Let me guess… you’re having some data connectivity issues?
Don’t worry, you’re not alone. In fact, according to Mulesoft’s 2022 Connectivity Benchmark Report, 70% of organizations struggle to provide a connected user experience across their systems and channels.
Today it’s common practice for organizations to use a huge variety of platforms, tools, and technologies to operate their business. But as your organization expands, you may become overwhelmed by all these disjointed tools that don’t speak to one another.
Never fear, integrations are here — and this is exactly the type of challenges they solve.
Between point to point, Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS), middleware, and managed integrations, you would be forgiven for feeling a little confused.
So let’s start with some basics:
Software integrations are important to ensure all of your systems are working together to reduce manual entry, increase productivity, and improve data records. When your software is integrated, platforms can better communicate with each other and automations can run seamlessly which will optimize business operations and allow your team to work more effectively.
Integration platform as a service (iPaaS) is a single, unified platform that helps with application and data integrations. iPaaS is technically a subset of middleware, but where middleware requires highly experienced integrations experts, iPaaS platforms utilize simplified UX/UI design to empower non-developers to manage their own integrations.
With iPaaS, users can develop integration flows that connect applications residing in the cloud or on-premises and then deploy them without installing or managing any hardware. Popular iPaaS providers that you may be familiar with include MuleSoft, Dell Boomi, Workato, and Jitterbit.
A managed integration service where you leave all the integration to experts. It’s a fully managed solution that helps you with everything from data strategy and planning, to infrastructure setup, maintenance, and integrations.
It provides organizations with the resources of an experienced team, leaving your integration management up to the experts and freeing up resources for your internal team. Managed integration can be a more cost-friendly option that’s well suited to smaller and midsize organizations or those looking to modernize their systems without stretching internal resources or hiring an integration management team (IPaaS).
Propel Integrations is an example of a managed integration solution that enables organizations to focus on their business purpose, rather than manage their integration solution.
Unlike an IPaaS solution, that only provides a cloud-hosted integration platform, managed integration solutions include:
Our perspective: If you’re reading this article, point to point integration may be the reason for your data connectivity issues. It’s not something we would recommend, unless you have a very simple technology stack with very limited integration needs.
Our perspective: Middleware and iPaaS is often a better option for enterprise level organizations due to the higher costs and internal team requirements. While it’s more costly, it does tick some boxes on the maturity and reliability spectrum. It also provides benefits surrounding the reduction of infrastructure and its daily management by leveraging cloud computing and hosting services.
Our perspective: Managed integration is often a better option for small, midsize, and rapid growth organizations due to the lower associated costs and scalability. It’s also a great option for enterprise organizations, many of whom are struggling to find and retain integration experts.
A fully managed integration solution, Propel Integrations accelerates an organization’s integration modernization, offers flexible paths forward (without the large upfront costs associated with a full re-platforming), and provides all the benefits of a fully managed service versus internally sourcing and managing highly specialized resources.
Skilled integrators are in high demand, using a managed integration service like Propel Integrations leverages our integration expertise. Plus, with a managed integration, you’ll know all of your costs for integration management upfront rather than hiring an independent contractor or spreading your internal resources thin.