Understanding the Rationale behind Tactical Systems Integration Project Initiations and Patterns in their Implementation Approaches

Although the importance of adopting a strategic approach for integration of various internal and external systems in an enterprise has been well advocated, several organizations have been adopting tactical approaches that focus on short-term solutions to integrate relatively a small set of systems. This paper presents the details of an exploratory study aimed at investigating the drivers of such tactical systems integration approaches; expected benefits as perceived by senior IT executives involved in those integration projects; and commonly employed implementation approaches. Data, collected from structured interviews, related to 42 systems integration projects in 12 organizations in Hong Kong was analyzed in this study. Findings from this analysis highlight three different types of implementation foci that link systems integration initiatives with anticipated benefits. These findings are expected to contribute to a better understanding of the rationale behind small-scale tactical systems integration project initiations and the associated patterns in approaches to systems integration project implementations.