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Talented Imitators – Custom Deltek Integrations Create Vulnerabilities.

In this whitepaper series Jay Ethridge and Joe Jezior of Technology & Business Solutions (TBS) review the vulnerabilities associated with traditional custom software integrations, explore the facets of the integration lifecycle and how ETL technology delivers dramatic efficiencies, and itemize the benefits of today’s cloud- and platform-based integrators for organizations looking to connect their Accounting systems with their corporate HR, CRM or other systems.

 

Traditionally, the integration of accounting software with an organization’s other corporate systems – HR, CRM, Program Management – exposes a business to a wide range of ongoing vulnerabilities.

This is because the old model for software integrations utilizes the services of an external programmer or consultant to create a custom application, to connect Deltek Costpoint to PeopleSoft HR for instance. This consultant is then relied upon to provide ongoing support for the integration’s maintenance and upgrades.

Such one-off integrations result in:

  • A static application only built for today’s business requirements and the current versions of both software endpoints. In the future, as an organization’s accounting requirements change – if a corporate reorganization necessitates a new organizational structure or new work break-down structures, for instance – or its accounting or HR or CRM software is upgraded, its custom integration app must be updated by additional programming.

  • A risk to data security. Each time a custom integration is run, sensitive accounting or personnel or customer data are pulled outside of a secure software environment and exposed in a more open (and vulnerable) server or desktop location. Direct access to raw database information is now more available to those with the desire and ability to get their hands on it.

  • A lack of audit accountability. Organizations with DCAA, SOX audit requirements, or ITAR and personnel privacy mandates like MA201 will see their compliance compromised by custom software integrations. Custom applications delivered by consultants rarely come with the necessary documentation for audit purposes. Additionally, as corporate data is typically pulled from on-premise locations during custom programming audit implications should be carefully considered.
  • Vulnerability to consultant capacity and availability when future updates or enhancements are needed. With a custom integration, an organization must utilize the original programmer again when updates are required due to changes in business rules or software upgrades. (The undesirable alternative would be to start all over again with a new custom app.) This single-source reliability may result in an integration bottleneck based upon that resource’s availability, schedule and interest.
  • Undocumented software applications. Often, if it exists at all, the documentation related to a custom accounting integration resides solely with the programmer who created the unique application. When future integration enhancements or upgrades are needed, if the original programmer or documentation cannot be found, significant additional costs will be incurred as new resources familiarize themselves with the custom app.
  • Significant and ongoing expense, as programmers and data consultants typically charge on an hourly basis with a running meter. Custom engagements are, after all, the consultant’s business mandate, so integration scopes tend to grow from discovery to implementation to maintenance. When new software updates or business rules require integration fixes, the custom meter starts running again.
  • A maintenance burden. Typically, when an organization buys a custom integration application from a programmer or consultant future integration maintenance and upgrades are not part of the original scope and budget. So the organization in effect bears the responsibility for ongoing integration fixes and improvements too. The organization must schedule and ensure updates in a timely manner, and line up the proper resources, usually at a significant hourly rate. Unlike the purchase of commercially-available software, custom integration apps don’t come with a maintenance plan.


This whitepaper series from Technology & Business Solutions LLC (TBS) explores the dramatic benefits that a new breed of cloud- and platform-based integrators are now bringing to market. The paradigm shift from customized connectors to scalable platforms is moving the creation and support for integrations from talented individuals to sophisticated software companies, with all their attendant resources, quality control and support infrastructure. The difference is like night and day.

To learn more about a cost-effective integration plaftorm tailored to your organization's needs, visit our I.C.E. webpage (Integrated Cloud Exchange), contact TBS or call 703.444.6562.