My organization (a public university) has multiple systems that could potentially use Lotus products as an integration point. (SAP, various student information systems, BlackBoard, etc.)
My
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best guess is that either:1) No one has thought of using such products.
2) Integration solutions have been chosen from a different vendor
3) Mgt does not want to spend the money that the IBM/Lotus solution requires.
I'd like to find a way to "sell" a Lotus solution and point out the great benefits to upper management so we can hopefully move forward in the enterprise integration department. Can you help?
In the past four to five years I worked with several organizations that were/are facing the same integration challenges you have mentioned. Namely, they have multiple data systems that are completely disconnected. The first thing you need to understand is the "sticking point" in upper management's decision. Is it any of the options you listed - 1,2,3, or something else? Second, you need to get their attention. If you are using Lotus products - Notes and Domino, you already have some powerful integration tools in-house (with the most likely exception being the SAP Connector, since it is a fee-based product). Use these tools to put together a simple prototype that ties together some critical data within these systems. Ideally, your prototype will ease a well-known "pain" caused by your disconnected systems. Feel free to contact me directly if you require some additional assistance.
This was first published in March 2002