At the heart of business innovation is information. More specifically, the ability to integrate information so it can be used to provide big picture insights and power new things – from unique services and business models to the latest tech. This is the job of an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS). It can connect information from anywhere – applications, data sources, processes, services, and events across cloud and on-premise environments, from inside and outside the business – paving the way for faster innovation and unprecedented automation.
When these applications and relevant processes are not properly integrated and managed, it means that data can’t easily be shared between them, leading to a lack of visibility across the enterprise. Integrated connections are also needed to support AI technology, automated processes and workflows, and updates that can be acted on in real time. That’s why the best businesses are increasingly leaning toward an integration platform as a service (iPaaS) to unify and digitize their business operations and add compatible solutions in a strategic way.
Find out why a modern integration platform is pivotal for your business.
Like other “as a service” software, an integration platform is hosted by a cloud service provider who is responsible for providing software updates, high availability, disaster recovery, security, and technical support. The platform includes tools for developing and deploying integration flows without having to install or manage hardware or middleware. The iPaaS becomes a central place to create, manage, and modify application and process integrations across the business.
Here are some of the most important features of a leading iPaaS:
- Guided assessments and methodologies for simplifying integrations, generating documentation, and collaborating more effectively.
- Cloud integration across on-premises and hybrid landscapes made easier through prebuilt integrations, AI-assisted interfaces, crowdsourced recommendations, and more.
- An open framework and tools to simplify and standardize connectivity – including open data formats, open connectors for third-party applications, common data definitions, and bulk data uploads for data with different service architectures.
- API management, including designing, modeling, publishing, and managing them while also supporting creating new business models and services for the API economy.
- Event-driven architecture that allows apps to communicate in real time through asynchronous events, such as when a customer places an order, for a faster response time across distributed environments.
- Trading partner management to streamline B2B integration scenarios among multiple business partners and allow for easier collaboration.
- Built-in compliance, including secure management and transmission of e-documents, automated information exchanges, and regulatory standards tracking.
- AI, RPA, and other advanced technologies for faster, easier connections and, potentially, to automatically common business applications that are used routinely.
- Reusable components and low-code integration options that can support multiple business users, not just IT professionals and developers.
Our iPaaS is SAP Integration Suite, a recognized leader in the market space. To help organizations solve their biggest integration challenges, our cloud-native iPaaS software provides a multitude of integration tools and pre-built content as well as AI-powered development and guidance.
With thousands of prebuilt integrations, hundreds of third-party application connectors and business events, it streamlines integrations to any SAP and third-party system including applications, B2B businesses, and governments.
With its API-first approach, SAP Integration Suite integrates applications and processes across diverse landscapes and ecosystems – and also paves the way for offering profitable new services. In addition, it can process billions of messages and API calls each month – for ultimate scalability.
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