What's the right choice for your integration? Standard connector, iPaaS or custom integration.

A small to average SME company currently works with 10 to 20 different software solutions. From specific tools for certain business processes to large comprehensive packages for ERP and HR, for example. In further digitizing business processes, it is therefore essential to allow systems to integrate with each other. Almost every modern solution therefore offers certain connectivity through its own standard integrations or the provision of its own APIs. The challenge, however, is to make the right choices in terms of integration, precisely because of the increase in systems. Viewed at a high level, there are 3 ways to integrate systems, namely a standard connector, using an iPaaS solution or having a custom integration built.

In further digitizing and automating business processes, it is essential to allow systems to integrate with each other.

Integration options

The choice for a standard connector, an iPaaS solution or a customized integration depends on various factors, such as the complexity of the systems that need to be integrated, the desired degree of flexibility and scalability, the available resources and the budget.

Standard connector

A standard connector can be a good choice when integrating relatively simple systems, such as two cloud applications that already have standard integration options (APIs). In this case, a standard connector can be set up quickly and easily and is often the most cost-effective solution. Make sure that a good thorough analysis of your requirements is done beforehand and whether this will indeed work in a standard way with an available connector. Standard connectors are often offered by the respective system itself, but some external parties are also specialized in this. Especially when it comes to external parties, it is also important to have insight into the continuous development and maintenance of such a connector. This is because systems are subject to change and it is crucial that a standard connector is always up to date.

iPaaS solution

An iPaaS solution can be a good choice when there are more complex systems that need to be integrated. iPaaS stands for Integration Platform as a Service, which uses a cloud-based platform to connect systems. iPaaS offers more flexibility and scalability than a standard connector and can also be used for more complex integrations between on-premise and cloud applications. There are various iPaaS solutions available in the market and it is also important here to make a good analysis of which integrations that have already been developed. Indeed, compiling data flow in an iPaaS solution is also a time-consuming task that often requires the right technical knowledge of the systems to be connected on the one hand and the iPaaS product itself on the other. From our projects, we see that the solutions of Alumio and Patchworks commonly used iPaaS solutions are with many available connectors and ready-to-use data flows.

Custom integration

A customized integration may be necessary when there are highly complex systems that cannot be integrated with a connector or iPaaS solution as standard. In this case, customized integration may be necessary to allow the systems to work seamlessly together. In addition, 2 important things often play a role in opting for a customized integration, namely:

1. Unique integration needs: Some companies have unique integration needs that can't be solved with a standard connector or iPaaS solution. In this case, customization may be the only option to meet specific needs. For example, when the company has very specific security or compliance requirements or when the application is extremely sector-specific or company-specific.
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2. Technical expertise: The choice for a customized integration is also logical when the organization in question does not have the required technical expertise to implement and maintain a standard connector or iPaaS solution. In this case, outsourcing to an external party to develop custom integrations may be the best option to ensure that the integration is implemented and maintained correctly. After all, links are also subject to change in practice, and it is important to be able to rely on a party that adapts links in time, or can intervene immediately in the event of any incidents.

Many parties consciously opt for a customized integration to ensure that the integration works for their specific situation and that they can immediately call on the integration partner in case of changes or incidents.

However, a customized integration can be more expensive than a standard connector or iPaaS solution and can also take more time to develop and implement. For each integration issue, we therefore work with the client to look at the exact wishes and application of the integration. Based on this, we decide together what the right choice is, a standard connector, working with an iPaaS or, above all, having a customized integration built.