A systems integrator (or system integrator) is a person or company that specializes in bringing together component subsystems into a whole and ensuring that those subsystems function together, a practice known as

system integration System integration is defined in engineering as the process of bringing together the component sub- systems into one system (an aggregation of subsystems cooperating so that the system is able to deliver the overarching functionality) and ensurin ...

. They also solve problems of

automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

.How to Work with a System Integrator
/ref> Systems integrators may work in many fields but the term is generally used in the

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology syste ...

(IT) field such as

computer network A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ...

ing, the

defense industry The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and s ...

, the

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit informati ...

enterprise application integration Enterprise application integration (EAI) is the use of software and computer systems' architectural principles to integrate a set of enterprise computer applications. Overview Enterprise application integration is an integration framework comp ...

business process management Business process management (BPM) is the discipline in which people use various methods to discover, model, analyze, measure, improve, optimize, and automate business processes. Any combination of methods used to manage a company's business p ...

or manual

computer programming Computer programming is the process of performing a particular computation (or more generally, accomplishing a specific computing result), usually by designing and building an executable computer program. Programming involves tasks such as anal ...

Data quality Data quality refers to the state of qualitative or quantitative pieces of information. There are many definitions of data quality, but data is generally considered high quality if it is "fit for tsintended uses in operations, decision making and ...

issues are an important part of the work of systems integrators.Fix Data: How System Integrators Can Ensure Project Success
/ref>

Required skills

A system integration engineer needs a broad range of skills and is likely to be defined by a breadth of knowledge rather than a depth of knowledge. These skills are likely to include

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consist ...

systems A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and expresse ...

and

enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...

architecture,

and hardware engineering, interface protocols, and general problem solving skills. It is likely that the problems to be solved have not been solved before except in the broadest sense. They are likely to include new and challenging problems with an input from a broad range of engineers where the system integration engineer "pulls it all together."

Performance technology integration

Systems integrators generally have to be good at matching clients needs with existing products. An inductive reasoning aptitude is useful for quickly understanding how to operate a system or a

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

. A systems integrator will tend to benefit from being a generalist, knowing a lot about a large number of products. Systems integration includes a substantial amount of diagnostic and troubleshooting work. The ability to research existing products and software components is also helpful. Creation of these information systems may include designing or building customized prototypes or concepts.

In the defense industry

In the defense industry, the job of 'Systems Integration' engineer is growing in importance as defense systems become more 'connected'. As well as integrating new systems, the task of integrating current systems is attracting a lot of research and effort. It is only in recent years that systems have started to be deployed that can interconnect with each other; most systems were designed as 'stovepipe' designs with no thought to future connectivity. The current problem is how to harness all the information available, from the various information generators (or sensors) into one complete picture. As well as the design of the actual interfaces much effort is being put into presenting the information in a useful manner. The level of information, needed by the different levels in the military structure, and the relevance of the information (information can become outdated in seconds) is so variable that it may be necessary to have more than one system connected. Another problem is how information is networked. The Internet may seem to be an obvious solution, but it is vulnerable to

denial of service In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is a cyber-attack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host conne ...

and physical destruction of the key 'hubs'. One answer is to use a dedicated military communication system, but the

bandwidth Bandwidth commonly refers to: * Bandwidth (signal processing) or ''analog bandwidth'', ''frequency bandwidth'', or ''radio bandwidth'', a measure of the width of a frequency range * Bandwidth (computing), the rate of data transfer, bit rate or thr ...

needed would be astronomical in such a system. Army

Warrant Officer (United States) In the United States Armed Forces, the ranks of warrant officer ( grades W‑1 to W‑5; see '' NATO: WO1–WO5'') are rated as officers above all non-commissioned officers, candidates, cadets, and midshipmen, but subordinate to the lowest off ...

military occupational specialty (MOS) 140A - Command and Control Systems Technician is an example of a systems integrator in the defense industry. 140A Warrant Officers assigned to Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) integrate systems with multiple

operating systems An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

(OS) and hardware configurations – that include:

UNIX Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, ...

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, whi ...

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...

Others can fill a similar role at the Division level and higher.

In Entertainment and architectural controls

In entertainment and architectural installations, systems integrators function as a designer/engineer, bringing together a wide array of components from various manufacturers to accomplish the goal of creating a unified, functioning system that meets the needs of the client. Systems Integrators are usually involved in the selection of instruments and control components from among various

OEMs An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...

to determine the specific mix of output, function, interconnection, program storage, controls, and user interfaces required for specific projects. The integrator is generally responsible for generating the control riser, collaborating with the lighting consultant/ AV consultant on the function programming, and will commission the system once installed. Often (but not always) the system integrator will also be the vendor for projects they are commissioning, and will collaborate with the lighting designer on the artistic design. As lighting and A/V systems increase in their level of sophistication, and the number of manufacturers for components of these systems increases, so does the demand for systems integrators. Common data protocols involved in entertainment and architectural systems are Digital Multiplexing (or DMX512-A), Remote Device Management (or RDM),

Art-Net Art-Net is a royalty-free communications protocol for transmitting the DMX512-A lighting control protocol and Remote Device management (RDM) protocol over the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) of the Internet protocol suite. It is used to commun ...

, ACN or sACN (Streaming Architecture for Control Networks), Analog, and various proprietary control software from a variety of manufacturers. Systems Integrators design many distributed nodes in traditional star or ring topologies, or customize system layout for specific installations. The network will have a hierarchy of main and sub-control stations with varying degrees of access. The network can be designed such that the controls for this system can be on an established timeline, or controlled in real time by astronomical clocks, audio/motion/IR sensors, or various means of user interface (buttons, touch-pads, consoles). This system might utilize a primary controller that can access the entire system, and satellite control interfaces linked via a network backbone that would determine functionality based on access codes. For example, a casino might use a networked system that interfaces with architectural lighting, stage lighting, special effects (such as fog machines or fountains), and media content routed to a media server. The primary controller would have access to all devices on the network, while individual control stations could have varying levels of functionality. A ballroom might have a multi-button panel that would adjust lighting only in that ballroom, while a cabaret space with a stage would require an access code that would give employees access to the stage lighting, while the IT manager could use the same panel to access the main controls for the networks.

In the automation industry

System Integrators in the automation industry typically provide the product and application experience in implementing complex automation solutions. Often, System Integrators are aligned with automation vendors, joining their various System Integrator programs for access to development products, resources and technical support. System integrators are tightly linked to their accounts and often are viewed as the engineering departments for small manufacturers, handling their automation system installation, commissioning, long term maintenance and security.

References