Managing an integration practice is significantly different than managing integration projects. With it comes all the on-going challenges such as hiring, delivery, training, and transitioning between projects.We have identified four major challenges that an integration practice lead has to address.

1. Integration Practice
How to Make BizTalk
Practice More Profitable

2. Managing an integration practice is significantly
different than managing integration projects
With it comes all the on-going challenges such
as hiring, delivery, training, and transitioning
between projects
Idea in Brief

3. Challenges

4. { }1LOW LEVERAGE

5. •If your integration practice looks the following pyramid watch out
•This is essentially the problem of balancing the right number
of finders, minders, and grinders (partners, managers, &
staff/consultants) per project

6. { }2PROJECT PIPELINE
FRAGMENTATION

7. •BizTalk has become 15 years old & mature product and much
hype around SOA (service-oriented architecture) has dwindled
•Thus, the maturity of the platform has resulted in a slow and
fragmented pipeline of new projects

8. { }3HIGH BENCH COST

10. Having to maintain BizTalk practice just to keep your foot in the door
may result in the following scenarios
•Resources not billed 1500 hrs/ year/ consultant
•Difficulty in achieving 70% realization for each consultant’s
maximum available time

11. { }4SYSTEMATIC UNDER
DELEGATION

12. No other habit harms a consulting practice profitability
as much as the habit of high-priced people performing
lower-value tasks
It puts you (as a practice) at a competitive disadvantage.
You may find it difficult to market your firm as an
efficiently staffed integration services firm

13. Solutions

14. { }1PROJECT/ENGAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT

15. Improving the net income per engagement through
•Properly staffing
•Rightshoring
•Insourcing vs. Outsourcing

16. { }2CROSS-TRAINING &
SKILL DEVELOPMENT

17. •Cross training also helps in achieving
an important goal of target billing on
average 1,500 hours/year/consultant
•Using experienced offshore partners
to acquire BizTalk resources for 200-
300 hours per year that will let you
maintain a practice

18. { }3BLENDED PRACTICE
MODEL

19. •Establishing and maintaining close relationship with
near shore and offshore partners to manage the
infrequent workloads
•Local partners that have an established/new
practice in BizTalk

20. { }4EFFICIENT SCHEDULING
OF PROJECTS

21. •Integration projects are difficult to manage
•You can pad your project’s schedules. This is to say that a 6 weeks
project can be negotiated as a 10-12 weeks project
•This allows the practice lead to improving the realization of each
resource on the team

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