Integrator As Orchestrator: Considerations For Choosing The Right Workplace SI

Integrator As Orchestrator: Considerations For Choosing The Right Workplace SI

Buyers of workplace systems software have exhibited a marked shift in preferences over the past five years. Formerly favouring all-in-one multifunctional packages, there now is a clear predilection for point solutions from multiple vendors. But this creates a need to ensure the offerings work well together.

Enter the workplace systems integrators. They can alleviate the pain of procurement, ease the overwhelm of implementation and build a strong business case. They can help scope the technical requirements, select the optimal hardware and software, and build custom user-interfaces that bring together the data. No wonder they are a more integral part of many tech transformation projects.

Crucially, buyers must do their due diligence on market players to ensure they partner with the right provider. Our recent Buyer’s Guide identified three key areas to investigate:

• Expertise in areas relevant to real estate technology. Systems integrators with strong IT and consulting backgrounds often deliver technology integration as part of broader corporate initiatives, and typically offer a broader set of services. Buyers must understand their industry-specific objectives to determine the expertise required from their integrators.
• Depth and breadth in specific software products. Integrators with a partner network benefit from outside expertise. This reduces a deployment project's time to value but can also limit the true independence of the integrators. Customers should evaluate if this is a meaningful issue in their own project. 
• Ability to support the required size and geographies of the projects. Smaller or regional integrators can be most appropriate for optimizing portfolios in specific regions. Large firms are better for bigger projects covering multiple geographies. Buyers should be clear on the scope of a project across a portfolio and where a smaller provider can provide the services through their partner network. 

Verdantix Buyer’s Guide: Workplace System Integrators (2022) report provides an up-to-date analysis of over 30 service suppliers, highlighting their recent developments and strengths.

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