When we audit our client's systems, we often find there are several different platforms to perform different business functions. These can range from CRM, accounting, stock management and sales/marketing systems. Unfortunately, more often than not, these platforms do not share data with each other, making it very difficult to measure performance and get the most out of their technologies.

The ultimate goal of integrating a client’s tech stack is to enable data to be shared among their systems and get them to work in harmony. They need to learn as they go and give deep insight on customer behaviour and business performance.

The main benefits of going through this process are:

• Less administration time! A lot of labour-intensive tasks can be automated. Sold something on your website? Automatically raise an invoice and apply the payment.
• Sales and marketing sharing data in real time to sell more effectively and improve benchmarks and ROI.
• Improving data entry interfaces – better data results in better business intelligence. The easier it is for your people to enter data into your systems the more likely it will happen.
• Measuring and refining advertising/marketing activities to perfection. You can’t improve what you don’t track. Spending $10,000 on Google Ads might bring you a lot of clicks, but how many customers resulted from that spend?
• Identifying top performers in your business and model others around how they work.

Here are three examples of very different businesses with very different needs, for whom we provided seamless, scalable and harmonised solutions to ensure both goals were met:

Super exciting case study A

A multinational media distributor needed a local database they could nurture, engage with and sell to. But they had significant global security requirements and a legacy email platform that they had patched together over a 20 year period.

They wanted advice on how to build a database, they needed a microsite built to be the ‘front line’ community, and they needed integrations with their Marketing Automation platform.

As an additional challenge security protocols prohibited the storing of any personal data on the CMS! To work around this we had to come up with a hashing solution to enable some key validation points to still function.

We performed a full audit and evaluation of their requirements and systems, before presenting them with a technical roadmap that aligned their technical capabilities and supported their business goals.

We created custom integrations to enable both systems to be fully relational and utilise the best elements of each other, whilst providing them with the highest levels of identity protection.

Majorly awesome case study B

One of the world’s leading workplace solution businesses had identified the need for a new marketing automation platform, but were unsure of which solution would work best with their legacy systems. At the end of the day, their ultimate goal was to increase leads.

Inheriting bespoke systems is a problem faced by many of our clients, and it’s never as simple as just migrating to a newer and better platform.

We performed a market analysis of the suitable software providers. Once identified, we set up the new system and integrated it into their (custom built) tech stack, migrated over existing data and created custom interfaces to enable seamless communication throughout.

We also trained their staff in the use of the new product as well as running their marketing campaigns whilst they got up to speed to the point they were able to do this themselves.

Ultra cool case study C

A software provider approached us to build an app for their customers that would integrate their product with a leading accounting software provider.

Not knowing who the end customers would be made this a particularly interesting challenge, but we knew what needed to be done.  The plugin would not only have to interface with the software provider, but also the accounting platform, payment gateways and the customer’s own systems.

We built the mid-ware so that the finance, CMS and marketing elements of their customers’ tech stacks looked and behaved like one system.

The results were a significant reduction in data entry, increased transparency and reduction in payment processing times.

If you’d like help in understanding where efficiencies in your tech stack could be realised, the holes that may need filling, or if you have a new platform into it – drop us a line!  Our team of experts can provide a full audit and system/process map to build you a technical roadmap to digital utopia.