Gartner Cites Mohawk/Liaison Cloud Project for Integration, B2B Modernization 
Mohawk Fine Papers, a giant paper manufacturer, has implemented a SOA and cloud-based integration services backbone from Liaison technologies for a wide range of on-premise, B2B and even cloud-to-cloud services. A Gartner report cites the project as an effective model for integrating traditional ecommerce with cloud.
Mohawk Fine Papers, a giant paper manufacturer, has implemented a SOA and cloud-based integration services backbone from Liaison technologies for a wide range of on-premise, B2B and even cloud-to-cloud services. A Gartner report cites the project as an effective model for integrating traditional ecommerce with cloud.
With the cloud project, Mohawk can integrate internal applications and systems with a cloud platform, as well as connect to a wide range of external business partners through a single integration pipe. It also demonstrates how Liaison delivering its vision of a “unified information architecture” that enables interoperability with business partners and supports seamless integration of on-premises business services with cloud-based business services.
A Garter report on the project, “Case Study: Mohawk Fine Papers Uses a CSB to Ease Adoption of Cloud Computing,” found in part: “Companies that desire agile multi-enterprise business process innovation should adopt an integration and SOA strategy that spans application to application (A2A), B2B and cloud.”
Mohawk is using Liaison’s Integration-in-the-Cloud solution to provide comprehensive, single-connection SOA/cloud backbone to support interoperability between Mohawk’s internal and external applications, services and data. Top deliverables include:
- Link to banks, logistics providers and a wide range of SaaS providers, including Amazon.com, Authorize.net, StrikeIron, Google Shopping and SugarCRM.
- On-premises (A2A) integration, leveraging a combination of third-party enterprise service buses (ESBs) and Liaison Contivo technology as an SOA backbone
- Supply chain integration for its 300 customers, 100 suppliers and various other external e-commerce business partners, including banks, third-party logistics (3PL), etc.
- Intermediation of all its third-party cloud services providers, including doing integration, provisioning, monitoring, billing and SLA compliance
“Liaison has delivered on a vision of a unified information architecture that enables interoperability with business partners and supports seamless integration of on-premises business services with cloud-based business services,” said Paul Stamas, vice president of Information Technology for Mohawk Fine Papers. The integration PaaS lets Mohawk focus business issues rather than technical complexities, he added.
Since its Liaison cloud project, Mohawk reports it has improved time to deployment from months to weeks; achieved an overall reduction of integration project cost by as much as 30 percent; and reduced risk through version control and governance.
"Companies that desire agile multi-enterprise business process innovation should adopt an integration and SOA strategy that spans A2A, B2B and cloud."
Benoit Lheureux
Vice President
Gartner Research
“Mohawk is a perfect example of how companies can take advantage of all the benefits that cloud services and data management have to offer by outsourcing to an experienced cloud services brokerage company like Liaison,” said Bruce Chen, Liaison CTO. With Liaison’s recent acquisition of nuBridges, it can also bring data security to its Integration-in-the-Cloud approach, he added.
Gartner’s Top Cloud Lessons from Mohawk/Liaison Project
Gartner Research Vice President Benoit Lheureux wrote the case study report on the project, and examined the impact of Mohawk’s “single connection” approach to cloud adoption. Lheureux found the project offers several useful lessons for IT considering cloud integration and cloud services brokerage (CSB). Among them:
- Having one cloud services provider relationship can make the transition to using cloud computing much easier than having multiple relationships.
- It is possible (and desirable) to have one IT services provider support hybrid IT projects that combine traditional supply chain integration with cloud services integration.
- Integration brokerage (outsourcing B2B and SaaS integration) can lower barriers to cloud computing adoption and deliver cloud benefits faster than doing it in-house.
- B2B/e-commerce providers that focused on delivering integration brokerage to address traditional supply chain integration requirements can (and most will) evolve into the CSB role.
The Garter report, “Case Study: Mohawk Fine Papers Uses a CSB to Ease Adoption of Cloud Computing” is available here.
