EN 
NL It‘s one of the questions we often get as a developer of an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS). Does my organization already need a platform? Will the investment eventually pay for itself? At eMagiz we see many organizations struggling to estimate strategic developments for the long term and the impact of facilitating technologies. They are mainly focused on the here and now and forget to think about what is required in the future. We are convinced that the house of your dreams must be built on a solid foundation and that a platform can help you with this at an early stage.
Many organizations are facing similar growth problems. Solutions that previously worked well, now seem to have an inhibiting effect. Due to the growth of your organization, systems do not optimally work together (anymore). Solutions are not documented, require extra time and further development is difficult. This starts with a single incident, but over time the same situation occurs in several places. The organization wants to scale up and grow faster, but no expertise can be found in the current labor market, which, despite the current pandemic, is characterized by ever-increasing scarcity. The situation is characterized by consolidation, while you would rather focus on further development.
In the situation described above, a platform helps to make innovative technology accessible. Especially in the case of a low-code platform, the need for in-depth knowledge is reduced, so people can easily be trained. The platform also forms a central place, in which activites are documented and developed, creating uniformity. By developing and managing everything from one place, it is easier to create a solid foundation and continue developing.
However, many organizations only choose to opt for a platform when it’s almost too late. They got stuck at that point and can’t get themselves out. Ideally, the choice would have already fallen on a platform a lot earlier. Then it would have been possible to be ahead of the curve and avoid having to repeat expensive, labor-intensive processes. But why do so many organizations not make the decision to implement a platform sooner?
Due to their integral and multifunctional character, platforms often have a high initial investment. The real business benefits are often realized when the platform is widely deployed and total costs can be divided over a portfolio of projects and implementations. As a result, companies find it difficult to initially justify the investment for a platform to the business, while it often offers the benefits and tools that organizations need for their growth. Organizations also often take insufficient account for the indirect benefits of a platform, for example lower costs for knowledge assurance or reducing the need for scarce, technically specialized personnel. Because the calculated positive ROI (Return on Investment) sometimes takes years to be realized, organizations sometimes opt for sub-optimal solutions.
Our advice to these organizations is to consider all benefits of a platform and enter into dialogue with their technology partner. Try to come up with a model together, in which there is room for growth. That way you immediately have the technology and benefits at your disposal, but the model also respects the scope of your implementation and organizational phase. It ensures you can benefit from a positive ROI from day one and align your TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) with your company’s growth strategy. Curious how eMagiz iPaaS deals with this? Contact us!
By Tom ten Vregelaar, Account manager @ eMagiz
