We've all experienced how vital it is for companies to be able to connect with employees and customers via digital channels. Digital innovation is essential to ensure the success of your business, but it's not possible to do this without data access and the latest technologies such as cloud computing, machine learning and analytics. To access these technologies, you have to connect a range of platforms, devices, and software.

But integration efforts and digital strategies usually slow down, and teams face a variety of obstacles.

Surmounting Digital Innovation and Integration Challenges

Why is the integration and digital transformation challenging for so many businesses? Because they have to face a wide array of challenges including:

Data Silos Data silos are among the most significant obstacles in the process of digital transformation. 90% of companies are finding data silos to be challenging, according to MuleSoft's 2021 Connectivity Benchmark report. Today, businesses must offer seamless experiences that are difficult without access to data across multiple applications. Join a MuleSoft course to learn more.

Legacy Systems and Tools - Many businesses continue to use outdated tools and technologies. However, integrating these tools with the latest cloud applications tends to be time-consuming, difficult and expensive. It is common to find the latest cloud services that don't connect with older systems and tools. In addition, many integration platforms can't work with cloud-native apps.

Many applications are in use - According to MuleSoft companies use about 843 apps on average and just 29% of these are integrated. Businesses could provide better digital experiences as well as a greater degree of digital innovation if they incorporated all the applications they utilize. But finding a single software platform for integration that contains connectors for all of the applications that you use isn't easy and, in some cases, impossible to achieve.

Rapid expansion of IoT The IoT is growing rapidly. IDC estimates that by 2025, the amount of interconnected IoT devices around the world will rise to 55.7 billion, producing the equivalent of 73.1 ZB of data. The majority of companies are struggling to keep up with the methods we use to generate information and find useful business insights hidden in it. Many are looking to be able to analyze and access huge amounts of data generated by mobile devices and sensors in real-time.

You can solve all of the issues listed above by making the modern platform for integration. This doesn't mean a single integration platform or software from a single supplier when we refer to a modern integration platform. With the number of things that can connect, the old point-to-point integration strategy is no longer feasible.

This means that you mix different integration platforms and tools from various vendors into a solution that meets all your integration requirements.

The components you should include in your Modern Integration Platform

You must include elements within your integration platform that will allow digital innovation throughout your business efficiently. But what are the components you should include? Here are five essential elements you must include within your platform for integration. Check out this MuleSoft training Hyderabad today.

1. API Management

The majority of integration scenarios require APIs. Many companies create APIs internally. If you are building APIs, make sure you incorporate API management into the integration software you choose to use. The solution for managing APIs that you select must allow you to publish, secure and track your APIs to the very least. Ideally, the software will let you effectively manage all of your APIs over their whole lifecycle. If you wish to make use of the latest architectures such as microservices or multicloud, your API management system must be able to handle the use of different API gateways.

2. Self-Service

Traditionally integrations require engineers or developers to create the integration. Nowadays, anyone who is not a techie is able to complete certain integrations using an online self-service interface, and minimal supervision from IT. IT department. Self-service lets you increase innovation through simplifying integration, eliminating the silos of data and the long wait to process IT requests. There are many integration platform as service (iPaaS) solutions that have built-in connectors as well as an interface that can be accessed with a click that allows you to allow self-service integration. Self-service should be included as part of your API management by providing the developers with an online portal to immediately gain access to the APIs you offer as well as the tools needed to utilize the APIs.

3. Connectors / Adapters

Contact an integration expert in any business if they employ tools or applications that are older. They'll probably say yes, as businesses are often slow in adopting new digital tools. APIs are a great way to upgrade legacy systems, but you may require adapters to display functionality within the system, allow certain protocols or execute tasks like converting formats for data. Incorporating a range of adapters and connectors within your integration platform can assist you in simplifying the process of integration, and permit users to integrate older systems faster with modern software. Certain integration software providers offer connectors pre-built for both older and new SaaS applications. But, you might need to collaborate with several vendors to include all the connectors and adapters that you need.

3. B2B A2B EDI Integration

EDI has been in use for over fifty years, and a lot of businesses still use it. When you design the platform for integration, it is important to think about the possibility of both API as well as EDI integrations for B2B transactions. Many companies continue to use EDI as it's an efficient and reliable method to exchange business documents and it handles complex payloads that are batched well. APIs enable you to integrate real-time capabilities into B2B applications , and to connect almost any device, app, or system. APIs can be used to supplement EDI. For instance the health insurance company can utilize an API to determine the eligibility of its members in real-time and, if eligible then utilize EDI to send the claim for reimbursement. There are many scenarios in which it is beneficial to make use of APIs and EDI in conjunction.

5. Streaming Integration

IDC estimates that in 2025, the global datasphere will be 175 zettabytes of data as well as 30% of this data will be real-time. Many organizations have difficulty collecting and analyzing data from real-time in ways that greatly enhance their business. They require technology that will enable their systems to take in the data streams at fast speeds , and from various sources. Additionally, they need the capability to transform, enhance, and analyze the streaming data. Incorporating streaming integration into your platform will enable you to make use of live streaming information. There are many integration platforms that don't just provide streaming and events, but also facilitate the consolidation of huge volumes of data in real time.

Integration Solutions are available in many types

There are many options available regarding tools and integration software. For instance, you can combine API management B2B gateway, iPaaS and applications integration platforms to make one perfect integration solution. The right mix of these products might be difficult however, we are able to assist you in creating an integration platform that is suited to your particular business.

We have extensive knowledge of various Integration platforms as well as vendors and we offer complete integration services to help you maximize your capabilities and improve results. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require support with any integration problems and requirements.