With a whopping 89% of companies struggling with data and system integration, it’s no wonder that adoption of Integration-Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS) has been on the rise in recent years.
iPaas is diverse, but in general, it allows for the integration of various software applications and platforms through the cloud. This means that businesses can connect their systems without having to go through the hassle (and high cost) of on-premise middleware solutions.
So how can your business take advantage of iPaas? Let’s take a look.
Table of Contents
- What is Integration-Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS)?
- Features of iPaaS
- Pros and cons of iPaaS
- Integration Platform-as-a-Service Examples in Practice
- FINAL WORD
What is Integration-Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS)?
Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) is a cloud-based platform that enables organizations to connect disparate applications and data sources to facilitate seamless data exchange between them.
iPaaS provides users with a single interface through which they can manage all their integrations, making it an ideal solution for businesses that rely heavily on integration for their day-to-day operations.
With iPaaS, businesses can quickly and easily connect their applications, without the need for complex on-premise software or hardware. This not only saves businesses time and money but also makes it easier for them to scale their operations as needed.
Features of iPaaS
Source: Unsplash
iPaaS offers a number of features that make it an attractive solution for businesses, including:
- Connectivity: Providing users with out-of-the-box connectivity to a wide range of applications and data sources. This includes cloud-based applications, as well as on-premise software.
- Data transformation: Transforming data from one format to another, making it easier for businesses to exchange information between different systems.
- Application integration: Integrating disparate applications, so that they can share data and work together more effectively.
- API management: iPaaS provides users with tools to manage their APIs so that they can control how different applications interact with each other.
- Security: Offering a range of security features to protect businesses’ data, including role-based access control and encryption.
Pros and cons of iPaaS
There are many potential advantages to using an iPaas model:
- Easy to use: It’s designed to be user-friendly so that businesses can quickly and easily connect their applications.
- Scalable: It can be easily scaled up or down to meet the changing needs of businesses.
- Flexible: There is a high degree of flexibility that lets businesses customize their integration solutions to suit their specific needs.
- Cost-effective: The best part? iPaaS is a cost-effective solution for businesses, as it eliminates the need for on-premise software or hardware.
However, there are also potential disadvantages to using iPaaS:
- Dependency on internet connection: iPaaS requires an internet connection in order to work, so businesses may experience disruptions if their connection is lost.
- Lack of control: As iPaaS is a cloud-based solution, businesses have less control over their data than they would with an on-premise solution.
Integration Platform-as-a-Service Examples in Practice
Being such a comprehensive solution, iPaaS can be used for a wide range of different integration projects, from simple data synchronization to more complex application integration.
Below are some examples of how iPaaS is being used in the real world:
SnapLogic
SnapLogic is a cloud-based integration platform that enables businesses to connect their applications and data sources, without the need for complex on-premise software.
Ikea is an example of a company that’s taking advantage of iPaaS. Using SnapLogic, they’ve been able to connect their various e-commerce systems and applications with their ERP system in order to manage inventory levels and customer orders more effectively. This has enabled them to create an end-to-end solution that can process orders faster and more accurately than ever before.
Prismatic
Prismatic was built to help businesses deliver data integration processes faster and simplify the process of providing integrations to the customer. It’s a win-win – customers get to take advantage of a native integration marketplace, and businesses make their daily lives a little easier.
This purpose-built platform offers a wide range of features, including an intuitive integration designer tailored for your product, an embedded integration marketplace, and built-in API connectors with industry-specific features – to name a few.
What’s more, their platform takes scalability, security, and compliance in mind, providing that peace of mind all businesses need.
Jitterbit
Source: Unsplash
Harmony is Jitterbit’s modern iPaaS solution that helps get your data from point A to B. With this platform, there’s no need for developer involvement or technical knowledge – the interface is easy-to-use and lets you utilize management tools and hundreds of pre-built integrations to automate any workflow.
Your business can connect on-premise, SaaS, and legacy applications with a single iPaas and get full visibility across the enterprise thanks to a centralized dashboard.
A unique feature is their online training and designated customer success manager to help ensure you’re making the most of the tool.
Partnering with eCommerce giant Shopify, Jitterbit was used to connect Shopify’s data to their ERP, allowing them to automate their order fulfillment process and save time.
Mulesoft
MuleSoft’s Anypoint platform is a complete integration solution that ties together SaaS and on-premise applications.
With Anypoint, businesses can easily create integrations without having to write any code. The visual designer makes it easy to connect different applications and data sources with just a few clicks.
The Coca-Cola Company used the Anypoint Platform to move toward a cloud-first strategy as well as accelerate their IT innovation strategy with mobile apps, smart dispensers, and new product innovations.
By decentralizing development, they can drive customer-centered innovations through technology.
Workato
This industry leader in iPaaS provides a code-free solution that helps businesses automate their workflows and processes. Their 100% cloud-native platform enables businesses to connect their apps and data, so they can get work done faster and more efficiently.
Their simplicity doesn’t compromise on power, however, with each “recipe” being able to automate complex workflows.
Workato also offers pre-built connectors for popular applications like Salesforce, Google Suite, Slack, and more. And if you need a custom connector, their team of experts can help you build it.
Panera Bread was able to reinvent their help desk for 3,000 of their cafes across North America with Workato automations. This included AI-driven workflows to analyze voicemails into text and create support tickets, as well as an IoT-connected helpdesk.
Digibee
Source: Unsplash
Digibee is a relatively new player in the iPaaS space, but they’re quickly making a name for themselves with their innovative platform.
Digibee’s platform is designed to be easily extensible, so businesses can add custom functionality as needed. And because it’s built on top of Apache Camel, it’s able to support a wide range of standard protocols and data formats.
Digibee teamed up with IBM to provide businesses with a comprehensive and extensible hybrid integration platform.
The combined offering takes advantage of both companies’ strengths, leveraging IBM’s expertise in enterprise integration and Digibee’s innovative iPaaS platform. The result is a robust solution that simplifies the process of connecting on-premise systems with cloud applications.
Zapier
Zapier is a popular tool that constantly asks, “What’s next?” The platform enables businesses to automate their workflows by connecting their apps and data.
With Zapier, you can easily connect two or more apps to automatically move data between them. For example, you could use Zapier to automatically add new leads from your CRM to your email marketing list. Or you could use it to post new blog articles to your social media accounts. Zapier makes it easy to automate just about any task or process.
One of their most popular use cases is connecting webinar platforms like GoToWebinar and Zoom with CRMs like Salesforce so that new leads can be created automatically after someone attends a webinar.
This saves businesses a lot of time as they don’t have to manually input the data into their CRM, and it also ensures that no leads are missed.
Oracle Integration
As one of the largest enterprise software companies in the world, Oracle’s iPaaS offering is unsurprisingly comprehensive.
Their platform enables businesses to connect any combination of on-premise and cloud-based applications. And with Oracle’s extensive network of partners, there’s a good chance they have the connector you need.
What makes the platform unique is its focus on integration lifecycle management. Oracle’s platform provides a complete set of tools to manage the entire integration process, from design and development to testing and deployment.
Engineers Australia is one company that’s using Oracle iPaaS to its full potential. The organization has over 100,000 members and needed a way to connect their various membership systems.
With Oracle iPaaS, they were able to quickly and easily integrate their applications, without having to re-architect their entire IT infrastructure.
Boomi
Source: Unsplash
Boomi is a cloud-based integration platform that was acquired by Dell in 2010. Boomi specializes in connecting on-premise applications to cloud-based applications, making it a good choice for companies who are moving to the cloud or using a hybrid approach.
Boomi’s biggest differentiator is its low-code development environment. This makes it easy to build integrations without having to write a lot of code. And for more complex integrations, you can still write code using Boomi’s AtomSphere Integration Process Designer.
Italian coffee giant Lavazza Group chose Boomi for their digital transformation. This allowed them to modernize their technological infrastructure, improve operational efficiency, and deliver a better customer experience. All of their applications from their old IT infrastructure were moved to the new Lavazza Professional infrastructure in just 7 months.
SEEBURGER
SEEBURGER is a German iPaaS provider that was founded in 1986. They offer a wide range of integration capabilities, including application integration, data integration, B2B/EDI, and cloud storage integration.
What sets SEEBURGER apart is their focus on providing pre-built adapters for popular applications and protocols. This makes it easier and faster to get started with integrating your applications. And if you need a custom adapter, SEEBURGER can build one for you.
Puma, the global sports apparel company, uses Seeburger’s iPaaS to manage their B2B integration. This includes integrating their SAP ERP system with their e-commerce platform, order management system, and warehouse management system.
Thanks to Seeburger, Puma was able to automate their entire order-to-cash process and improve visibility into their supply chain.
SAP Cloud Platform
SAP’s iPaaS offering is called SAP Cloud Platform Integration. It enables businesses to connect on-premise and cloud-based applications, as well as SAP and non-SAP applications.
SAP’s platform comes with a wide range of pre-built adapters for popular applications and protocols. And like Oracle, SAP offers complete lifecycle management tools for designing, deploying, testing, and monitoring integrations.
In the world of sports, SAP is helping the NHL innovate with their cloud-based integration platform. It’s used to power their flagship product, Hockey Data Warehouse – a massive data hub that captures and integrates real-time stats from all 31 teams in the league.
The system can be accessed by anyone in the league, from coaches to scouts and even fans. This data is then used to generate insights that help teams make smarter decisions on and off the ice.
FINAL WORD
Integration-Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS) is quickly becoming the go-to solution for businesses looking to integrate their applications and systems.
Whether you’re integrating SAP with Salesforce or Oracle with Hadoop, there’s an iPaaS provider out there that can help. These providers offer powerful tools and pre-built adapters that make it easier than ever to bring your integration projects to fruition.
