Five essential iPaaS features for business productivity

David Irecki December 22, 2022 08:31

Nine out of every 10 industry innovations are driven by the use of data at scale. Data is instrumental in breaking through to customers, employees and partners with personalized experiences. Successful market leaders make the process look easy, but in reality, it is not as simple as many businesses think. Data management represents some of the trickiest, but most rewarding paths to navigate on the road to digital innovation.

The sheer volume of data continues to grow exponentially. Data and data sources are squirreled away in increasing numbers, as organizations add applications not designed for enterprise-wide use. Organizations are also increasingly constricted by data governance and privacy requirements, which remain restricted to the realm of IT pros and not the everyday users who desperately need quick access to it.

All these challenges can be quite daunting for the enterprise. As customer expectations continue to change, businesses must begin perceiving employees and suppliers as customers too. Today, customers expect 24-7 uptime, all-encompassing security, business consistency, and truthful information.

Data Management with iPaaS

This is where an integration platform as a service (iPaaS) can make a profound difference. Today, Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region for iPaaS, and is estimated to increase by 25 percent from 2017 to 2024, driven primarily by China, India, and economic powerhouses such as Japan. In East Asia, iPaaS is also experiencing rampant success, fueled by the region's manufacturing and automotive sectors, as well as burgeoning industrialization. Ultimately, the ubiquity of iPaaS in Asia-Pacific has helped companies create the seamless and connected experiences people have come to demand in our world.

A study by Constellation Research revealed that market leaders who transform and disrupt industries do so through technological innovation. Businesses that can harness data can gain the same insights and act quickly to gain a first-mover advantage and run parallel with emerging trends.

In the present business environment, speed and agility are everything, and iPaaS systems, through fast data and application integrations have helped businesses move into the cloud and get rid of technological barriers.

When it comes to choosing the right iPaaS vendors, there are five must-haves when business owners think about long-term strategic connectivity and automation.

1) Cloud Application and API-centric Integration Capabilities
Before businesses can make the most from their iPaaS system, the business must first be on the cloud. Unfortunately, Asia Pacific is still lagging behind in this area, with regulatory conditions and slower market maturity diminishing cloud growth. Yet, for early adopters, massive digital advantages are available for leverage. With the cloud’s growing prevalence, defining integration around cloud-based apps, APIs, and cloud architecture ensures those systems continue to stay nimble and offer the necessary granularity.

2) Strong Data Integration and Governance Features
As the world's second largest economy, China's Data Governance market is expected to grow at a compounded rate of 25.2 percent to reach USD 654.1 million in 2026, highlighting the significance and role of this market for businesses domestically. This is likely accelerated by iPaaS drag-and-drop or point-and-click functionality of trusted and secure software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications that help businesses stay true to their purpose and prevent disruptions that break core functionality.

3) Workflow and Automation Features
The 2020 pandemic forced businesses to shift to a hybrid workplace, as internet penetration in Asia climbed from 55.1 percent in 2020 to 64.1 percent in 2021. Consequently, businesses became hugely interested in the integration of IT applications and services to support a cloud workplace. That is why a platform should go beyond integration to support end-to-end data processes and the automation of manual repetitive tasks.

4) AI and Augmentation to Speed and Ease Integration
The use of Artificial Intelligence is not new to Hong Kong, but has been part of public services for nearly a decade, such as the APPLIES information system (Application and Investigation Easy System), used for the processing of visas, permits, travel passes, as well as registration of births, marriages, deaths and government investigations. This system has enabled the Hong Kong government to expedite workflows and automate decision-making in its day-to-day operations faster than before.

Today, AI provides businesses with the leverage to manage massive amounts of data in a rapidly changing environment without discrimination. As AI can ingest more data than humanly possible, it facilitates the methodical collection and filtration of information into actionable business outcomes. As such, businesses should seek an iPaaS that incorporates technology and improvements from every prior developer and will guide the business in integration-building. The question for CIOs is ‘Does your platform offer data management and analysis with an AI that outputs recommended integrations and workflow developments, while understanding natural language from users?'

5) Solid Customer References
Businesses today need to move at the speed of light， not only in vertical markets but horizontal ones too. An iPaaS provides organizations the flexibility to meet these challenges. By talking with the existing customers of iPaaS vendors, businesses can gain insight into how those solutions can help tackle existing problems. Getting feedback on a potential vendor's support, responsiveness and attitude during service requests, helps business owners understand the capabilities and limitations of those providers.

Smart Connectivity and Intelligent Automation in A Platform

A great platform checks all these five boxes. While many will expound on a market leader position, few will be able to deliver trust and provide customer satisfaction scores and renewal rates. A matured platform would carry its weight and even have a knowledge-based community standing behind it.

A unified platform does more than just integrate your business systems. It empowers businesses to initiate interactions with trading partners efficiently, while intelligently discovering and managing your data seamlessly, transforming workflows from siloed to frictionless, so that organizations are hyper-connected and gain valuable, actionable insights.

As businesses plan for the hybrid and multi-cloud business approach, CIOs need to think deeply about their integration needs - present and future. Consideration for data and application integration is not enough, but will require stakeholders to familiarize themselves and experiment best-fit iPaaS tools. Knowing what solutions other businesses are using in terms of scale, complexity and industry helps fine-tune that decision.

While executives may be tempted to use iPaaS as a short-term solution for project-based management, a long-term perspective would provide a better return on investment as well as clarity on tackling future integration hurdles. In the end, businesses that can leverage a single platform and replicate such success with speed will be well on their way to elevate the business and thrive.

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David Irecki

Director, Solution Consulting – APJ at Boom