B2B Data Integration and Transformation Blog

We've all seen it.  John knows the ins/outs of a particular process.  John boasts his knowledge, skills of that process, John knows it all, John is the man. Everyone goes to John, "John is out today? He’s the only one that can help us, we have a deadline. Did he leave notes on what we should do? He knew this was due today". "What am I supposed to tell the customer?  How do I respond to the customer?"

John is part of a team of eight, a well skilled and knowledgeable team of eight.  Each member of the team brings something different to the table but John, he knows everything, and he’s the “go to guy”.

I'm writing this post while on a wonderful family trip to France and Italy. One of the most important experiences I want my kids to have is traveling to other countries and feeling comfortable doing so.  It is such a learning experience to muddle your way through the language and the transportation.  

How could I use this experience and write a blog post?  Ahh, that's it....muddling. 

I often sit and listen to clients talk about their EDI environments – sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s bad.  What I find most important during these conversations is ensuring I understand everything they have and the direction they are heading.  

To obtain this key information, you must ask a lot of questions.  It may take several conversations before earning the trust of the client so they may provide you with many details, but evenutally you get there. 

A car with no steering wheel or controls?  Google’s latest invention is getting a lot of hype, a fully self-driving car!  In a recent article on CNN, it touts this new invention as being a cross between a VW Bug and a golf cart.  Is the world really ready to embrace a technology that gives up all control and relies on a computer to get you home safely?  Integration is taking over our lives from business systems, personal gadgets, and now cars.

We talk about integration a lot but is it time to shift from just “integration” to “automation and integration”?  Not only are we constantly searching for ways to integrate our systems but we’re looking to remove human control from the process.