What is iPaaS (integration platform as a service)?

iPaaS enables enterprises to build and deploy integration flows that connect applications and data hosted in public and private clouds and between the cloud and on-premises data centers. iPaaS emerged as a solution to a growing problem in modern enterprises: software as a service (SaaS) sprawl.

SaaS applications are generally designed to be easy to set up, use and deploy, which makes them an attractive option for companies looking to address specific business and administrative needs. However, their ease of use also encourages business teams and departments to buy SaaS apps to meet team and departmental needs, which can create an often-unwieldy ecosystem of cloud-based business applications. Modern enterprise-sized businesses (those with 10,000 employees or more) use roughly 470 SaaS applications.¹

Before iPaaS, companies integrated applications and business processes using custom programming, enterprise middleware or enterprise application integration (EAI) implementations, such as enterprise service bus (ESB) in service-oriented architectures (SOAs).

These integration solutions worked but were often expensive and time-consuming to create and maintain. They also left companies susceptible to data silos (where one part of the organization doesn’t have visibility into another) and broader process inefficiencies, especially as the use of cloud apps, microservices, edge computing and Internet of Things (IoT) devices expanded.

iPaaS cloud integration services provide a solution to the growing challenge of app, data source and service integration in increasingly complex IT environments (such as hybrid cloud and multi-cloud environments). They address enterprise integration and data management challenges by providing tools such as pre-built connectors, maps and transformations that help enterprises orchestrate integration flows and maximize interoperability between disparate systems.

iPaaS solutions can also facilitate B2B integration, IoT integration, cloud integration, event stream integration, managed file transfer, integration between various business platforms and other types of integration.

iPaaS services can help businesses build and maintain automated workflows, with real-time data synchronization that keeps data centralized and analytics up to date. They enable teams to streamline integration and security tasks. Low-code tools that support both integration specialists and citizen developers help save valuable time and scale integration.

iPaaS solutions rely on several key integration features and components to share data across IT environments. Common features of iPaaS solutions include:

Before choosing and implementing an iPaaS solution, organizational leaders assess integration needs and goals. Businesses can use iPaaS platforms for a range of integrations, including apps, data stores, microservices, event streams and more. And because organizations have unique IT architectures—and different iPaaS services are designed to address different integration needs—there’s rarely an out-of-the-box, iPaaS solution that will work for everyone.

Once teams have identified integration use cases, they can choose an iPaaS vendor that meets the organizations needs, and begin the configuration process. Initial iPaaS setup processes will vary based on the iPaaS service a team uses and the types of integrations they’re looking to create, but here’s an example of how an iPaaS data integration might work.

First, the user needs to connect the systems that need to be integrated using the connectors and templates available in the iPaaS platform. For instance, a retailer might choose to connect an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, a customer relationship management (CRM) system and a cloud storage service.

When the systems are connected, the user can design the integration flows, each of which defines the sequence of actions (like extracting data from one system, transforming it and migrating it to another system). At this stage, users also specify the conversion, aggregation and enrichment processes that will govern how data is transformed and mapped between systems.

The iPaaS platform then orchestrates the data exchange, ensuring secure, end-to-end data delivery to consuming applications, or to data warehouses and lakes for later analysis. If the integrations depend on application programming interfaces (APIs), the iPaaS will manage the API calls, handle authentication and make sure data is exchanged securely.

Once the integrations are up and running, teams can view dashboards, receive alerts and analyze data logs to ensure that integrations are functioning optimally and that any issues are diagnosed and resolved promptly. Moreover, many iPaaS solutions are designed to scale with the needs of the organization; the platform can be configured to deploy new resources as data volumes grow or new systems are added.

Businesses can also choose to have in-house IT departments build out custom integrations. Some level of customization might be necessary, depending on business needs, however, it’s often easier and more cost-effective to rely on third-party iPaaS offerings when possible.

iPaaS, ESB and API management technologies all serve important enterprise integration functions. However, ESB and API management vary in their scope and approach to integration.

ESB is an architecture model for building and orchestrating communication between mutually interactive software apps in legacy systems like SOAs, which rely on services to create applications. It uses a bus-like infrastructure to provide a centralized platform for app and service integration. Today’s ESBs can handle SaaS applications, like iPaaS, but they’re best suited for integrating internal, on-premises applications for organizations working with minimal data and few external workloads.

API management is the process of creating, publishing, documenting, monitoring and publishing APIs. Its primary focus is managing and controlling access to APIs and optimizing API performance; and it is most commonly used by organizations that expose data and services through API endpoints. API management alone is best suited for the few business environments where all applications in the ecosystem share the same API.

However, since cloud computing is almost entirely reliant on APIs for data transfer and control, most enterprises benefit from using both iPaaS solutions and API management solutions to manage enterprise integration practices. Many iPaaS platforms include API management solutions.

Both iPaaS and platform as a service (PaaS) are cloud-based computing solutions, but they serve very different purposes.

Whereas iPaaS focuses on enabling app, device and system integration, PaaS provides organizations a platform for building, running and managing applications. It includes the operating systems (OSs) teams need to develop and deploy apps, development tools such as debuggers, version control mechanisms and code editors and middleware (if necessary) to facilitate communication between OSs and applications.

PaaS is often best suited for smaller organizations looking for a comprehensive development environment and for geographically dispersed teams operating across platforms and regions. It can also be helpful for businesses working with limited IT budgets, since PaaS enables teams to build apps without the significant costs that can come with creating in-house development platforms.

iPaaS is generally a better fit for larger organizations and enterprises running complex, dynamic architectures. However, iPaaS services often work in concert with other cloud services, including PaaS.

Like iPaaS, embedded iPaaS (EiPaaS) offers myriad benefits to businesses looking for advanced integration solutions. EiPaaS, however, was designed specifically as a white-label, software-native solution for scalable customer integrations.

EiPaaS services facilitate customer-facing integrations between third-party applications and a vendor’s platform, so that customers can easily link their apps with the vendor’s services. With EiPaaS, clients can build and deploy their own integrations within the provider’s software, or vendors can build integrations on the client’s behalf and allow them to choose which integrations to adopt.

For example, an app developer might provide an integration that enables users to receive notifications and updates from the app in Slack or another messaging app that teams use to communicate.

IPaaS requires IT teams to build and deploy every integration flow. It also focuses entirely on internal workflow and integration automation, making it the preferred solution for businesses prioritizing internal architecture optimization.

iPaaS solutions are designed to simplify and accelerate the integration process across environments, making it easier for organizations to manage complex integration scenarios without extensive custom coding or infrastructure investment. These features can prove useful for data visibility and IT integration across a range of use cases.

iPaaS solutions can provide a single platform for all of an enterprise’s data exchange and integration needs. Platforms are hosted and managed by a cloud provider and offered as a service, and the user can simply subscribe to the platform, choose the tools and services they need for integration and get to work. The service provider handles the rest, including integration tool provisioning, data governance, security, multi-tenancy, hardware maintenance and feature updates.

But implementing iPaaS isn’t without its challenges.

iPaaS deployment can often require a lot of time and forethought, especially in sprawling enterprise-level environments. Businesses with IT environments large enough to warrant iPaaS services will typically have to rely on skilled employees and extensive setup and maintenance practices to optimize integrations. And the more apps and services an organization uses, the more effort data and protocol transformation will require of IT teams.

Complexities notwithstanding, business technologists, citizen and professional developers and integration specialists can all use iPaaS solutions to build integration flows for sharing data within an organization or with multiple companies.

When compared to legacy systems, iPaaS solutions offer businesses several other benefits:

iPaaS enables organizations to compile their data in a centralized location and help minimize the service disruptions caused by app and data incompatibilities between systems.

By leveraging cloud computing, iPaaS can help reduce or eliminate the need for on-premises integration hardware, decreasing both capital expenditure and operational complexity.

Furthermore, iPaaS is specifically designed to facilitate integration. Other cloud services—such as SaaS, PaaS and IaaS—might offer integration capabilities as part of their suite of features, but iPaaS solutions are built with integration as their primary function.

Processes and data are updated and synchronized across applications throughout the organization, so users get the data they need when they need it.

iPaaS solutions can be used to create workflows to connect applications, streamline processes and automate repetitive tasks, so teams can spend more time on higher-value work.

By providing a centralized, virtual platform for connecting apps, services, APIs and data resources across IT environments, iPaaS makes it easier to adopt and roll out digital transformation initiatives quickly.

iPaaS eliminates the need to publish custom APIs or combine APIs from other services. It’s all in the iPaaS platform, so businesses get a more scalable, secure solution for managing APIs throughout the lifecycle.

iPaaS services typically rely on a subscription-based pricing model, where users pay based on usage or number of integrations, making iPaaS more cost-effective and scalable than traditional integration solutions.