloud the waters. As a business owner, integrated software is important because it saves you time and reduces errors. Time is saved when information shared by two or more separate applications needs to be entered into only one of these applications instead of both, and errors are reduced by entering the same information in one place instead of two.

An example of software integration: Synching up your cell phone calendar to your computer’s Microsoft Outlook® calendar. A good piece of integration software allows the user to synchronize the two. Once these two programs are synchronized, the user can plan events and have information available in both places without performing the work twice.

How does this work?

The software compares your cell phone calendar with the Outlook® calendar. Next, the software takes the most updated information (last change made in either application) and overwrites the previous information.

Here are some integration definitions you should know:

Converting is the one-time processing of information from one source (information isn’t shared by the two sources) to another source. Any subsequent changes in the original information will not be incorporated in the new “converted” information.

Importing is the retrieval of information from an application for use in your application (it does not synchronize with your information). It either imports it and creates a report or overwrites your data.

Exporting is taking your data and moving it to a place where another application can use it (the other application then imports it in) again either using it for a report or overwriting its data.

Words to pay attention to when discussing software integration:

When you, as a business owner, are evaluating software for use in your company, you should listen and read carefully. When you hear the words "works with", "convert", "import" or "export" beware as these words are not examples of integration.

When your software vendor states his/her software can "work with" another piece of software, ask the vendor if these two pieces of software are "integrated;" if you hear the words "import", "export" or "convert", the answer is no.

Additionally, when your vendor discusses topics such as Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) access to your data, or the ability to retrieve your data and create reports with software such as Crystal Reports, that is NOT integration. You can create any type of reports you like, but that is NOT integration.

A substantial amount of confusion exists in the software world. An example of this confusion is the way in which the popular financial software QuickBooks® works with various Microsoft® products. Creating letters and spreadsheets using the customers and vendors listed in your QuickBooks® program will allow you to easily make letters and perform mail mergers.

Those same customers you have in QuickBooks® can be integrated with your Outlook® address book by using the QuickBooks® Contact Sync tool located at: http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/tools/contact_sync/. By using this tool, changes made to customer phone numbers and e-mail addresses in QuickBooks® will not have to be made in both QuickBooks® and Outlook®. Instead, simply make the change in one program; then, when you synchronize the two programs, changes made in each will be reflected in both. On the other hand, information you have in a spreadsheet will not flow easily back and forth between Excel® and QuickBooks®. These are exports and/or imports. Exports and imports are useful features, but they are not examples of integration.

There is a great deal of helpful integrated software out there which can save you time and money, but be sure the software does what you expect, and make sure you understand what types of software you are buying. In summary, Integration, Converting, Importing and Exporting have very specific meanings. The danger is that most business owners are not sensitive to the specific meanings of the words and the differences in their application. In talking to a software vendor or reading the package of various software products, you may need integrated software, but instead, pick something that only has import/export capability because you have a blurred understanding of the terms. The key here is: be clear on what you need, clear on the terms that you are using to describe that need, and if you don’t know or are confused, ask questions from an expert who DOES know and can guide you.