Navigating The Integration MazeNavigating The Integration Maze

IBM says it will take steps to help companies solve thorny integration issues that hamper business-process alignment by working more closely with software vendors that are specialists in particular industries. IBM this week will unveil an effort, WebSphere Business Integration Accelerators, to help software distributors serving vertical markets connect their own modules with IBM's WebSphere business-integration software.

The goal is to simplify the process of sharing data drawn from different departments within a business, such as sales and shipping, across applications in order to give managers a broader view of company operations. IBM says it will work with the top independent software vendors in a dozen markets, including retail, telecommunications, and energy, and offer technical and marketing support.

The combination of WebSphere and specialized business software could help companies bypass expensive internal integration efforts. "Many customers spend as much on software integration as they do on the software they're trying to integrate," says Sean Poulley, a business development director at IBM. Companies in the information 500 spend an average of 23% of their IT budgets on integrating applications, according to information Research.

A number of service providers already use WebSphere to help customers connect business processes internally and across industry supply chains. Agribuys, an ASP and software developer that facilitates business-to-business connections in the grocery industry, distributes the software alongside its Fresh Food Link supply-chain application. WebSphere's common platform lets the company more easily connect customers, says Laurence Sotsky, Agribuys' VP for sales and marketing.

Bob Sutherland, an analyst at Technology Business Research, says IBM's effort to tap industry expertise "should add up to smoother implementations and lower costs."