Learn More About iPaaS Software
What is iPaaS?
Integration platform as a service (iPaaS) is a cloud-based model that simplifies combining data from various applications into one cohesive platform. In today’s organizations, different applications manage diverse business processes and IT functions, creating a need to consolidate data for analytics and better business insights. iPaaS tools enable even non-technical users to integrate data from both third-party software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications and on-premises systems into a centralized cloud environment. By abstracting away complex integration tasks, iPaaS allows users to achieve seamless data flow without the need for advanced software development or middleware, making integration more accessible and efficient.
The main purpose of an iPaaS solution is to connect applications and systems deployed across various environments, such as on-premises or in the cloud. An iPaaS solution makes integration work across organizations easier as it requires little to no knowledge of programming languages.
iPaaS software allows users to streamline the process of developing, managing, and governing integration flows, thus enabling teams and customers to connect applications. The modern workplace relies on digital solutions to work together; implementing software applications at work is only half the battle—there is an increasing demand for robust, stable integrations that allow these systems to communicate and perform seamlessly.
With new applications introduced, a company’s existing connectors become outdated as it upgrades to different solutions or integrates new technology into its IT infrastructure. As new cloud services and applications are released, the need for updated application program interfaces (APIs) and other integrations that allow free-flowing data increases.
iPaaS’ advanced integration platforms help businesses design and deploy solutions that link disparate platforms across systems. Seamless integrations can be crafted with these intuitive tools rather than performing extensive coding. Many platforms help build and distribute integrations, allowing users to monitor the integration’s performance and activity. Whether deploying proprietary, on-premises solutions or bridging the gaps between third-party platforms and data sources, the right integration platform greatly assists with this process.
What does iPaaS stand for?
iPaaS stands for integration platform as a service. However, enabling data integration across an organization, irrespective of the deployment model, is just one of many things that this software can do. It also offers features to support business development and manage and govern their integration flows from a centralized console system. Typical use cases of iPaaS solutions include cloud service integration, application integration, B2B ecosystem integration, and more.
What are the features of iPaaS software?
iPaaS solutions can help users build, govern, and manage integrations across various deployments. Whether applications reside on-premises or in the cloud, an iPaaS solution can provide seamless integration, thus allowing effective access and sharing of data in real time. The following are some core features of iPaaS solutions:
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API designer: iPaaS solutions provide a web-based interface for designing, documenting, and testing APIs.
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Flow designer: The technology allows workflow automation with the help of a drag-and-drop interface.
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Prebuilt connectors: iPaaS facilitates API development and integrations with prebuilt connectors, templates, and examples.
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Custom connectors: Custom connectors provide the ability to create connectors from existing services and APIs in catalogs.
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Monitoring and notification: iPaaS solutions provide a console for monitoring resource utilization, system health, the ability to start and stop processes, and more.
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Reporting and analytics: The reporting and analytics feature provides dashboards for real-time insights into API performance, usage, and errors.
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Routing and orchestration: iPaaS enables data routing on a configuration basis and managing complex workflows through an orchestration engine.
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Data mapping: Data mapping facilitates to and fro data mapping according to the data model between applications or web services.
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Data transformation: Standard tools and functions are available to convert data values from the data format of a source system into the data format of a destination system.
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Data encryption: iPaaS solutions employ data encryption both at rest and in transit.
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Role-based control: iPaaS controls access to integration functionalities by assigning user roles.
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Security standards: Security standards in iPaaS solutions comply with key industry standards like SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and more to protect and safeguard data.
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Communication protocol: iPaaS supports secure communication protocols like FTPS, SFTP, and more.
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Data virtualization: The software integrates data from disparate sources without physical data movement.
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Master data management: iPaaS supports managing master data by removing duplicates, standardizing data in mass, using rules, and more to eliminate incorrect data from entering the system.
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Big data processing: Big data processing features provide integration to big data sources such as Hadoop and other NoSQL sources (MongoDB, Cassandra, and HBase).
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Electronic data interchange (EDI): The software provides integrations to EDI service providers.
Other Features of PaaS Software: Hybrid Capabilities, Reusable connectors Capabilities
What are the alternatives to iPaaS software?
Alternatives to iPaaS can replace this type of software, either partially or completely, include:
Enterprise service bus (ESB) software: ESB is an architectural pattern that enables applications to communicate easily and allow data transfers between them. These solutions are specifically designed to cater to on-premises integrations, although some can also manage cloud-based integrations. iPaaS and ESB serve the same purpose of integration for enterprise applications and systems, however, the difference between them is with the type and level of integrations they handle and the deployment options they cater to. An iPaaS can manage both cloud and on-premises integrations, whereas ESB chiefly works on on-premises integrations.
How to choose the iPaaS software
Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for iPaaS
Whether a company is just starting out and looking to purchase the first iPaaS solution or an organization needs to update a legacy system, wherever a business is in its buying process, g2.com can help select the best iPaaS software for the business.
The particular business pain points might be related to integrating data and applications deployed across the organization, whether on-premises or in the cloud, that must be connected well to attain a centralized real-time view of all the data. Users should think about the pain points and jot them down; these should be used to help create a checklist of criteria. Additionally, the buyer must determine the number of employees needing this software, as this drives the number of licenses they will likely buy.
Taking a holistic overview of the business and identifying pain points can help the team springboard into creating a checklist of criteria. The checklist is a detailed guide with necessary and nice-to-have features, including budget, features, number of users, integrations, security requirements, cloud or on-premises solutions, and more.
Depending on the deployment scope, it might be helpful to produce a request for information (RFI), a one-page list with a few bullet points describing what is needed from the iPaaS software.
Compare iPaaS Products
Create a long list
From meeting the business functionality needs to implementation, vendor evaluations are an essential part of the software buying process. For ease of comparison, after all, demos are complete, it helps to prepare a consistent list of questions regarding specific needs and concerns to ask iPaaS vendors.
Create a short list
From the long list of vendors, it is helpful to narrow down the list of vendors and come up with a shorter list of contenders, preferably no more than three to five. With this list in hand, businesses can produce a matrix to compare the features and pricing of the various solutions.
Conduct demos
To ensure the comparison is thoroughgoing, the user should demo each solution on the shortlist with the same use case and datasets. This will allow the business to evaluate like for like and see how each vendor stacks up against the competition.
Selection of iPaaS
Choose a selection team
Before getting started, it's crucial to create a winning selection team that will work together throughout the entire process, from identifying pain points to implementation. The software selection team should consist of members of the organization who have the right interests, skills, and time to participate in this process. A good starting point is to aim for three to five people who fill roles such as the main decision maker, project manager, process owner, system owner, or staffing subject matter expert, as well as a technical lead, IT administrator, or security administrator. The vendor selection team may be smaller in smaller companies, with fewer participants, multitasking, and taking on more responsibilities.
Negotiation
Just because something is written on a company’s pricing page does not mean it is a hard and fast rule to follow (although some companies will not budge). It is imperative to open up a conversation regarding pricing and licensing. For example, some integration platform as a service vendors may be willing to discount multi-year contracts or recommend the product to others.
Final decision
After this stage, and before going all in, it is recommended to roll out a test run or pilot program to test adoption with a small sample size of users. If the tool is well used and well received, the buyer can be confident that the selection was correct. If not, it might be time to return to the drawing board.
How much does iPaaS software cost?
iPaaS solutions are mostly available as subscription models with pricing tiers that depend on parameters like the volume of data being moved, processing power utilized, number of connections, and so forth. Sometimes, iPaaS companies choose to include additional costs such as support and training provisions, building and deploying additional new integrations, and more.
iPaaS software trends
IPaaS solutions are very well positioned overall to solve the next-generation integration challenges. To stay ahead of the competition and achieve increased agility, businesses use an integration solution to effectively and seamlessly integrate applications, data, and systems.
Increase in e-commerce integration solutions
The e-commerce movement toward B2B and B2C platforms is making them take hold of tasks such as order placing and delivery, inventory management, warehouse management, and more. iPaaS solutions are coming into the picture with integrations to unify back-end processes and systems like ERP. These integration tools will help streamline the processes involved in e-commerce management, thus reducing the burden on IT to manually manage data across systems.
