Skip to content

AI & systems integration

Connect the tools you rely on without losing control of the data. Make the source of truth, permissions, approvals, and failure paths explicit.

Discuss a disconnected workflow

When a deal becomes a job.

An approved customer record needs to create work in an operations system. The integration should carry the right facts forward and make an interrupted transfer recoverable.

  1. Read the source

    Accept an allowed event and identify the authoritative customer and deal records. Carry an event identifier through the flow.

  2. Validate the change

    Check required fields and map them deliberately. AI may help interpret unstructured notes; it does not decide authorization.

  3. Approve the exception

    Send conflicting details or consequential changes to a named person with the proposed update and its evidence.

  4. Write and verify

    Create or update the destination record once. Check the actual result and retain enough history to investigate or retry safely.

Design for interruption

A retry must not create a second job. An approval must apply to the change actually written. A timeout must not be mistaken for either a confirmed failure or a confirmed success.

Illustrative example. Not a client project or measured result.

How much authority should the connection have?

  • Read and retrieve

    Begin with access to the minimum sources needed. Check that each user sees only the information they are allowed to use.

  • Prepare a proposed change

    Let AI classify, summarize, or draft while a person reviews the evidence and the exact target before a consequential action.

  • Execute a bounded action

    Allow a write only within an agreed policy, with validation, duplicate protection, an observable outcome, and a recovery owner.

An API or Model Context Protocol (MCP) connector is an interface, not an authorization policy. Supported interfaces, rate limits, credentials, and recovery options need to be checked against the actual systems before scope is agreed.

What the work covers

  1. Connections and data flow

    Map authoritative records, interfaces, data contracts, credentials, and the permissions each read or write requires.

  2. AI-assisted workflows

    Use classification, retrieval, or drafting where useful; preserve explicit business rules and consequential approvals.

  3. Exceptions and visibility

    Make retries, partial failures, duplicate events, and conflicts visible to the person responsible for recovery.

Possible outputs

  • A map of system boundaries and information flow
  • Working connections within the agreed scope
  • Defined review, failure and retry paths
  • Operational documentation and ownership notes

Illustrative outputs. Access to third-party systems and provider limits are established during scoping.

Questions to settle early
  • Which system is the source of truth?
  • What happens when a connection or model response fails?
  • Which actions need approval before they change a record?

Go deeper

Questions

Will an integration replace our current systems?

Not necessarily. Connecting existing tools is often more appropriate than replacing them.

Does every step need to be automated?

No. Approvals, judgment and exceptions can be deliberately preserved.

Can you connect any tool?

That depends on its supported interfaces, licensing, access, limits, and terms. These are checked during scoping. A logo on an integrations list is not enough to promise a working connection.

What will you
lead next?

Discuss a disconnected workflow