Friday, May 17, 2013

Integration As A Service Explained

By Peggie K. Lambert


Integration as a Service (IaaS) is a relative baby among the wide range of cloud-based platforms, tools and applications that are readily available for use by customers. It can be used by a company looking to integrate all their disparate applications and data. This includes everything on-site, on the cloud or accessed as SaaS.

The usual cloud benefits are available, including fast and easy deployment without any need for in-house IT resources. The usage based subscription system eliminates all the upfront costs of integrating and building up redundancy for future growth requirements. The system is highly scalable and can be expanded or reduced as required based on the company's growth.

The development of IaaS is part of an ongoing evolution of cloud-based services, as companies look around for ways to maximize the advantages. Right now, a lot of them are struggling to deal with data silos which are isolated and cut off from other systems the company uses. The applications are scattered around, with some of the critical data still locked up in-house while the rest has been outsourced to different cloud providers.

It's hard enough for companies to keep track of all this and make sure their IT systems remain operational. Developing an integration connector capable of offering users access to all the data from every location and application would take a heck of a lot more expertise and additional resources. Most small and medium scale companies simply do not have such resources.

IaaS providers can deploy the same tool faster and cheaper, and it will be a lot more professional too. There is no percentage in reinventing the wheel when the provider has a spanking new one on the rack, and is offering to install it on to the car for free and handle the required maintenance. Providers not only offer the integration tool, but will also take on the actual process of integrating it with the customer's disparate applications and data.

The provider takes responsibility for upgrades and maintenance. They ensure login protocols, encryption measures and security are maintained as data moves through the tool. The provider also handles the actual process of integrating the company's applications and data.

Once it's over and done with, the data-centric benefits of Integration as a Service start piling up. It reduces the need for duplicate data entry and increases system-wide accuracy, since human errors, delays and oversights are eliminated when data is moved or copied between systems. Users start becoming more productive because there are no geographical or other limitations on when and from where data can be accessed.




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