According to Gartner, integration Platform as a Service (iPaas) has become the largest stand-alone integration market with over $3 billion in market value. As the Internet of Things (IOT) increases its dominance in the global business landscape, new applications emerge every day to support the functionality of connected devices.
This, to a large extent, means enormous volumes of big data from various data sources, making integration a significant challenge. IPaaS is a go-to for several integration scenarios, including cloud service and B2B integration. On that note, here’s a simple guide to iPaaS and its benefits for business users.
IPaaS Defined
IPaaS is an integrated platform for software applications. It can serve as a central unit to manage an organization’s business process, service-oriented architecture, and data management efforts. Usually, the definition of iPaaS is linked with SaaS applications. Even though it works as a cloud computing service, its integration capabilities favor premise applications.
As digital transformation rates increase globally, iPaaS solutions help with the deployment of disparate applications and data from different environments.
Main Features
The specific features of an iPaaS solution determine its functionality. Some of the more common features of iPaaS solutions include the following:
Data Delivery: It can host applications and hold any deployed data until it reaches its destination in data-sharing environments. This is necessary to facilitate data exchange in collaboration workspaces.
Error Handling: Managing an enterprise’s database may often result in several errors. If not detected early in the data management cycle, these errors may affect data quality and access.
Endpoint Connectors: Creating a connection between specific applications may require Application Programming Interface (API) to code and create universal communication protocols. Endpoints connectors in iPaaS solutions reduce the need for repetitive API management in connecting or integrating apps.
Data Governance: Business users across an enterprise may vary and require different types and levels of data use. A typical API solution has features to segregate data access with specific permissions.
Life Cycle Management: Because iPaaS solutions deal with data silos and different applications, they have automation features to create and manage integration flows effectively.
Developer Tools: It provides access to a myriad of developer tools. These tools allow for workflow customization to suit the needs of each business user.
Main Benefits
1. Increased Productivity
Productivity relates to doing more work with less input. On this tangent, iPaaS can improve business productivity in many ways. The primary productivity implication of using such software is in its cost-cutting benefits.
IPaaS solutions are 100 percent cloud-based. Today, many organizations use an integrated platform to bypass the need for middleware and hardware installation. But beyond the move-away from huge expenses in installing on-premise data infrastructures, iPaaS solutions can also help reduce maintenance costs. With such a solution, all maintenance efforts are the direct responsibilities of the vendor or iPaaS provider.
Another productivity implication of iPaaS solutions is the ease of cloud integration. Unlike traditional integration platforms, they can make do with low-code development. They also deal with reusable templates that only need “drag and drop” or ‘point and click actions. These implications help to do work faster with fewer resources, which is critical for businesses seeking scalability.
2. Effective Decision-Making
Integrated platforms are crucial elements of business intelligence systems. They help business leaders generate different data and draw insights in real time. What’s even better is their error-handling ability, which ensures data integrity. Fast access to accurate data can impact business decision-making a great deal. In today’s ever-changing business world, effective decisions can afford businesses the flexibility to stay agile.
3. Improves Remote Communication
Companies in the face of new realities like the COVID-19 pandemic usually have one option: evolve or die. Going into a post-pandemic world where remote communication and collaboration are the norms, an organization’s legacy system might be of minimal benefit. Integration platforms like Dell Boomi and Workato have a high potential to streamline and build workflows on the cloud.
