Hybrid Integration
The majority of organisations run a plethora of business applications ranging from on-premises accounting and ERP systems to cloud-based, pre or custom built Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications. Regardless of an on-premises or cloud-based location, each application stores relevant information and transaction-based data within its individual operations and trading environments.
Cloud-based, SaaS applications are predominately introduced to a business to aid individual department requirements and provide flexibility, scalability and agility. As a result, each system or SaaS solution achieves what is required of it for a specific purpose. Unfortunately, however, these products often work in isolation. This remoteness can cause noticeable productivity and process issues that can place added strains on an organisation. How can a business reduce these strains?
Hybrid Cloud Integration: The Growing Requirement
As more cloud-based SaaS solutions find their way into your company the demand for real-time, cross-platform data increases. The rising challenge of manually monitoring, extracting and presenting data from multiple, disconnected databases reduces the initial advantage of decreased costs, flexibility, scalability and agility.
Including your cloud-based applications in a hybrid environment, where it is empowered with increased flexibility to synchronise its distinct data sets with on premise systems, ensures that each business application is used to its maximum capability. This helps to reduce manual administration tasks and improve company performance.
Irrespective of being on premises or cloud-based, most applications are designed to provide flexible and easy to use frameworks with clear functionality for API integration with third-party software. With the demand for data to be readily available becoming a necessity, the demand for cloud to on premises integration is becoming increasingly evident.
Hybrid Integration Strategy Considerations
It is likely that if you have a combination of cloud and on-premises solutions you are seeing delays in processes and issues arising across your business. It is probably time for you to consider your hybrid integration strategy. But where do you start?
Things to consider when creating a hybrid cloud integration strategy:
- Note your cloud applications and on premise systems (ERP, CRM, WMS, MRP etc.)
- Detail their existing processes, mappings and database formats
- Do your business partners have any on premise or cloud applications that you regularly need to synchronise data with?
- Is platform integration to all accessible business applications available through an API or is it to be processed via CSV file?
- How will data management between business and partner applications be addressed?
The goal when defining your cloud and on premises integration strategy is to create a fully streamlined business environment, enabling disparate systems and applications to talk to each other to reduce development times, eradicate manual administration tasks, improve business processes and productivity. Lastly, don’t forget that it is all about adding agility to your existing business software and providing you with the flexibility to grow with your business, regardless of the number of cloud or on-premises applications you have now or in the future.
Hybrid Cloud Integration Platform
Cloud and on-premises platform integration can be an extremely time-consuming and complex project to embark upon. Codeless Platforms provides businesses with a drag and drop data integration platform that enables businesses to create a hybrid cloud integration platform to their exact business requirements without the need for costly bespoke integration development.
For more information on how to integrate your cloud and on-premises business applications download the brochure below or call us on +44 (0)330 998 8700.
