Integration.

What is an integration?

An integration is a connection between two or more software systems that lets them share data or trigger actions automatically, so information entered once appears wherever it is needed.

When a website enquiry creates a CRM contact, a won deal raises an invoice in your accounts package and a new booking adds an event to the right diary, integrations are doing the work in between.

Why it matters

Every time a member of staff retypes data from one screen into another, you pay twice: once in wages and again in errors. Disconnected systems also mean nobody has the full picture, so the sales team cannot see unpaid invoices and the accounts team cannot see what was promised. Good integrations remove the double-keying, speed up response times and give you one version of the truth. They are usually the first, most profitable step in any automation programme.

The main types

• Native integrations Built-in connections offered by the software itself. Quick to switch on, but sometimes shallow.
• Connector platforms Tools such as Zapier or Make link apps through a visual editor, with no code required.
• Custom API integrations Bespoke code that talks to each system's API, for when the off-the-shelf options cannot do the job.
• Webhook triggers Instant notifications from one system to another when an event happens, often the trigger for the rest.

What to do about it

Ask your team where they copy information from one system to another and roughly how long it takes each week. Rank those jobs by time and by the cost of an error, and connect the top one first. For every integration you run, record what it does, who owns it and what happens if it fails. Make sure failure alerts go to a shared inbox someone actually reads.