What if our system does not have an API?
There is usually still a path, and older Australian business software is exactly where we spend a lot of our time. Options include a direct database connection where the vendor permits it, scheduled file exchange, parsing the reports the system already emails out, or an ODBC connection. It is less elegant than a modern API and it works. We establish which of these is available during discovery, before you commit to anything.
Will this break when one of the vendors updates their software?
Well built integrations survive routine updates, and major version changes sometimes need work. We build against documented interfaces rather than fragile assumptions, monitor for failures so a break surfaces as an alert rather than as missing data, and stay available to adjust when a vendor changes something material.
How do you stop two systems from overwriting each other?
By deciding ownership before writing any code. Each field has one system that is allowed to change it and others that read it, so updates flow one clear way. Where a genuine two-way sync is required, we add conflict rules and timestamps so the outcome is defined rather than whichever update happened to arrive last.
Is our data safe while it moves between systems?
We connect with scoped credentials limited to the exact permissions the job needs, never a shared administrator login, and we document every field that travels in each direction. Where the data includes personal information about customers or staff, we design in line with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, including retention and deletion on request.
What does an integration cost?
Every build is scoped and fixed-priced after discovery, because the effort depends far more on the state of your data and the age of your systems than on how many systems are involved. The consulting and scoping engagement that produces that price is $1,000 for a focused piece of work, $3,000 for a standard engagement and $10,000 for a broader strategic one. Initial consultations are free for businesses with 20 or more full-time staff (smaller teams pay $200 including GST).
How long does it take?
A two-system integration with reasonable data and documented interfaces usually goes live in two to six weeks including the parallel run. Builds spanning several systems, or that need real data clean-up first, take longer. Data quality is by far the most common reason a timeline stretches, which is why we look at it in week one rather than week five.
Do we need in-house IT staff to support it?
No. Most of the Australian businesses we do this for have no dedicated IT team. We handle the build, testing and cutover, hand over documentation written in plain English, and monitor the syncs afterwards so problems reach us rather than waiting for someone internal to spot them.