Integration platform as a service

Story

A few years ago, the issue of choosing an integration solution did not confront small and medium-sized businesses. Just 5 years ago, the introduction of a data bus was a sign that the company has achieved significant success, and it needs a specialized solution for data exchange.



The thing is that such a temporary solution, such as point-to-point integration, with the growth of the business, does not allow controlling the data exchange process. In addition, systems that communicate this way are overgrown with complex code that implements API resources for integration with each individual system.



You can still find giant companies on the market, even in the retail sector, who continue to support the long-obsolete CRM , ERP , MDM solutions simply because they are seriously modified to meet the needs of the business. Updating them is akin to migrating to a completely new system. Companies have to maintain a large staff for the continuous support and development of these solutions, operating systems and DBMS .



In such an environment, the effect of the “old-timer” begins - people who thoroughly understand the solution and can share their experience with new employees. In this case, the dangerous fact is that management can be too relaxed and calm, because, after all, all issues have been resolved in one way or another for many years. Sooner or later, such people can leave the company, which will entail serious inhibition in matters of development and support without experienced employees. In turn, this situation will increase the utilization of resources and dramatically delay the timeline.



Part of the solution to such problems is the use of industry-specific solutions such as data buses - ( Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) ). They are designed to standardize the processes of information exchange between the internal systems of the enterprise, to reduce the cost of additional development and support of target systems. In addition, together with the implemented solution, you will get many years of experience of companies that have developed and used the software package for a long time. This means that most of the fundamental tasks of integration will be solved already within the product itself and will not require additional efforts for analytics and implementation of simple solutions.

On premise

Returning 5-10 years ago, you may find that all integration solutions were exclusively on-premise systems. A few years ago, cloud-based solutions began to fill the market everywhere. The fashion industry has not spared this industry. Most companies in this market did not miss the opportunity by offering their customers integration solutions “in the clouds”. Such solutions can significantly reduce support costs, at least by eliminating the rental of server capacities and their support from expense items.



Given the features and volumes of the business, not every company can afford to transfer integration solutions to the cloud. Often, this is due to security issues or industry specifics; sometimes, the cost of migration exceeds the expected benefits of the project. As a result, on-premise integration solutions continue to be in demand in the market and occupy leading positions in comparison with cloud ones.

Cloud

Thanks to the rapid development of cloud-based integration solutions, clients from small and medium-sized business segments began to appear in this area. The model of using a subscription service ( SaaS - Software as a Service) attracts most customers with a simple start and transparent use process. In addition, solution companies often offer their consulting services for implementation, initial setup of integration processes and their support.



The use of cloud solutions allows the client to reduce resources and time for implementation. As a rule, such integration platforms are qualitatively and quantitatively different from their on-premise colleagues by the set of ready-made connectors to most common business systems. Many of them also offer ready-made exchange scripts for popular business scenarios. For example, it is common for retail to transfer data between ERP and CRM systems, in which case, very often, the developer of the integration platform (SaaS) prepares a standard scenario for exchanging data between such systems. For the client, it is enough to specify the minimum necessary set of configuration parameters, such as: accounts for connecting to systems, query configuration for receiving data from the source system (what type of data, in what form).



On the client side, such a solution looks attractive due to the WYSIWYG approach, when most operations are performed using a visual editor and do not need to be immersed in development. As a result, we get a loyal customer for the long term. It remains for the developer to maintain stable platform operation and high uptime ), and continue to develop the platform by creating new connectors, scripts, and simultaneously updating existing ones.



With this approach, it is important to initially have a realistic understanding of the monetization model, because this is not a one-time payment. Further collaboration will include the cost of server time and the further development of a support solution. This is the approach used by many iPaaS solutions. At the same time, each client receives his own isolated space (often, the level of isolation depends on the type of subscription), where he can deploy his own processes. Detailed configuration mechanisms for managing integration scenarios are different for each platform, therefore it is very important to determine in advance for yourself the likely scenarios for the correct choice of platform.

IPaaS Comparison

Let's try to parse and compare some of the popular integration solutions - iPaaS. To do this, I chose the first 5 solutions in the market from an article that turned out to be the first in Google search results at the time of publication.

Dell boomi

This solution is a set of tools that allows you not only to customize integration scenarios, but also to develop, manage APIs, develop your own applications, and customize processes.



This software package was acquired by Dell in 2010 and quickly became the market leader in iPaaS solutions for ratings by Gartner consulting company over the past 6 years.



Applicability: for large and medium-sized enterprises from different industries.

Cost: from $ 549 / month.

Demo / Trial: yes, 30 days .

Oracle Integration Cloud

This product is the development of a giant in the field of integration solutions. Based on Oracle’s experience, the solution captivates with industry best practices and off-the-shelf integration flows that are built into the product. A library of ready-made connectors will significantly save on initial configuration. Check out Gartner’s product rating and reviews of companies that implemented the solution.



Applicability: for large and medium-sized enterprises from different industries.

Cost: Many subscription options, including a pay-as-you-go plan: starting at $ 1.2097 / message, and a monthly flexible plan starting at $ 0.8065 / message.

Demo / Trial: yes, 30 days .

Workato

In the Workato library you will find more than 300 ready-made customized integration scenarios between popular solutions. In addition, the product has a simple and intuitive script designer to help you create your own integration processes.



The solution has been falling into the “magic quadrant” from Gartner for several years.



Applicability: for small and medium-sized enterprises from different industries.

Cost: from $ 1499 / month.

Demo / Trial: yes, 30 days .

Tibco cloud

TIBCO Cloud is an iPaaS solution from a company with many years of experience. The product allows you to configure integration scenarios using a simple interface, which will be convenient if you plan to transfer the task of setting up processes not only to experienced developers, but also to business professionals. The platform has a fairly high rating according to the results of the assessment of the consulting company Gartner .



Applicability: for small and medium-sized enterprises from different industries.

Cost: from $ 400 / month.

Demo / Trial: yes, 30 days .

elastic.io

The elastic.io integration solution allows you to create and customize integration processes using a simple visual editor. The solution has a library of ready-made connectors for connecting to popular Ecommerce, ERP and CRM platforms, including those that are located in a secure local area network of the enterprise. The company calls this solution Local Agent - it can be very interesting and useful from a security point of view, if you do not want to open external access to your internal systems. Despite its young age, the product is already mentioned in the ratings of the Gartner agency.



Applicability: for small and medium-sized enterprises from different industries.

Price: from € 199 / month, it is possible to use the platform according to the OEM model.

Demo / Trial: yes, 14 days .

Conclusion

When deciding on the choice of an integration platform, it will be necessary to evaluate more than 20 products on the market. Important selection criteria will be the presence of a library of ready-made connectors and script templates for an easy start of the implementation project, the availability and simplicity / power of a visual editor for setting up scenarios, support and advice from developers, a convenient pricing and payment model. Each of the products is unique in its own way and offers a range of solutions, including the platform itself, a script editor, a library of ready-made connectors, support from developers and the community.



To determine which of the solutions has a set of all the necessary features, only a careful analysis will help. Fortunately, most of the platforms can be taken as a free “test drive” for a while. If you still can’t switch to the iPaaS model for some reason, then you have a huge market for on-premise solutions that are more flexible, but require significant implementation and support costs.



The choice is yours.