The Advantages and Disadvantages of Integration Platforms (iPaaS)

The benefits of iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) are becoming increasingly evident in the modern digital landscape. With iPaaS, businesses can quickly and efficiently integrate various applications and data sources, streamlining their operations and reducing the costs associated with manual integration. It also allows organisations to quickly and easily access new technologies while providing a secure, reliable platform for data integration.

benefits of iPaaS

In today’s digital world, where technology has developed so much, iPaaS technologies have gained rapid growth. As a matter of fact, a study by Gartner has shown that it has become one of the fastest-growing enterprise software technologies in the past decade. iPaaS technology, which has a structure and working logic far beyond traditional integration technologies, comes to the fore in many ways and has started to become more popular day by day. In this article, we have compiled the advantages and disadvantages of using the iPaaS technology for you.

What is an iPaaS (Integration Platform as A Service), and Why Should You Care?

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS), the new cloud computing trend, is the general name of a system that connects different cloud-based services, applications, and processes. In today’s technology, where the digital world is developing rapidly, businesses, brands, and individuals use dozens of tools at the same time. At this point, for businesses that receive different services from all of them, PaaS services enable things to progress much more practically and smoothly. iPaaS, which is one of the last points of integration technologies, provides many benefits and advantages to businesses.

What are the Benefits of iPaaS?

iPaaS integration technologies, which emerged as a need thanks to the rapid development of cloud automation software technologies, brought many benefits to businesses. iPaaS benefits can be briefly listed as follows:

1) Faster Value Capture

Among the benefits of iPaaS, the most prominent and the first factor that comes to mind is rapid value acquisition. iPaaS, the integration technology that combines the different resources of business operation processes in a single point and enables them to manage seamlessly, contributes significantly to the DevOps pace, agile implementation, and development cycle.

2) Efficient Integration Results with Few Jobs and Special Skills

Automation technologies such as iPaaS focus on adding value at the software scale without requiring special skills. In this context, users spend very little energy and time and perform many works without requiring special skills. In this way, while increasing productivity, a smooth workflow is also ensured.

3) Advanced Scalable Structure

iPaaS technologies have a scalable structure for developing businesses, regardless of whether they are small or large. In this context, although iPaaS technologies used by a team of 5-10 people and iPaaS technologies used by teams of 50-100 people differ in scope, they essentially continue to operate at the same high efficiency.

4)Low Integration Cost

iPaaS Integration solutions are also a preferred solution due to their low cost. Technologies such as middleware, integration architectures, enterprise bus (ESB), and enterprise application integration have much lower costs than license fees. Low-cost advantages also enable medium and low-sized businesses to benefit from business automation technologies. In multi-tenant resources, creating multiple instances for each user action can cause various problems. However, iPaaS technology allows resources to be shared among tenants, resulting in lower costs, less conflict, and improved speed.

5) Reduced Complexity

With the help of iPaaS, the complexity often encountered in companies’ IT departments is solved. At this point, all iPaaS technology, including the user interface, focuses on making things go more smoothly. Data in the IT environment is managed thanks to integration technology.

6) Data security

The digitalisation of businesses has revealed the concept of big data, and each business has a unique data collection. For this reason, it is very important to manage the data correctly and to ensure its security at the same time. In this context, thanks to iPaaS integrated technology, outsourced data can be easily managed through a single platform, and data security is also ensured. In addition, GDPR compliance becomes easier in the complex data world. Data protection operations are more easily provided under a single platform.

iPaaS Use Cases

What are the Disadvantages of Using an iPaaS Platform?

The disadvantages of iPaaS, which bring many advantages and benefits, are not without their drawbacks. In this context, some disadvantages of iPaaS technologies, which have some limitations, are as follows:

1) Not everyone may be involved

Although easy to use, iPaaS technologies also require some technical knowledge. Therefore, not every user in your business can use iPaaS technology as efficiently as you do.

2) Workflow automation

Not all iPaaS technologies can automate the workflow. That’s why the iPaaS company you choose is important here.

3) Business communication robots

Some iPaaS technologies may not include business communication robots in the system.

How to Choose Which iPaaS Plan Fits Your Needs Best?

Businesses are now rapidly evolving toward digitalisation in many ways. That’s why he outsources more than one of his needs. Although this ensures that workflows run smoothly, it also brings new requirements, such as the smooth management of these external resources. At this point, although integration technologies come to mind, it is also important that this integration system is integrated with the workflow. The practical and smooth execution of the workflow is not limited to these but choosing iPaaS plans that benefit from artificial intelligence and automation systems allows you to create a seamless workflow.

Autom Mate, which produces seamless workflow technologies for businesses by making use of artificial intelligence and automation technologies, enables businesses to fully meet these needs. Based on Autom Mate’s advanced hyper-automation technologies, the iPaaS plan allows you to manage the workflow in the right way. Privileges that allow you to run many of your workflows smoothly thanks to Autom Mate advanced automation systems:

  • AI-powered automation
  • Advanced Hyper automation systems
  • Integrated technologies

Autom Mate’s advanced iPaaS technology provides many benefits in terms of data security along with many benefits as well as running workflows smoothly. Powerful data mapping is made with the features provided by Autom Mate iPaaS technology. It also provides easy custom connector creation and a robust connector set. At the same time, authentication and access control based on user directories are carried out in Autom Mate iPaaS technology, which provides seamless integration with API management.

What are the Most Useful iPaaS Use Cases for Enterprise?

No Code Autom Mate

When it comes to enterprise applications, data wears the crown, but taking advantage of the massive chunks of data in all of the enterprise processes can quickly become too time and energy-consuming. Thankfully, there’s a new hero that connects everything together without the need for human workforce: integration platforms, or in other words: iPaaS. In order to make sure that the data is secure, always available & leverageable, enterprises use integration platforms. In this article, we’ll tell the most popular iPaaS use cases and what a difference iPaaS makes.

According to Gartner, enterprises take advantage of integration platforms in various ways, such as routing & orchestration, data mapping, messaging, and protocol mapping.

 

Most Popular application iPaaS
Application integration use cases for enterprise. (ImageSource: Gartner)

 

Of course, when we talk about iPaaS, there are numerous branches like API-based integrations, event integrations, and B2B ecosystem integrations. Here are the most popular iPaaS solutions for the enterprise:

 

Application & Data Integrations with iPaaS

The iPaaS technology allows enterprises to integrate a variety of applications and systems with ease, without the need for custom coding or programming. Organisations can use this integration platform to bring out automated flows with remaining apps or even develop new apps or improve existing ones.

The best part is that today’s iPaaS technology lets developers and data scientists who are not experts in application integration but want to use different applications together. The iPaaS technology provides an easy way for them to do this without having any knowledge of the underlying technologies involved in application integration.

 

Data Integration with iPaaS

The use cases for data integration with iPaaS are endless, as there are countless apps, software, and data sources to link with each other, but here are some examples:

  • A company can integrate its CRM system with its ERP system so that it can send marketing emails based on what the customer has bought in the past by integrating a data analysis tool in the middle.
  • A company can gather competitor data and integrate XML files into data analysis tools to get automated information about the market.
  • A company can integrate its email marketing platform with its CRM system so that it can update customer information and send them personalised email campaigns.
  • A company can integrate its website with Facebook so that it can drive more traffic, collect more viable data, and build spot-on strategies.

 

Notification Service Integrations 

Notification service integrations allow sending notifications from one application to another, which can be done through SMS, email, or other channels like calls. This type of functionality is often used for marketing campaigns where the company would want to send out promotional messages about their products or services via SMS or email—or stay ahead of the time when it comes to being notified about critical information.

 

Linking a messaging application to ERP, CRM, ITSM, or ITOM can speed up many processes dramatically. You can get an instant message, app notification on your phone, or even a call when needed by integrating the correct software with another application.

For example, let’s talk about one of Autom Mate’s favourite integrations, ServiceDesk Plus and SolarWinds. The integration helps to automate the process of IT alerts, notifications and tickets. It also helps to manage the ticketing system by integrating with other systems such as CMDB or CRM.

 

Collaborative Integrations

Collaboration is a vital component of any business. With the help of iPaaS, not only is it possible to integrate different applications and make them work together, but it’s also possible to connect multiple organisations and teams seamlessly. Collaborative integrations allow for a better flow of information between different teams and departments in an organisation, leading to increased efficiency and productivity.

With collaborative tools like Slack and Trello, joint integrations of both systems help improve the team members’ collaboration, and that’s just a basic example.

Letting remote teams and processes work more efficiently, collaborative ITSM integrations also help reduce mistakes,  increase productivity, improve customer service, and cut down on costs while creating a more agile infrastructure. Thus, everyone is aware of the real-time situations of mega projects & processes.

 

ITSM Integration 

IT teams stand at the centre of operations, and their task stack can overflow. With ITSM integrations, companies can create perfect bridges between IT teams and employees. Even better, adding more applications into the equation lets organisations handle IT tasks more efficiently. 

 

HR Application Integrations 

Thanks to their monolithic architecture, HR workflows can greatly take advantage of iPaaS. Most companies are now using HR apps to automate their HR processes. With SAP, Oracle HR, Workday, SuccessFactors, and other HR apps available in the market, it has become easier to integrate these applications with iPaaS. 

For instance, instant messaging apps like WhatsApp or MS Teams can be integrated with corporate applications to create faster communication throughout the whole organisation. And with iPaaS, you can even take advantage of AI to automate payrolls, leaves, and more via text recognition. If we need to exemplify, your employees can text the HR app “How many days off do I have?” and get an automated answer instantly! 

 

The most popular HR integrations with iPaaS include;

  • Employee Onboarding & OffBoarding can be automated by linking HR and ITSM processes together. When an employee joins the team, the system can handle all of the automatable processes like payrolling, approval process, account creation & more.
 
  • With Employee Leave Management, employees can get automated replies about their leave situation with a simple text message or an intranet page visit. The best part is that HR doesn’t have to be involved in such easy tasks.
 
  • Travel and Holiday Requests can be made without the involvement of HR. If your HR management tool lets it, an employee can take a holiday with a manager’s approval, eliminating the process and the paperwork.
 
  • Automated Chatbots for HR are about to become the new way for HR processes. As mentioned above, employees can text software to get automated and reliable answers and solutions with chatbot and HR integrations, thanks to iPaaS.
Integration Chatbot

 

Multi-Branch Integrations with iPaaS

We mentioned that iPaaS lets organisations streamline tasks within and between branches and teams. Let’s take it a step further by creating relatively lengthy automation with the technology: onboarding.

You can streamline the onboarding process with the right integrations, like opening a company email account, reminding the IT team of the necessary hardware and software, performing Active Directory authorisation, and more. In short, if you have the apps, iPaaS is there to connect and integrate them for you!

 

Meet Drag-and-drop Automation with Autom Mate

Developing products in the automation and integration fields for years, we designed Autom Mate as an iPaaS that builds upon the technology. With Autom Mate, you can take advantage of the most remarkable hyperautomation features with a simple drag-and-drop interface. In most cases, you don’t have to code to design an automation flow, as our automation library is growing every day with ready-to-use flows created by enterprise users. 

Visit Autom Mate.com to explore the big world of iPaaS and hyperautomation, or reach an expert to see how you can leverage the technology in the best way possible.

 

What is iPaaS? Your Complete Guide to Integration Technologies

The digital revolution came with many perks that transformed the way we live and the way businesses operate. Thanks to countless numbers of digital tools and software, we can now handle tasks, big and small, in a much more convenient way than ever before. Yes, convenience is one thing that came with the digital revolution, but let’s not forget about the ever-growing disruption. Almost every day, a new application or software joins our daily ecosystem, but we rarely see different apps communicating with each other. That’s where integration platforms come into the picture to save the day, making iPaaS one of the most popular terms in the software industry. In this blog, we’ll be exploring the definition of iPaaS and how businesses can take advantage of the technology.

 

What is iPaaS and Who Needs It?

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) is a software service that enables customers to connect their applications and data sources in order to automate, optimise and secure their digital business processes, and it’s gaining more popularity every day.

VynZ Research estimates that the global iPaaS market is expected to reach $10.3 billion by 2024, at a CAGR rate of 40,4% between 2020 and 2025.

There’s no doubt that software integration technologies will keep on stealing the spotlight for many years to come. Today, the first industries that come to mind when we think of iPaaS are banking, healthcare, insurance and retail. These industries rely on integration platforms for seamless customer experience across channels with a single sign-on, handling IT processes easily, and eliminating mundane workflows altogether. Of course, the sky is the limit with integration platforms, and connecting numerous flows is up to the user.

Let’s continue with how integration platforms work to streamline complex processes without the need for the human workforce.

 

How to Integrate Apps with an iPaaS?

Integration platforms provide a central hub for all of the information that is being shared between different applications, and they can be used to connect any kind of app, including software as a service (SaaS), mobile apps, and more. First things first, you need to b aware of the workflows that you want to create with integration platforms. 

Many integration platforms let users take advantage of ready-to-use workflows with the most popular apps, so we can name them as low-code or no-code platforms that don’t require users to have coding knowledge to create seamless flows. While there are exceptions, in today’s multi-disciplinary world, choosing an integration platform that offers a drag-and-drop interface is essential.

How do iPaaS work?

How does iPaaS work?

 

You can build perfectly-working bridges between users, data, apps, and APIs with an integration platform. As a technology powerhouse with years-long experience in automation, Autom Mate offers the most needed workflows that include enterprise favourites as ready-to-use templates.

 

Top Use Cases of Integration Platform as a Service that You Should be Aware of 

Businesses all around the world use iPaaS to connect with these applications and make them accessible through one system. It is also used by companies who want to keep data in one place for their customers, employees, or partners.

 

There are many iPaaS use cases, including:

Connecting CRM systems with ERP systems

To help businesses mine data on customer interactions between the two systems and identify insights that can be used to retain customers, CRM and ERP integration also help with the automation of different processes like sending out order confirmations and invoices after a purchase is made. Thankfully, iPaaS has emerged as an easy way to connect these systems effortlessly, creating massive value while eliminating taskforce.

 

Integrating data analytics tools 

Data analytics tools are great for getting viable insights. They can help you understand what’s going on with your business and provide useful information about the past, present, and future. But they have their limitations too. For example, they can’t help you make predictions about the future or tell you how to do something different in order to improve performance.

Integrating your analytics solution with an iPaaS means that you can take advantage of other features that these platforms offer, such as application integration and API management, to get more out of your data.

 

ITSM integrations with iPaaS

The IT process is one of the essential aspects of any business. The IT service management (ITSM) is the process that manages, monitors, and controls the IT processes. iPaaS provides an integration layer between ITSM and other systems to make it easier for companies to manage their IT processes.

 

 

Why you need an iPaaS? 

The main advantage of using iPaaS is that it saves time by automating repetitive tasks and integrating different systems together in an easy way, which automatically lets businesses deliver great value to their customers and themselves. 

Benefits of iPaaS

There are many benefits that can vary in different organisations and industries. Here are the main benefits of integration platform as a service:

 

  • It lowers the costs of integration by providing a single point for all integrations
  • It increases the speed of integration by providing an easy-to-use interface.
  • It reduces errors in integration by providing prebuilt connectors and templates.
  • It improves the reliability of integrations by preventing human error.
 

Higher ROI

If you’re looking for high ROI, iPaaS is your choice. According to Informatica, companies that shifted to iPaaS technologies have witnessed an average ROI of 324% within three years. Also, integration platforms create more future-proof organisations by making businesses more resilient to things to come in the future. 

 

 

Meet Autom Mate, a Hub for All of Your Integrations and Automations

Here at Autom Mate, we took automation to the next level with hyperautomation and picked the best features to offer our users an ever-growing and evolving automation and integration platform. Thanks to our community, our ready-to-use integration templates and flows are growing every day, leaving no extra work for newcomers. With Autom Mate, you can create automated flows with our simple drag-and-drop interface with whichever apps and patterns you need. See how Autom Mate makes a difference, contact our experts or offer a live demo to start imagining the future of your work. 

What is a Citizen Developer?

Every year in the tech industry, we hear a lot about “citizen developers”. They are becoming increasingly common and are often seen as the solution to all of our professional problems, such as hiring, managing processes and services, and even many technical challenges.
But what exactly does a citizen developer look like? What is their role? Who is looking for them? Why are we willing to hire them? And what are the consequences of their actions?

Citizen developer is an employee who creates application capabilities for consumption by themselves or others, using tools that are allowed by IT or business units.

The way people work is changing. As a result, organizations have begun to adopt tools and processes that are unencumbered by the rules of an IT department. This shifts the focus away from IT departments to change the way people work. These tools are called Citizen Development Tools (CDTs).

CDTs are not just useful for companies; they are essential for individuals as well. They empower individuals to create applications that can be consumed by themselves or others, in a matter of hours, with no IT involvement or permission. Citizen developers can create apps outside their organization’s normal workflows because they must do so for personal satisfaction or a business need. That person might not have access to an IT department’s team tools or resources (e.g., salesforce) and may not care where they get their data from (e.g., Google Spreadsheets). However, there’s no doubt that when an application is created outside of IT-centric products and processes, it becomes more valuable and valuable fast than anything else in terms of what it generates and how it generates it due to its open nature. As such, citizen developers have made a huge impact on the enterprise world — both in terms of its impact on business performance as well as Business Value-Added metrics like Return On Asset (ROA), Return On Investment (ROI), Return On Capital Employed (ROE), Return On Investment In Human Capital (ROIIC), and more!

Conclusion

What are the most valuable skills that you’re willing to learn and invest in? What do you want to know about your company’s culture? Once you answer these questions, it becomes much easier to build a developer community since there is a high correlation between the values expressed by employees and the behavior they pursue.