The final article in our series about maximizing ROI for the EDI/B2B platforms we support concludes with a look at non-platform solutions. We chose this topic because not every integration challenge begins inside a traditional EDI environment.
In the series, we’ve published articles about platform solutions from IBM, Cleo, Boomi, Microsoft, and others in our portfolio. At the end of this installment, you can find links to all of them.
This article highlights the need for resources who can demonstrate a broad understanding of the operational ecosystem surrounding business and system integration.
That understanding comes from assisting clients in solving unique integration challenges where there wasn’t a clear pre-existing playbook.
Let’s look at two healthcare integration examples from opposite ends of the skills spectrum. While each organization served different markets, both faced:
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Integration pressure
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Migration pressure
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Timeline pressure
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Institutional knowledge gaps
Neither organization could afford trial-and-error. They needed external resources with the right EDI-adjacent integration skills. And those resources had to grasp the operational context of the challenge.
Use Case 1: Why Legacy Integration Niche Skills Remain Critical
Our first scenario involves a managed healthcare company specializing in behavioral health. When they came to us, they were acquiring a competitor. This involved consolidating operations and integrating more than five million patient records.
The process involved supporting patient data workflows tied to a new VBA adjudication platform. Maintaining HIPAA privacy compliance was a given. But they soon discovered a significant skills gap.
That’s because, unlike a modern cloud-native architecture, the integration environment still relied heavily on IBM AS/400 infrastructure. RPG remains critical because major financial, manufacturing, and supply chain enterprises rely on IBM i (AS/400) systems.
Many organizations face a retiring pool of skilled RPG talent. As a result, they are taking steps to modernize their environments while avoiding the risk of rip-and-replace migrations.
One proven strategy involves making AS/400 features available to cloud-based systems and applications via REST APIs. In the meantime, enterprises turn to companies like ours for consultants with high-demand skills. These skills are in short supply and crucial in migrations with little room for error.
In the situation above, we delivered a baseball team’s worth of qualified RPG programmers.
Use Case 2: The Role of Emerging Skills in the Cloud Era
Modern integration environments are rarely clean, greenfield platform deployments. More often, they are hybrid, transitional, and improvised. Like our first example, this migration project involved a transitioning environment.
The brief called for merging multiple TPA systems into one claims payment system on Azure. The project began in early fall with a tight deadline. The payment systems had to be merged and working in time for a January 1 go-live.
As a result, they had to have a consultant with HIPAA-compliant use cases deploying Microsoft Fabric and Azure Data Factory. But they also needed the same skills that enterprises with dynamic environments need, even if they don’t maintain them in-house.
They include the ability to speak technically, understand architecture, and discuss cost optimization with leaders. Organizations also need resources who can communicate well, integrate with project teams and workflows, and solve operational problems.
H2: How Remedi Helps Support Evolving Environments with Custom Solutions
Given our roots in EDI, it follows that clients come to us with EDI needs first. But often, once confidence and comfort have been established, they return with EDI-adjacent integration needs that include:
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Niche skills gaps
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Trading partner complexity
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Legacy transformation
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Workflow automation
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Interoperability challenges
If you’re facing deadline pressure from compliance, trading partner or modernization initiatives, reach out here. We love challenges, and we’d love to help you solve yours.
Other Articles in the Series:
Are all B2B Integration Platforms Alike? Yes and No.
The Platforms We Support: Microsoft BizTalk Server and Azure Logic Apps
The Platforms We Support: Boomi
The Platforms We Support: True Commerce and SPS Commerce
The Platforms We Support: IBM B2B / Hybrid Integration & Data Exchange Solutions
The Platforms We Support: Cleo Integration Cloud
The Platforms We Support: The SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite
The Platforms We Support: 1 EDI Source from Epicor
The Platforms We Support: OpenText
FAQs
1. What are EDI-adjacent integration skills?
EDI-adjacent skills support the systems, workflows and technologies that surround business data exchange. Examples include middleware platforms, API management, cloud integration tools, workflow automation, legacy modernization and custom integration development.
2. Why do companies still rely on RPG and AS/400 integration skills?
Many healthcare, manufacturing and supply chain organizations still depend on IBM i (AS/400) environments for critical operational workflows. Modernization efforts often require experienced RPG and CL programmers to maintain interoperability and support migration initiatives without disrupting business operations.
3. How do cloud migration projects create new integration staffing challenges?
Cloud migration projects frequently involve hybrid environments, evolving architectures and compressed implementation timelines. Organizations may need specialists with experience in tools like Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Factory, APIs, workflow automation and data orchestration to support modernization efforts.
4. What kinds of custom integration projects can Remedi support?
Remedi supports a range of EDI-adjacent integration initiatives, including trading partner onboarding, legacy transformation, workflow automation, API and middleware integration, cloud migration support and niche technical staffing for complex operational environments.
5. Why do organizations turn to Remedi for non-EDI integration projects?
Organizations often begin working with EDI consultants to solve data exchange challenges. Over time, those relationships expand because integration environments frequently involve adjacent technologies, custom workflows and operational systems beyond traditional EDI platforms.
