Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 48 | Page 77

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HOW DO YOU GET THE BOARD ON BOARD WITH A NEW INTEGRATION STRATEGY ?

APIs can underpin an organisation ’ s plans for transformation and also allow them to tackle the modern challenges of today . Lila Dorato , Senior Director , Solutions Engineering at MuleSoft , identifies the technological benefits of an API-first approach and how it offers far greater efficiency and a more lasting competitive edge .

Not many IT professionals struggle to convince the board that Digital Transformation should be a priority . The pandemic created unforeseen challenges and businesses saw the importance of being able to quickly create new digital capabilities to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances .

However , while boards are keen to drive new initiatives such as launching new online services in association with partners , and moving beyond omnichannel strategies to seamless customer experiences , it can be difficult to get their interest in the integration capabilities that are essential to these projects . As a result , many organisations are unable to fully embrace Digital Transformation and are falling behind in their efforts to innovate .
Building from the ground up
When business leaders think of Digital Transformation , solutions like cloud and AI are usually first to mind . However , while IT teams recognise integration is the foundation to ensuring these initiatives succeed , it ’ s a much tougher sell to ensure it ’ s an equal priority among the board .
The key challenge for IT teams is the ‘ if it ’ s not broken , don ’ t fix it ’ fallacy – change in the back-office isn ’ t always a priority for the board . Decision-makers often take the view that traditional approaches to integration – tightly coupled , point-to-point connections – have served their digital strategy well until this point , so there ’ s no need to change . However , what they
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