Most technology decisions become difficult when the business problem, system ownership and day-to-day process are mixed together. A useful first step is to separate those questions before deciding what to build or buy.
Start with ownership and flow
Keep the discussion grounded in the way the business actually works today, then decide what needs to change. The technology should support that decision rather than lead it.
- Be clear about which system owns each type of information.
- Map what needs to move between systems, when it needs to move and what happens when it fails.
- Keep support and monitoring in scope from the start, not as an afterthought.
The best integration design is usually the one people can understand, support and change without creating new dependencies every time the business moves.