What is digital? Well I think that's probably the title of another article but for the time being let's say that it's anything that is consumed via a device with a screen. So that includes websites, instant messenger, digital television, mobile phones, POS touchscreens and so on. Among other things this definition excludes work that may rely either on physical manifestation (The Source, Cloud), audio (Future Of Sound) or light/projection (Jason Bruges studio) but it doesn't mean to so add them in as well. Moving on.

And who's doing the integrating? Almost all media agencies have by now concluded that they need to consider the new world in some shape or form. Brand consultancies understand that brand values, positioning and architecture are both affected by and demonstrated through these channels. Research companies see the emergence of a host of new and complex segments and a multitude of ways to learn about them whether through desk research (Forrester, Mintel, Technorati, podscope, Google Analytics) and/or cheaper, broader online qual. Integrated agencies, ATL, media planning and buying, graphic design, production, post-production companies, architects - everyone wants a piece of it. Make hay whilst the sun shines and if you've got any expertise in these areas then it's certainly shining and shows little danger of setting (see Michael Steckler’s article last week).

But having built a digital department, agencies are now increasingly seeking to integrate this department into the business and this is where things start to unwind. The theory is sound - by sprinkling these people throughout the agency everyone in every department (new business, client services, creative, production...) thinks digital and produces strong digital work across the piece.

Trouble is that this doesn't always happen. It's fair to say that working in digital requires a very specific set of abilities and dividing these resources may dilute their ability to impact the business.

There's an old 2004 IT Conversations podcast from Paul Graham entitled Great Hackers*. Although a few years old it's still worth a listen. He considers productivity, the factors that affect productivity, what they want and how to attract the best.

"In every field, technology magnifies differences in productivity...If variation in productivity increases with technology, then the contribution of the most productive individuals will not only be disproportionately large, but will actually grow with time."

Now I'm not suggesting that professionals working in other areas are not as productive. Just that digital specialists are naturally better equipped to understand and implement the immense strategic, creative and technical possibilities on offer. If you want to get the most out of them there are a couple of things to consider.

The first is the interdependency between digital sub-disciplines. To successfully pitch, win, manage and complete a digital project there are often an enormous number of variables. Even from the pitch stage all these variables must be considered - which platform, which language, who will host, what functionality and content, site governance, monitoring site performance, accessibility. The list could go on and on. To manage all these variables during the life cycle of a project requires an enormous amount of understanding and an endless stream of communication. It's obvious that digital teams located in the same place will communicate more frequently and efficiently than if divided. This is about risk management and having these teams work together minimises that risk.

The second consideration is progress and the pace of innovation. I've been working in the field for about 12yrs now and the speed at which new technologies, companies and approaches change hasn't slowed. Although there is increasing stability in terms of platform and language interoperability and client-side enablers (Flash and ...?) as each new processor emerges the faster clock speeds open up new opportunities allowing us to manage more complex information (text, sound, graphics, raw data) more quickly. Staying informed is practically a full-time job. If you split up digital teams then they can't talk about this stuff, easily huddle round and point at the screen. The digital industries have never been too hot on training so people learn on the job from each other. Everyone understands the significance of communities online. Nurture these communities in the work place. If not you might see yourself falling off the pace.

Now please don't think that this is a separatist piece. I'm not against integration but can see an argument that may suggest it will happen more successfully in an organic manner. People who don't remember a world without the mobile phone or fast internet connections or TV on demand are only just starting to reach positions of influence - positions that aren't part of a digital department but are part of every single agency whatever the offering. As representation of this generation in the workplace increases then integration will become increasingly seamless and effortless.

For now, ensure that the digital personnel are involved in every project that comes through the doors. If they aren't going to add anything they'll let you know.  Hire good communicative people. Stop people sitting at their desks all day, reduce the reliance on email and encourage conversation. Knowledge transference will happen. So try not to force it and play the long game. Integration will happen naturally.

* Hacker in this context means writer of code not necessarily with malicious intent.