Why iPaaS and a hybrid IT environment are essential for business transformation
iPaaS and a hybrid IT environment are critical for modern business transformation. iPaaS enables seamless integration of cloud and on-premises systems, ensuring real-time data flow and efficiency. A hybrid IT approach balances scalability, cost-efficiency, and reliability, empowering organisations to innovate, optimise processes, and adapt quickly in a dynamic digital landscape.
But what is driving this requirement?
Business transformation
Organisations face unprecedented challenges and opportunities in the forthcoming years driven by rapid technological advancements, shifting consumer behaviours, and global economic uncertainties. Business transformation is no longer optional; it is a strategic imperative for survival and success.
Digital technologies such as AI, IoT, and blockchain are reshaping industries, making it essential for organisations to adopt innovative processes, systems, and hybrid IT environments.
Customers now demand hyper-personalised experiences, instant gratification, and seamless service, requiring businesses to exploit data-driven insights and automation to meet these expectations. Companies that fail to transform risk becoming obsolete in a market where agility and adaptability are key differentiators.
Business transformation also prepares organisations to respond to global disruptions such as economic instability, geopolitical shifts, and supply chain crises.
As a result, organisations need to rethink strategies, processes, and technologies to future-proof operations, achieve operational excellence, and nurture a culture of continuous innovation, ensuring resilience and growth in 2025 and beyond. The pace of change demands that businesses evolve — or risk irrelevance.
1 billion new logical apps in existence by 2028
Another major factor that is driving the requirement for hybrid IT environments is the explosive growth in application development driven by advances in technology, democratisation of software creation, and the increasing reliance on digital solutions across industries.
This trend is primarily fuelled by low-code/no-code platforms, AI-driven development, and the growing need for tailored, flexible applications in a hybrid IT world.
Astonishingly, a recent report by IDC, a leading market intelligence firm, predicted that 1 billion new logical apps will be in existence by 2028, which will have profound implications across technology, business and society, fundamentally reshaping how organisations operate and innovate.
What are logical apps?
Logical apps are software applications designed to fulfil specific business, operational, or consumer needs. Unlike traditional applications, logical apps are often lightweight, modular, and created using modern development methodologies, such as:
- Low-Code/No-Code Platforms: Allowing non-technical users or “citizen developers” to create apps through drag-and-drop interfaces and pre-built modules.
- Composable Applications: Assembling pre-existing components or microservices into new, functional apps.
The growth of logical apps isn’t just about large enterprise-grade apps but also smaller, focused apps solving niche problems.
One significant implication of this growth is the increased complexity of IT ecosystems. Organisations will need advanced tools and platforms to integrate, manage, and maintain billions of applications seamlessly. Hybrid IT environments, combining on-premises and cloud-based systems, will need to become standard, requiring robust integration frameworks such as iPaaS to ensure interoperability and efficiency.
Cloud adoption
The growing adoption of cloud computing is another driving force behind the demand for hybrid IT. Businesses are increasingly moving workloads to the cloud to enhance scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency.
According to Gartner, cloud computing will shift from being a technology disruptor to becoming a necessary component for maintaining business competitiveness by 2028. It predicts that more than 50% of enterprises will use industry cloud platforms by 2028 to accelerate their business initiatives.
“While many organisations have started to seize the technical advantages of cloud, only a few have unlocked its full potential in supporting business transformation. As a result, organisations are using the cloud to launch a new wave of disruption driven by artificial intelligence (AI), enabling them to unlock business value at scale,” said Milind Govekar, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner.
Although cloud adoption is very high, many organisations still rely on legacy systems or need on-premises solutions for security, compliance, or latency-sensitive applications.
Hybrid IT bridges this gap by enabling seamless integration of cloud and traditional environments. As cloud adoption accelerates, the need for hybrid IT rises, offering businesses a balanced, adaptable, and efficient infrastructure to meet their unique operational and regulatory needs.
It is therefore no surprise that Gartner predicts that 90% of organisations will adopt a hybrid cloud approach through 2027, and the most urgent GenAI challenge necessary to address over the next year will be data synchronisation across the hybrid cloud environment.
“Cloud use cases continue to expand with increasing focus on distributed, hybrid, cloud-native, and multi-cloud environments supported by a cross-cloud framework, making the public cloud services market achieve a 21.5% growth in 2025,” said Sid Nag, Vice President Analyst at Gartner.
What is a hybrid IT environment?
A hybrid IT environment is a strategic approach to managing information technology (IT) infrastructure that combines traditional on-premises systems with cloud-based solutions, including both public and private clouds.
This setup allows organisations to distribute workloads, applications, and data across multiple platforms based on their unique requirements, striking a balance between control, flexibility and scalability.
In a hybrid IT environment, the different components — on-premises infrastructure, private clouds, and public clouds — work together seamlessly, creating a unified system.
Key characteristics of a hybrid IT environment
- Combination of platforms: A hybrid IT environment uses a mix of on-premises data centres, private cloud solutions, and public cloud services to create a diversified infrastructure.
- Workload optimisation: Organisations can allocate workloads to the most suitable environment. For example, high-performance computing tasks may use the scalability of public clouds, while regulatory-sensitive workloads remain on-premises.
- Integrated management: Advanced tools and platforms are used to integrate and manage hybrid environments, ensuring that all components work in harmony and that resources are allocated efficiently.
- Flexibility and scalability: The hybrid model allows businesses to scale up or down quickly by utilising public cloud resources, while maintaining predictable and stable environments for critical operations.
This integration enables businesses to exploit the advantages of each platform while mitigating their respective limitations.
For instance, critical and sensitive workloads can be hosted on-premises or in private clouds for greater control and security, while less-sensitive workloads or those requiring scalability can be deployed in public clouds.
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Why do you need a hybrid IT environment?
The rapid evolution of technology, combined with the growing demand for flexibility, scalability, and efficiency, has driven businesses to explore diverse IT strategies. Among these, the hybrid IT environment stands out as a powerful solution that balances the advantages of traditional on-premises systems with the agility of cloud-based services.
A hybrid IT environment refers to the integration of on-premises infrastructure, private clouds, and public clouds into a unified system. This model allows businesses to allocate workloads, data, and applications across different platforms, depending on their specific needs and goals.
Below, we highlight 10 reasons why organisations need a hybrid IT environment and how it can revolutionise their IT operations.
1. Flexibility to adapt to changing needs
New technologies, market demands, and customer expectations require IT systems that can evolve quickly. A hybrid IT environment offers the flexibility to adjust resources dynamically, combining the stability of on-premises systems with the scalability of cloud solutions.
For instance, organisations can use public cloud services to manage peak workloads during busy seasons while maintaining their critical applications on-premises for enhanced control. This adaptability ensures that IT systems can grow or shrink as needed without over-committing resources.
2. Cost efficiency
Cost management is a top priority for organisations when building and maintaining IT infrastructure. Traditional on-premises systems often require significant capital expenditure (CapEx) to acquire and maintain hardware, software and facilities. Conversely, public cloud solutions operate on a pay-as-you-go model, which minimises upfront costs and aligns spending with actual usage.
Adopting a hybrid IT approach enables businesses to strategically distribute workloads based on cost efficiency. For example, non-sensitive data and applications can be stored in a cost-effective public cloud, while sensitive or frequently accessed data remains in on-premises systems. This optimisation reduces overall IT expenditure while maximising return on investment (ROI).
3. Improved performance and reliability
In a hybrid IT environment, organisations can benefit from the strengths of both on-premises and cloud-based systems to achieve superior performance and reliability. Applications and data can be hosted where they perform best. For instance:
- Latency-sensitive applications can be run on-premises to minimise delays and ensure a seamless user experience.
- Resource-intensive workloads, such as data analytics, can benefit from the elastic computing power of public clouds.
Additionally, hybrid environments often include built-in redundancies that enhance system reliability. If one part of the infrastructure experiences downtime, workloads can be shifted to an alternative platform to maintain uninterrupted operations.
4. Seamless integration of legacy systems
Many organisations rely on legacy systems that cannot be easily migrated to the cloud. These systems may support mission-critical operations or contain valuable historical data. Replacing them outright can be costly and disruptive.
A hybrid IT environment allows businesses to integrate legacy systems with modern cloud solutions, creating a cohesive ecosystem. Bridging the gap between old and new technologies means that organisations can modernise their operations without abandoning their existing investments. This hybrid approach ensures continuity while enabling gradual digital transformation.
5. Scalability and elasticity
One of the most significant advantages of cloud computing is its scalability. However, not all workloads require the infinite elasticity of the cloud. A hybrid IT environment enables businesses to scale their resources based on demand, combining the scalability of the cloud with the stability of on-premises systems.
For example, during high-demand periods, businesses can use the cloud to handle increased workloads without investing in additional on-premises infrastructure. Once demand subsides, resources can be scaled back, saving costs.
6. Support for innovation and agility
In today’s competitive market, innovation is key to staying ahead. A hybrid IT environment provides the infrastructure businesses need to experiment, innovate, and adapt quickly. Public cloud platforms offer tools and services for emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and Internet of Things (IoT).
With hybrid IT, organisations can test and deploy new applications in the cloud without disrupting their on-premises operations. This agility allows them to bring products and services to market faster, respond to customer feedback more effectively, and capitalise on emerging opportunities.
7. Global reach with local control
For multinational organisations, managing IT infrastructure across diverse regions poses unique challenges. Hybrid IT allows businesses to deploy applications and data closer to end-users using cloud platforms, improving performance and compliance with local regulations.
At the same time, centralised on-premises systems ensure consistent control and oversight. This global-local approach enables organisations to balance performance, compliance and governance on a global scale.
8. Vendor independence
Relying on a single IT vendor can create risks related to pricing, service availability, and flexibility. A hybrid IT environment mitigates this risk by allowing organisations to diversify their infrastructure across multiple vendors and platforms.
Using a mix of on-premises systems, private clouds, and public clouds, means that businesses can avoid vendor lock-in and maintain greater bargaining power. This approach also ensures access to the best features and services from different providers.
9. Enhanced security and compliance
Data security and regulatory compliance are critical concerns for organisations, particularly in industries like healthcare, finance, and government. While public clouds offer advanced security measures, some businesses are hesitant to rely entirely on third-party platforms for their most sensitive data.
A hybrid IT environment provides a balanced solution. Sensitive information can be stored in secure on-premises systems or private clouds, giving businesses greater control over their data. Meanwhile, less sensitive workloads can be handled by public clouds without compromising security. This approach helps organisations meet compliance requirements while taking advantage of cloud innovation.
10. Future-proofing IT investments
Technology evolves rapidly, and organisations must prepare for the future without overhauling their IT infrastructure every few years. A hybrid IT environment is inherently future-proof, as it supports gradual integration of new technologies and platforms.
Organisations can adopt a hybrid model today and continue to adapt as their needs change. Whether they choose to migrate more workloads to the cloud or retain on-premises systems, the hybrid approach provides the flexibility needed to stay competitive in the long term.
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How iPaaS supports today’s hybrid IT environments
As businesses increasingly adopt hybrid IT environments, the complexity of managing diverse systems, applications, and data sources has become a significant challenge.
Integrating on-premises infrastructure, private clouds, and public cloud services requires robust solutions that streamline communication between disparate components. Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) has emerged as a transformative tool to address these challenges.
Designed to simplify and accelerate integration, iPaaS plays a pivotal role in modern hybrid IT environments by addressing challenges related to unified data management, seamless integration, process automation, API management, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI).
Here’s a closer look at how iPaaS can transform hybrid IT landscapes into cohesive, agile ecosystems.
Streamlining integration across platforms
Hybrid IT environments involve a mix of legacy systems, SaaS applications, cloud platforms, and emerging technologies. Integrating these systems is complex, often requiring significant time and resources. Traditional integration approaches, such as point-to-point connections, are unsustainable in this dynamic environment.
iPaaS revolutionises integration by offering a scalable and modular solution. With prebuilt connectors and drag-and-drop tools, iPaaS makes it easy to integrate systems without extensive coding. It also provides support for diverse protocols and formats, enabling compatibility across older systems and modern platforms.
For instance, an organisation might use a legacy ERP system on-premises while using a cloud-based CRM platform. With iPaaS, these systems can be seamlessly integrated, ensuring that customer data is synchronised across both platforms. This reduces the manual effort required for data reconciliation and eliminates errors caused by data fragmentation.
Additionally, iPaaS ensures that integrations are resilient and can adapt to changes in the IT landscape. For example, if a company migrates its CRM system from on-premises software to a cloud-based solution, iPaaS allows seamless reconfiguration without disrupting operations. This flexibility makes it an essential component of hybrid IT strategies.
Centralised integration management
Managing multiple integrations in a hybrid IT environment can be overwhelming without a centralised approach. iPaaS provides a unified dashboard for monitoring and controlling integrations, allowing IT teams to oversee data flow and troubleshoot issues from a single interface.
This centralised management simplifies the maintenance of complex integrations, reduces downtime, and enhances overall system performance. Furthermore, many iPaaS solutions include analytics and reporting tools, enabling businesses to gain insights into their integration performance and identify opportunities for optimisation.
Reducing IT complexity and cost
iPaaS consolidates integration tools and processes into a single platform, helping to reduce the complexity of managing hybrid IT environments. This simplicity translates into cost savings, as organisations no longer need to invest in multiple integration solutions or dedicate extensive resources to maintaining custom integrations.
Additionally, the cloud-based nature of iPaaS eliminates the need for on-premises hardware or infrastructure, further reducing costs. Businesses can subscribe to iPaaS services on a pay-as-you-go basis, aligning their expenses with actual usage.
Facilitating legacy system modernisation
Hybrid IT environments often include legacy systems that are critical to operations but lack modern integration capabilities. iPaaS helps bridge the gap between these systems and newer cloud-based platforms, allowing organisations to modernise their IT infrastructure without a complete overhaul.
For example, a manufacturing company using an outdated supply chain management system can integrate it with a cloud-based analytics platform through iPaaS. This integration enables the company to gain insights into supply chain performance without replacing the legacy system.
Supporting API-led connectivity
Many modern applications and systems in hybrid IT environments rely on APIs for integration. iPaaS platforms are designed to work seamlessly with APIs, enabling businesses to connect systems using API-led connectivity. This approach simplifies the integration process and enhances the flexibility of IT environments.
iPaaS simplifies API management by providing a unified platform for creating, monitoring, and securing APIs. Businesses can use iPaaS to expose legacy system functionalities as APIs, enabling them to integrate seamlessly with newer applications. This not only extends the lifespan of legacy systems but also accelerates digital transformation efforts.
In addition, iPaaS offers tools for API orchestration, allowing businesses to combine multiple APIs into composite services. For example, a financial services provider can use iPaaS to integrate APIs from payment gateways, customer data platforms, and fraud detection systems into a single workflow for processing transactions. This ensures reliability, scalability and security in hybrid IT environments.
Unified data across platforms
In hybrid IT environments, data often resides in various formats across different systems. iPaaS ensures that data is consistent and of high quality by transforming, mapping, and validating data as it moves between systems. This is particularly important for organisations that rely on accurate data for decision-making.
iPaaS simplifies data unification by creating a central hub for managing data flows between systems. Through prebuilt connectors and customisable workflows, iPaaS allows organisations to synchronise data across platforms. It eliminates silos, ensuring that decision-makers have access to accurate and consistent information regardless of its source.
For instance, a retailer operating both physical stores and an online platform can use iPaaS to unify sales data from point-of-sale systems and eCommerce platforms. This consolidated view enables better inventory management, customer insights, and personalised marketing campaigns. By enabling unified data across hybrid environments, iPaaS ensures that businesses can make data-driven decisions with speed and confidence.
Enabling real-time integration
iPaaS also supports real-time integration, ensuring that data flows between systems instantly and without delays. This capability is critical for scenarios such as inventory management, where up-to-the-minute data is necessary to prevent stockouts or overstocking.
Real-time integration also enhances customer experiences. For instance, when a customer updates their information in a mobile app, iPaaS ensures that this update is immediately reflected in the CRM and other relevant systems, enabling seamless interactions.
Process automation for efficiency
Manual processes can hinder productivity and increase operational costs, especially in environments where systems do not communicate effectively. Process automation is critical to overcoming these inefficiencies, and iPaaS provides the tools to automate workflows across hybrid IT environments.
iPaaS enables businesses to automate routine tasks, such as data entry, file transfers, and notifications.
Moreover, iPaaS supports advanced automation scenarios by integrating with business process management (BPM) or business process automation tools. It enables conditional logic, triggers, and exception handling, ensuring that processes run smoothly even in complex environments. By embracing automation through iPaaS, businesses can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and focus on strategic initiatives.
Driving innovation and agility
iPaaS enables organisations to innovate by providing the tools they need to integrate emerging technologies into their hybrid IT environments. For example, businesses can connect IoT devices, artificial intelligence (AI) applications, or machine learning (ML) models to their existing systems through iPaaS, unlocking new opportunities for growth and efficiency.
This capability enhances organisational agility, allowing businesses to adapt quickly to technological advancements and changing market conditions. Whether it’s launching a new digital product or optimising internal processes, iPaaS supports innovation by enabling seamless integration.
Enhancing capabilities with artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a game-changer for businesses seeking to innovate and optimise operations. From predictive analytics to natural language processing, AI applications are becoming integral to competitive strategies. However, integrating AI into hybrid IT environments can be daunting due to the complexity of data pipelines and system interoperability.
iPaaS bridges this gap by facilitating AI integration across hybrid systems. It enables businesses to connect AI platforms with existing data sources and applications, creating seamless workflows that harness the power of machine learning models.
For instance, an eCommerce company can use iPaaS to integrate an AI-powered recommendation engine with its CRM and inventory systems, delivering personalised shopping experiences while optimising stock levels.
Additionally, iPaaS enhances AI projects by ensuring high-quality, unified data — a critical requirement for effective machine learning. Through automated data cleansing, transformation, and enrichment, iPaaS ensures that AI models are trained on accurate and comprehensive datasets. This integration empowers businesses to unlock the full potential of AI in hybrid IT environments.
Image: A typical scenario using iPaaS to integrate on-premises with cloud-based applications and services
Why iPaaS needs to be a hybrid integration platform
In today’s enterprises, IT infrastructure is increasingly complex, often spanning multiple environments that cater to diverse operational needs.
While iPaaS traditionally focused on connecting cloud-based systems, the evolving IT landscape demands a more versatile solution: a hybrid integration platform that supports both on-premises and cloud-based integrations. This hybrid capability is crucial for businesses operating in hybrid IT environments, where legacy systems coexist with modern cloud solutions.
On-premises systems, including legacy applications, databases, and proprietary platforms, remain integral to critical functions in industries such as finance, manufacturing and retail, where reliability and control are paramount.
Alongside these, cloud-based solutions — whether public or private — offer unmatched scalability, agility, and cost-efficiency, enabling organisations to innovate and adapt more quickly.
Adding further complexity, the rise of edge computing and IoT technologies has introduced a need to integrate vast networks of devices and disparate data sources, amplifying the challenge of maintaining a cohesive infrastructure.
A hybrid IT environment allows businesses to harness the unique strengths of these varied systems, combining the stability and control of on-premises solutions with the flexibility and scalability of the cloud and the innovation of edge technologies. However, this diversity also creates significant integration challenges.
Seamless connectivity across these platforms is essential to ensure consistent performance, data integrity, and operational efficiency. To achieve this, organisations require a hybrid-capable iPaaS that can bridge gaps, unify systems, and enable the fluid exchange of information across their entire IT ecosystem.
Key features of a hybrid iPaaS
- Pre-built connectors: For both cloud and on-premises applications.
- Unified management: A single interface for monitoring and controlling integrations.
- Security and compliance: Ensures secure data transfers across environments while meeting regulatory requirements.
- API-led integration: Supports seamless connectivity through API-driven architecture.
iPaaS must be unified to effectively address the complex and diverse integration needs of modern organisations. A unified iPaaS consolidates multiple integration patterns — such as application-to-application (A2A), business-to-business (B2B), data integration, and API management — within a single cohesive platform.
This approach eliminates the inefficiencies and silos created by using disparate tools for different integration scenarios. By providing a shared foundation, it ensures consistency across all integration workflows, reducing redundancy and streamlining processes.
Shared control and governance are critical aspects of a unified iPaaS. Centralised governance enables organisations to establish and enforce integration standards, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, security protocols, and internal policies.
With consistent oversight, businesses can monitor and manage data flows, APIs, and workflows more effectively, minimising risks such as unauthorised access, data breaches, or misaligned configurations. Shared control also fosters collaboration among IT teams, developers and business users, providing visibility into integration activities while maintaining centralised authority.
Portability is another key benefit of a unified iPaaS. As businesses increasingly operate in hybrid and multi-cloud environments, the ability to move integrations seamlessly across platforms is vital.
A unified solution ensures that integration components, such as APIs, connectors and workflows, are portable and adaptable to different environments without significant reconfiguration. This flexibility allows businesses to respond quickly to changing needs, whether it’s migrating to a new cloud provider, expanding to new regions, or accommodating evolving customer demands.
Bringing together diverse integration patterns under shared control, governance and portability, empowers organisations to build more resilient, scalable, and efficient integration ecosystems. This holistic approach not only accelerates digital transformation but also supports sustainable growth and innovation.
For more information on the benefits of iPaaS, data integration or business process automation, and how they can help your business implement a hybrid IT environment, download the brochure below or call us on +44(0) 330 99 88 700.
