General
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Radzivon Alkhovik
Low-code automation enthusiast
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Key Takeaways:
iPaaS, a cloud-based integration platform, offers benefits like faster integration and scalability, but faces challenges such as data privacy concerns, with future trends including low-code/no-code capabilities and integration of emerging technologies.
When I moved to Poland from the United States a few years ago for a project, the language barrier made it difficult to get into groups and work efficiently. In the same way, apps face language barriers, too. This leads to them being unable to communicate to form a smooth work process.
The anecdote above helps you understand iPaaS and the problems it solves. iPaaS stands for ‘integration platform as a service,’ a platform that helps the integration process in an organization. It came about as the answer to the cloud computing boom and has been assisting organizations in integrating their applications without needing extra hardware.
This way, it is easier for apps to share data between themselves and connect the workflow according to your specific requirements.
Vynz Research estimates that the global iPaaS market will grow to around $10.3 billion by 2025, which suggests rapid development in the sub-industry in a very short amount of time.
Boomi coined the acronym iPaas near the end of the 2000s. It was introduced to replace the traditional approach to data integration, the ETL method (Extract, Transfer, Load). Today, users of companies like Latenode, a low-code platform, are taking that iPaaS concept and making it even more accessible with their low-code approach.
The best part about Latenode is that you don't have to be a coding ninja to build and manage integrations. Their user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface puts that power into the hands of pretty much anyone, even non-techies. So businesses can be way more agile and responsive to changing needs, instead of being held back waiting for specialized developers.
But it's not just about the low-code factor. Latenode also hooks you up with pre-built connectors and templates, so you can hit the ground running connecting different apps and data sources, without having to start from scratch. That's a huge time-saver and really streamlines the whole integration process.
Another awesome thing is scalability. Since Latenode lives in the cloud, you can scale up or down based on your integration demands, no need to make big hardware investments upfront. And it's super flexible too, supporting all kinds of integration use cases across different industries.
At the end of the day, Latenode's low-code iPaaS approach just makes integrations so much smoother and more collaborative between techies and non-techies alike. It empowers businesses to be nimble and competitive in our fast-paced digital world. Pretty cool if you ask me!
But, what’s the difference between the two?
Well, I will tell you about the ETL method first. This one started when I wasn’t born yet, back in the 1970s. And it helped load and transform data in batches. I can tell that it got its job done – but nothing more. iPaaS, as I will tell you, is a much-improved framework. It processes data in real-time with little necessity for code. And this makes it a much more accessible solution for people who want a low- to no-code alternative.
If I had to explain simply, ETL works by sourcing data from the different apps and transforming them into a new format, such as a database. As I mentioned above, each app has a different way of storing data, which doesn’t always align with the other apps being used by an organization. An iPaaS integrates your data systems and data across different platforms, which helps make your workflow smoother.
Most companies need specific features from their iPaaS client to help them improve their workflow. Below, I’ll outline some of the features that you’ll find in any good iPaaS platform:
Now, let me tell you why an iPaaS software will only become more important. As businesses use more SaaS tools and applications than ever before, it’s very easy to get lost in heaps of data, especially when dealing with a lot of records.
Speed has become the mantra to success, and we can’t achieve it when we’re searching or tallying data for the better part of an hour. The software helps accomplish this by ensuring that business processes are optimized for speed.
When all your data is accessible centrally, controlling who accesses it is also easier. Since there aren’t singular point-to-point connections between the different apps teams use, the number of vulnerabilities is also reduced.
I’ll illustrate my point with an example to make this easier to understand. Maintaining customer records in Excel and contacting them via Gmail can be an entry-level solution for running a small business. But when you store each record on a platform like ClickUp and need to reach out to specific types of customers differently via MailChimp, it won’t be as easy, especially when you have a list of over 50,000.
In such a situation, the best solution is to use iPaaS to make your data visible on all platforms to reach customers easily.
Businesses are now moving past dedicated in-house teams responsible for integrating individual APIs with code. With an effective iPaaS solution, people with a basic understanding of tech can set up and maintain automation and integrations.
The benefit is twofold. Firstly, businesses can now reduce the time needed to integrate apps with little to no delay. Secondly, outsourcing their specific IT needs saves a lot of money.
Here’s the bonus - it also offers a combined solution to integration and automation, something that’s in demand among businesses across the board. It enables individual departments to purchase and incorporate new apps into their workflow without collaborating with an external IT department.
An iPaaS provider hosts the application servers and infrastructure data on the cloud. They also use middleware, or software that bridges the gap between two different applications to make it easier to build, test and deploy programs. Customers receive an iPaaS as a service, usually in the form of a subscription. They can select the services and apps they need to integrate from an online dashboard.
Integrated platform as a service providers use pre-built connectors to create integrations that align with business rules and follow a logical flow. Centralizing data on the cloud can facilitate the real-time exchange of data across the various applications connected to the source.
Here are some of the benefits of using these automated tools to streamline your workflow:
Now, let’s understand the challenges:
Here are some practical cases of iPaaS being used:
I will tell you why I think integrated platform services is the future trend we need to watch out for. For one, I have read a number of market studies. And they say the same thing - iPaaS integration is on the rise over the coming decade.
And why is that? Well, that’s because we just got started! The technology will only get smarter. So, we can expect to see a lot of AI and machine learning integrated into the iPaaS infrastructure. Repetitive patterns in your business can be automated completely as machine learning becomes more efficient.
In addition, AI will be able to scan and analyze the data collected to suggest possible solutions to problems. The rise of IoT will also significantly impact the future of iPaaS.
Again, let me illustrate with an example from the healthcare industry. If your vitals are being recorded by an oximeter, the data and diagnosis will be recorded directly in patient management software in real-time, without human intervention. This means there will be no need to enter the data across multiple platforms manually.
The patients can access their medical records on the site's front end, while the hospital or healthcare provider can do so on the back end in real-time.
With departments across organizations having the freedom to subscribe to their software selection, it’s more important than ever for these tools to collaborate. IPaaS is the most effective solution to make things smooth, as it eliminates the need for P2P connections and API code integration. In addition, it adds increased security and automation, which meets the needs of the hour for businesses.
And that’s what I will tell you businesses need to stay competitive in the fast-paced modern market. Our workflow needs to be optimized for efficiency and speed. And adopting iPaaS helps do just that. It makes integrations among SaaS tools so much easier. This is a no-brainer, honestly, especially owing to its growth potential in the near future.
With IoT, AI and ML becoming more prevalent, iPaaS is destined to become more valuable and indispensable, and early adopters will surely be a step ahead in the game.
Market research that I did points to some significant numbers. Like the study by Verified Market Research for example. They say that the total revenue is expected to reach $61 billion in valuation by 2030, signalling a massive growth potential for the industry.
No, legacy iPaaS tools might not be able to provide automation for business processes. However, newer tools ensure customers receive integration and automation for the same service.
The aim for any integration platform as a service is to forecast trends and decode patterns. As the world is going to use more of A.I., this will come in more useful. It will help businesses prevent poor data use and enable better integration of IPaaS between services.
