The final round of my interview process with Workato was a simulated customer presentation. The purpose was to evaluate if I could strategically guide an existing customer on how they should utilize the Workato platform to resolve their more complex integration challenges. As I prepared my slides at the Daikanyama T-Site bookstore, I discovered some inspiration for a theme that would enhance the presentation’s creativity and entertainment value.✨

Challenge: Customer Presentation Simulation

As part of the hiring process for the role of Enterprise Architect (EA), we’d like you to prepare a brief presentation and present it to our team. This will be a simulation of a typical presentation you would be giving to a customer as part of the EA role where we will be playing the part of the customer and will be asking questions during and after your presentation.

Background

The customer is a global asset management company with approximately 15,000 employees and 32 billion dollars in revenue. You are presenting to their director of business systems and one of their enterprise architects responsible for integration and automation. They have already purchased Workato for a small use-case and are now evaluating if they can use the platform to help solve their larger integration problem.

They’ve stated that they currently have a mess of custom-built point-to-point file-based integrations and that as part of a modernization program, they would like to bring their integration practice out of the dark ages and start using a modern approach. They want to know how, using Workato, they can:

• Deliver integrations & automation faster for their business teams
• Use an approach that does not require a huge operational or development team
• Avoid having to rebuild all their integrations every time they replace an application

They’ve mentioned some initial business pain points of HR onboarding, invoice processing, and exchanging data with their partners. This is all the information that has been provided and there is no opportunity to ask additional questions before the presentation, but you may ask questions during the presentation (however it will count towards your 20 minutes).

Expectations

• Length of presentation - 20 minutes + 5 minutes for questions from the customer
• Include a set of slides or other visual aid to support your presentation
• Include a clear set of recommendations and guidance for the customer
• Include a proposal of at least one high-level architecture pattern or technical methodology
• Focus on not only technical integration but also the potential for business process automation
• You are the expert on this topic and are providing the customer with strategic guidance. While it is OK to highlight the benefits of the product, the focus should not be selling the product
• You do NOT need to present or answer detailed questions about features of the Workato platform, all content should be focused on your recommended approach to using middleware to provide positive business outcomes.

My Presentation 🪐

The background for this exercise described the customer as a “global” asset management company. However, I took the liberty of expanding the scope and envisioning the customer as a galactic asset management company to infuse some fun and creativity.

It’s plausible that the Galactic Empire (Star Wars)) has a multitude of custom-built, point-to-point, file-based integrations that urgently require modernization.

This presentation will cover the following topics:

• Provide a concise overview of the problem state within the Empire’s technology ecosystem.
• Review the shared goals that will guide our ship’s direction.
• Introduce a strategy that aligns with the philosophy of smaller, simpler, sooner to deliver iterative value and modernize the Empire.

Alright, here we go! 🚀

The legacy integration landscape across Galactic Empire systems, akin to many large enterprises, resembles this:

• The Stormtrooper HR system runs a scheduled batch export that generates a flat file 3x/week for new Stormtrooper hires.
• A transfer script sends this flat file via S/FTP to the Deathstar.
• The Deathstar, in turn, runs an import program in batches to update its database.
• However, the Darth Vader system also receives data from the Deathstar every night and transmits batch data back to the Deathstar every morning.

Just to add complexity:

• The TIE fighter vendor transmits performance data to the Darth Vader system twice a week.
• The Blaster Rifle vendor transmits invoice data to the Stormtrooper system on a different weekday schedule.

These various file transfer schedules make managing the system extremely challenging. With so much data constantly in flight or scheduled, it’s nearly impossible to obtain a comprehensive real-time snapshot of the overall system.

Why is this a problem?

Storage

Data from the Darth Vader system is classified as top secret, and he’s concerned that any intruder with access to the file system could potentially read his sensitive information.

Transfer

The Blaster Rifle invoice file transfer has experienced frequent failures during transmission over the past few years, resulting in orphaned data that’s challenging to reconcile.

Format

Several Deathstar partners use different file formats and delimiters, making it difficult and frustrating to manage job schedules. End users frequently report production issues within various workflows.

Data Silos

The Stormtrooper system relies heavily on custom code to propagate data to other downstream systems, which can lead to complexities and potential vulnerabilities.

Our mission aligns with the overall Empire objective of elevating technology across the galaxy. By integrating data from various sources, including databases, applications, files, and external systems, the Empire can eliminate data silos and facilitate enhanced data analysis, reporting, and data-driven decision-making.

This mission can be divided into smaller, achievable goals:

Speed:

Reduce the time required to integrate systems to meet the Emperor’s business demands.

Cost:

Allocate budget to expanding the Imperial fleet and increasing Stormtrooper headcount instead of investing in large teams to build and support integrations.

Reusability:

As the Empire evolves and expands, ensure that new systems and applications can be easily scaled, added, and integrated without incurring excessive costs or effort.

So where to begin?

Building an integration hub strategy around a modern iPaaS platform offers numerous high-level benefits:

• [x] Centralized business logic
• [x] Data propagation across the entire enterprise
• [x] Abstracting edge apps and partners from underlying systems
• [x] Bringing monitoring and alerting into a centralized location

Modern integration plaforms are also increasingly incorporating automation capabilities.

• Proactive triggers based on data flowing through the centralized hub.
• Low-code/no-code platforms that empower a diverse range of builders and fosters the creation of more innovative solutions.
• A collection of pre-built automations that facilitate rapid adoption.

How would this model be implemented for the Galactic Empire? To port existing, on-premise legacy integrations to the new Empire Hub, a light facade layer would need to be built, but it would be worthwhile to centralize the plumbing. In contrast, modern SaaS applications would utilize pre-built connectors to expedite integration.

That facade investment offers a highly valuable abstraction layer, enabling us to modernize decommissioned legacy systems with minimal disruption to downstream applications or partners.

The Empire must find a partner who comprehends its businesses and challenges. A robust orchestration ecosystem hinges on the players you have and the technology you operate, but more significantly, on a strategic partnership. Orchestration serves as the backbone of a healthy technology organization. Without a strong spine, you can’t accomplish anything.

That was my 20 minutes. Oh, and I got the job. 🙌