Choosing the right path: iPaaS vs. coded point-to-point integration

Imagine walking a tightrope. Every step demands precision, strength, balance, and some sturdy safety measures. Now, picture running on that tightrope. There is even less room for error than before.

The same is true when building integrations that support accelerated growth. Much like the tightrope walker, your organization needs accuracy, robust capabilities, and reliable features to build a scalable infrastructure.

Not all integration solutions will be able to strike the right balance. As you explore your options, consider the capabilities you require now and into the future.

Two common solutions companies adopt are coded point-to-point integration and iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service). Let’s explore their unique features and the benefits and challenges of each.

Coded point-to-point integration

When considering integration solutions, one option is to hire skilled developers to write code to integrate APIs. To accomplish this, you can utilize internal teams, hire new developers, or outsource your integrations. While coded point-to-point integration allows developers to meet any custom requirement, it can also lead to bottlenecks and integration backlogs as you scale.

Hiring and retaining a development team can be expensive, and outsourced developers often have steep hourly rates. On top of that, developer turnover is high. In fact, a study by Zippia found that 70% of developers have been at their job for 2 years or less.

This lack of continuity can cause you to lose critical knowledge–resulting in disruptions to your integrations. Without quality documentation, integrations will need to be rebuilt from scratch.

Problems with coded point-to-point integration can also arise if you don’t have resources set up to manage your integrations. Without a process in place to manage notifications from endpoint applications about API changes, integrations will stop and need to be rebuilt. Error management is also a potential issue. Developers must address integration errors and have resources available to manage the extra time required for error resolution.

Due to the resources required to implement coded point-to-point integration, it’s common amongst organizations with development teams who have the bandwidth–and budget–to implement, manage, and maintain integrations.

Benefits

• Customizable
• Easy to outsource

Challenges

• Longer time-to-value
• Requires technical resources to manage and maintain
• Lacks endpoint management
• High total cost of ownership
• No visibility for business teams

Explore all the nuances of coded point-to-point integration.

Advanced iPaaS

An advanced iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) offers a single platform for business users and developers alike to integrate applications and automate business processes. While providing the robust capabilities found within a traditional iPaaS including tools for efficient development, execution, and governance of flows, it doesn’t require technical resources to maintain.

With prebuilt integrations that accelerate time-to-value, AI, and an intuitive interface, an advanced iPaaS helps empower business users to build, manage, and monitor integrations. This prevents bottlenecks and allows for greater agility.

By freeing up your IT team to focus on more strategic projects, you can propel digital transformation and accelerate growth. This results in easy adoption of new solutions and rapid innovation for your teams. Plus, with no practical limit to the number of applications, flows, or size of data, this solution is ready to grow with you.

Benefits

• Low total cost of ownership
• Faster time to value
• Enables business users to promote agility and automation
• Optimized efficiency
• Greater scalability

Challenges

• Training business users

iPaaS: Your scalable solution

If you’re looking for a scalable integration solution that provides you with the ability to drive innovation across every team in your organization, iPaaS is the best fit. Unlike coded point-to-point integration, it offers agility and flexibility–while eliminating bottlenecks.

With an iPaaS as the foundation of your IT infrastructure, you can easily scale and adapt to changes in the market. Not only can you accelerate the adoption of new technologies, you can create unified customer experiences and get the data your teams need to make better business decisions.

Contact us today to learn how an iPaaS solution can help you take your business to the next level.