The Top 5 Benefits of Hiring an Integration Engineer for Your Next Project
Ninety-four percent of the barriers that stand between companies and finding success in their current projects are internal. These barriers take many forms and often arise from the complexity of modern systems and technologies.
Unfortunately, that same complexity and the often hidden nature of internal barriers make them much harder to overcome than more traditional external barriers. Integration engineers can help.
Keep reading now to discover the top five benefits of hiring an integration engineer can bring to your next project.
What Are Integration Engineers?
If you aren’t already familiar with them, integration engineers are problem-solvers. Their primary purpose is to find and test solutions that help your company overcome technical challenges. They can:
- Ask the right questions
- Design and test solutions
- Create custom hardware and software
- Improve them implementation process
- Create documentation
Essentially, they are one-person intervention teams ready to act where you need them most. They work with your project team from start to finish to ensure you get the best possible results.
Who Hires Integration Engineers?
Hiring integration engineers can be a smart move in almost any industry. Integration engineers can bring benefits to projects related to:
- Engineering
- Construction
- Research and development
- Software and web technology and design
- Manufacturing
- Change management
No matter what your industry, if you’re facing internal barriers to success, getting integration engineers for your next projects may be the answer. Here are the top five reasons why.
- Better Communication
Integration engineers are expert communicators. They ask smart, informed questions at every step of the way.
They can help you clarify your needs and goals right at the outset, which prevents wasted time and money. They can help you identify who needs to be involved and when they need to be involved, which streamlines your projects’ communication lines and maximizing efficiency and clarity.
In cases where you know you’re stuck but can’t figure out why, integration engineers can help you map your process and find the sticking points.
They also set you up for success in the future by creating technical documentation for your project in real-time. This not only keeps everyone on the same page but lays the groundwork that you need for future training and rollout efforts.
- Better Problem Solving
Integration engineers are master problem solvers. They create custom solutions to specific problems. This can take the form of:
- Building hardware or programming software
- Bridging gaps between existing hardware and software for better performance
- Reconfiguring machinery and equipment
- Redesigning implementation and integration processes
- Identifying and bridging communication and information flow gaps
Integration engineers fill in the subtle cracks and holes in your organization. The find and pick up all the crucial tasks that tend to get dropped because they don’t fall neatly within one person or department’s job description.
This allows your projects to run more smoothly and efficiently from start to finish. It also leads to a better end product.
- Faster Turn-Around Times
Hiring integration engineers allows you to handle problems in-house that you might otherwise have to contract out. Unsurprisingly, this saves huge amounts of time.
Anyone who has ever participated in bidding and contracting for services knows that it tends to be a painfully slow process. Entire projects can grind to a halt while project teams develop specifications for a brand new mechanical part or bit of software, then bid it out and wait for it to come back so that it can be tested.
If the part or software doesn’t work as needed, the entire process can start again. These kinds of delays can the associated costs can prompt companies to use parts and software that only mostly work, rather than holding out for what they truly need.
Integration engineers short-circuit this ugly cycle by making what you need in-house as you discover that you need it. This significantly cuts down on the amount of time involved. As their creations are tested by your team during the integration process, they can also refine and revise them in real-time to find the best possible version for your needs.
- Cost-Effectiveness
On average, integration engineers make around $82,000 per year. Often, they can be hired on a project-by-project basis. Considering everything that they bring to the table and the time and money you stand to save, hiring integration engineers for your next projects is one of the most cost-effective business decisions you can make.
If you have doubts, add up the amount of money it costs to hire outside consultants and fabricators each time you need a new part or piece of software. Then add on the amount of money you lose to project delays. You’ll quickly find that integration engineers are an investment worth every penny.
- Improved Internal and External Customer Satisfaction Rates
Savvy businesses know that good Product Experience Management (PXM) is the foundation of success. Yet most internal teams aren’t familiar enough with the PXM definition and process to bring your projects to completion smoothly and successfully.
Integration engineers allow your team to shine by focusing on its strengths while making sure that crucial PXM factors are accounted for at every step. This not only makes for happier customers, but it also makes for happier employees.
That, in turn, improves productivity and reduces turnover which makes for healthier and more successful companies.
Hiring an Integration Engineer
Hiring qualified and experienced integration engineers for your upcoming projects can revolutionize your company’s success.
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