Choosing the Right Systems Integrator

April 2, 2007—Throughout March, I received a number of questions from readers asking, "How do I make sure I'm selecting the right systems integrator for my RFID implementation?" It's a good question because there are a lot of companies claiming expertise they may or may not have. This creates a hazard for the end user who may not understand the difficulties or complexities of the jobs being undertaken.

In the article 10 Questions to Ask Your Integrator, Mark Roberti advised that no one systems integrator does everything. For this reason, many systems integration companies are taking the position of the "trusted advisor"—a neutral, third party with extensive knowledge of the industry and your business, that can help you bring together not only the plan to solve your issues but also the right equipment, resources and talent needed for successful completion of your project.


This crosses the functions of a project manager with those of an auditor, providing a single point of contact for your complex project. Essentially, the advisor takes responsibility for ensuring that everyone involved in the project meets the deliverables assigned to achieve the common goal.

The benefit of this approach is that a true advisor will not have a stake in any particular hardware or software company, but will instead work to find the best solution to the problem. That may not be the case with a traditional systems integration shop, which typically prefers to own the entire project and may work with particular technology companies.

The challenge for the advisor is to know enough about each part of the implementation to ensure that your needs are being addressed without having to constantly involve you in the process. Here's what you should expect from a systems integration company that acts as an advisor. It should provide a detailed assessment and clear definition of your needs. Then, it should recommend, specifically, how each of these needs will be met. Once you approve the plan, it will become the basis for a request for proposal (RFP), which the advisor will draw up and deliver to the appropriate vendors. The advisor will review the RFP responses, filter them down into executive summaries and give you a recommendation. Once you approve the winning bidders, the advisor will make a formal statement of work (SOW) with the selected vendors, and ensure that what each vendor committed to is completed on time and within budget.

If you want to take a more hands-on approach, you might want to work with a traditional systems integration shop. You'll need to make sure you have an internal team that can take the time required to learn about, monitor and assist with the integration, but this approach can ensure a delivery consistent with your goals. A solid, hands-on technical team will excel in this role.