Before you buy any SW tool read this
Integration First - Critical principles for choosing tools in a modern SW environment
Choosing a software tool is a complex task, especially when there are so many alternatives out there. Instinctively the first step in the process is to create a super complex, multi-dimensional feature matrix and compare capabilities. Before you dig a rabbit hole, remember the higher-level goals so productivity and the business outcome should always be your first priority. In most cases, we use a small fraction of any tool’s feature but integrating it into our data and security landscape is always a critical requirement. Integration is paramount. It is always the key to productivity and success; thus, we must explore all aspects of integration before we drill into complex feature comparisons.
Integration with your cloud provider
Not too long ago public clouds were pretty limited providing virtual machines, and a few basic managed services. Enterprise architecture had to define how all the tools and technologies the business needs integrate on-premises and in the cloud. Integration has always been a complicated task. Fortunately, these days are over. The cloud is much more capable. The ecosystems provided by all major cloud provides are richer than ever before, and most importantly, that responsibility to integrate is taken away from us and is now fully managed by the cloud.
Today almost every modern business has some sort of cloud-based footprint which is a combination of virtual machines (IAAS) and many other managed services (PAAS/SAAS). For example, the data landscape is implemented by a rich set of distributed storage services, databases, and analytical platforms. The security landscape is powered by a cloud-based identity system, governance platforms, and networking appliances, that are all designed to work in concert. This is the beauty of the cloud ecosystem.
Now, once you identify your cloud environments, single or multi-cloud, you must require that any tool you bring will have complete integration with everything in that rich cloud-based environment.
One might claim that all cloud providers expose an API for all types of interactions with their services, so in theory, it should be possible to interact with anything in the cloud from anywhere. Is that right?
Let imagine a tool evaluation. If the tool does not include a built-in integration with the complete cloud ecosystem, does it have extensibility points that you could use to implement such connectivity? Even if it is possible to implement, it is usually extremely complex, and thus counterproductive. A common result of such complex integrations is an integration based on black boxes that only a few professionals in the company can understand and manage.
All cloud providers have a rich ecosystem of tools that are designed to work together. When you use such tools, everything just works by default. It is simple, and it works. This is the experience you want to look for. Always try to use a formal member of the ecosystem before considering any external technology. Sometimes you will be willing to sacrifice some special capabilities that only that external tool has just to keep the simple and seamless integration. Only when such sacrifice breaks your business outcome, only then you should bring external tools. Still, you must require that the seamless integration experience remains as simple as the experience formal ecosystem tools provide. The good news is that all major cloud providers understand that, and are constantly expanding their ecosystems. Today it is easier than ever before to find everything you need within your cloud.
A single identity provider
Identity, privacy, and governance are paramount in every organization. Everything runs in a security context. Managing security groups and permissions for internal and external users and applications is a complex business. Now imagine situations in which you must repeat the process and maintain several identities per user just because your tools use different identity providers. Yes, there are solutions such as SSO but they introduce yet another level of complexity and risk, and they are not always available. You can avoid it by simply using tools that integrate seamlessly with your existing identity provider. This is probably the most basic attribute of any tool in any cloud ecosystem.
Minimize the number of vendors and tools
There are plenty of tools out there. Every tool has its sweet spots and unique features. If you choose tools only by looking at this “one amazing feature that no other tool has”, soon enough you will find yourself with a large variety of tools that maybe work great in isolation but were never designed to work as an ensemble. Then you will experience the complexity, cost, and security challenges that are involved in their integration. The immediate result is always a loss of time and productivity. Often silos in large organizations are a direct result of tools that just cannot integrate. Unfortunately, it’s not the end of the story, as the number of vendors grows, procurement, licensing, and liability processes become more complex. The result is slower adoption of technology, less innovation, and finally just a waste of time and money. That brings us to the bottom line. It’s a well-known fact that when discussing costs, it is not only the licensing fees we need to look at but it is the full Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) that should be considered. Countless books and articles were written on the matter. I would like to highlight the cost of integration as part of the TCO. Complex integration introduces so many problems that it’s often difficult to quantify the TCO. Would you buy a product without a known price tag?
Follow industry standards
Using Ecosystem’s tool does not mean vendor lock-in. Modern clouds are built for integration with other clouds. To get there they follow industry standards which are key to integration and interoperability. When evaluating independent tools make sure they follow the same principles. Tools that use proprietary methods should be avoided as much as possible.
Final words
The conclusion is simple. If it doesn’t integrate don’t go there.
