IDC, a leading technology research company, recently published the “Worldwide Business-to-Business Integration Gateway Software 2014 Vendor Assessment”. In the vendor assessment they included Axway, EXTOL, IBM, Informatica, OpenText GSX, Oracle, SEEBURGER, Software AG, and TIBCO. They focused on these nine vendors that have products or suites that support comprehensive trading partner collaboration. While they outline specifics for each software vendor, they also had some general findings with regard to ROI and what to consider when you’re exploring your options.
One of the first questions we hear when we’re speaking to companies regarding software purchase or upgrades is “What is the ROI?”. B2B Integration software is a big financial commitment but can pay for itself in a few years. In reading the summary versions of this study, one large enterprise was quoted as having transaction volumes grow 20% year over year and the cost per EDI transaction declined from $1.50 per transaction to $0.9 per transaction. If you quickly calculate that, based on a company that transacts 10,000 documents per year, that’s a $48,000 savings over eight years. While there are several ROI calculators out there, each company must review their needs and integration goals to decide the best avenue of investment.
As your trading partner community grows, you are faced with the increased volumes of data as well as the stability of your network. Today, there are three basic ways to handle your trading partner integration, by using a cloud network, outsourced or managed services, or B2Bi gateway software. Companies can use one, all, or a variation of the three.
Recently Tracy published blogs referencing several EDI vendors outlining their End of Support Dates and statements of direction, if you missed it click below for more information. If you're concerned about the direction of your EDI software, consider exploring a comprehensive integration suite. The ROI may surprise you and the cost of these scalable solutions is much more affordable than you may think.
If you are interested in learning more, you can read an exerpt of the IDC "Worldwide Business-to-Business Integration Gateway Software 2014 Vendor Assessment".
