IT 3 INTEGRATIVE PRORAMMING & TECHNOLOGIES

System Integration: Types, Approaches, business insights to make good decisions

more rapidly.
and Implementation Steps
Cost-effectiveness.
- Using different IT components for - More often than not, system integration
different tasks is a common practice. But comes at a lower cost than replacing all
as business functions expand, disjointed parts with a new single system.
companies may become overwhelmed Not to mention the tricky
process of implementing new computer
by lots of disjointed tools that can’t share infrastructures.
data and work together. That’s when
system integration comes to the rescue.
In this article, we’ll examine existing Common types of system integration that
methods and technologies to meld meet different business needs.
separate pieces of software and
hardware into a single ecosystem, - LEGACY SYSTEM INTEGRATION
touching on key integration steps and
Goal: integration of modern
the role of a system integrator.
applications into existing outdated
What is system integration and systems
when do you need it? - Many organizations use outdated
software to perform their core business
- System integration is the process of
functions. It cannot be removed and
joining software and hardware modules
replaced with more modern technology
into one cohesive infrastructure,
enabling all pieces to work as a whole. as it is critical to a company’s day-to-
Often referred to as IT integration or day workflow. Instead, legacy systems
software integration, it results in the can be modernized by establishing a
following advantages. communication channel with newer
Increased productivity.
information systems and technology
solutions.
- Integrated systems allow for centralized
control over the daily processes which adds - Example: connecting a legacy CRM
to the efficiency of the entire workflow. A
company gets more work done in less
system to a data warehouse or a
time due to the fact that employees can transportation management system
use all apps and data they need from one
(TMS).
entry point.

More accurate and trustworthy data. 2. ENTERPRISE APPLICATION INTEGRATION

- Data is updated across all components of (EAI)
the system simultaneously, keeping all
departments on the same page. Goal: unification of different
subsystems inside one business
Faster decision-making.
environment.
- Data is no longer scattered across soiled
storages. So, to perform analytics, you - While growing, companies incorporate
don’t need to manually download and export
it to the centralized repository. Instead, with
more and more enterprise applications
a holistic view of all information, you can to streamline their front- and back-
extract useful
office processes. These applications
 IT 3 INTEGRATIVE PRORAMMING & TECHNOLOGIES

often share no points of convergence - Example: connecting a retailer’s

and accumulate huge volumes of data purchasing system to a supplier’s ERP
separately. Enterprise application system. Whatever the situation, the
integration (EAI) brings all functions into main objective of system integration is
one business chain and automates real- always the same — to put the
time data exchange between different fragmented and divided pieces together
applications. by means of building a coherent
- Example: creating one ecosystem for network. Let’s look at existing
accounting, human resources technologies and architecture models
information, inventory management, that make the integration magic
enterprise resource planning (ERP), and happen.
CRM systems of a company.
Ways to connect systems
3. THIRD-PARTY SYSTEM INTEGRATION
There are different ways to achieve connectivity
Goal: expanding functionality of the between separate systems. We’ll review the
existing system most common “connectors” in a nutshell.
- Integration of third-party tools is a great Application programming interfaces
option when your business needs new (APIs) -provide the most common and
functionality but can’t afford custom straightforward way to connect two systems.
software development or just has no Sitting between applications and web services,
time to wait for features to be built they enable the transmission of data and
from scratch. functionality in a standardized format. Most
- Example: integrating an existing online service providers — from social media to
travel platforms — build external APIs so that
application with online payment
clients can easily link to their products.
systems (PayPal, WebMoney), social
media (Facebook, LinkedIn), online Middleware - is the hidden software layer that
video streaming services (YouTube), etc. glues together distributed systems, applications,
services, and devices. It handles different tasks
such as data management, messaging, API
4. BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS INTEGRATION management, or authentication. Cloud
middleware can be accessed via APIs. In turn, an
Goal: connecting systems of two or
API gateway can be considered a type of
more organizations
middleware between a collection of services and
systems using them.
- Business-to-business or B2B integration
automates transactions and document Webhooks - known as HTTP callbacks are
exchange across companies. It leads to real-time messages, sent by one system to
more efficient cooperation and trade another when a certain event happens. Say,
accounting software may receive webhook
with suppliers, customers, and partners.
notifications about transactions from payment
 IT 3 INTEGRATIVE PRORAMMING & TECHNOLOGIES

gateways or online banking systems. EDI — the account the protocols and supported data
abbreviation for electronic data interchange — is models of other integrated components.
the exchange of business information in a - The point-to-point (star/spaghetti)
standard electronic format, that replaces paper
integration architecture.
documents.
- PROS AND CONS: Among the main
EDI - generally happens in two ways: via a advantages of point-to-point integration
value-added network (VAN), in which a third- is the ability of an IT team to build a
party network is in charge of data transmission, small-scale integrated system quite
or direct connections through the Internet. quickly. On the flip side, the model is
hard to scale and the management of all
All these connectors can be mixed and the integrations gets very demanding
leveraged when building complex system when the number of applications grows.
integrations. If companies have unique needs Say, to interconnect six modules you
and requirements for system integration, it’s need to perform 15 integrations. This
better to opt for custom built solutions whether results in the so-called star/spaghetti
they are APIs, webhooks, or middleware. integration.
- WHEN TO USE IT: This approach
suits companies that don’t have complex
HOW TO APPROACH SYSTEM business logic and run their operations
INTEGRATION on just a few software modules. It is also
a perfect option for businesses aiming at
System integration is multifaceted and can be connecting to SaaS applications.
approached through different architectural
models, depending on the number and nature
of components that need to be connected.

1. Point-to-point model Point-to-point

integration (P2P)
- the architectural pattern in which every
system is directly connected to all other
systems and apps it needs to work in
tandem and share information with. This
model can be realized via APIs,
webhooks, or custom code.
- With a point-to-point connection, data is
extracted from one system, modified or
formatted, and then sent to another 2. Hub-and-spoke model The hub-and-
system. Each application implements all spoke model
the logic for data translation, - more advanced type of integration
transformation, and routing, taking into architecture that addresses the issues of
point-to-point and helps to avoid the
IT 3 INTEGRATIVE PRORAMMING & TECHNOLOGIES

star/spaghetti mess. The connections

between all subsystems are handled by a
central hub (message broker), so they
don’t communicate with each other
directly.
- The hub serves as a message-oriented
middleware with a centralized
integration engine to translate operations
into a single canonical language and
route messages to the right destinations. 3. Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) model
The spokes (adapters) connecting the - The ESB architecture involves the
hub to the subsystems are managed creation of a separate specialized
individually. subsystem , an enterprise service bus
- The hub-and-spoke integration that serves as a common user interface
architecture. layer connecting other subsystems. - -
- PROS AND CONS: As opposed to P2P, - The ESB can be described as a set of
the model brings quite a few benefits to middleware services that glue multiple
the table including higher scalability. systems, serving as a messaging
Since every system has only one backbone. In contrast to hub-and-spoke
connection to the central hub, things get with a single centralized integration
better in terms of security and engine, in ESB, each system is supplied
architecture simplicity. However, the with a separate integration engine and an
centralization of the hub can be a adapter that translates a message into the
weakness in such a model. The whole canonical format and back into the
infrastructure is dependent on the single destination supported format. Initially
integration engine which can become designed to bridge complex internal
the key bottleneck as the workload systems of large enterprises, ESBs can
increases. work with cloud services too. The
enterprise service bus integration
- WHEN TO USE IT: The hub-and-spoke
architecture.
model is widely-used in e-commerce,
financial operations, and payment - PROS AND CONS: One of the best
processing. Besides, it’s a preferable things about ESBs is that each
architecture for highly regulated subsystem is decoupled by a “messaging
industries that face significant security bus,” so it can be replaced or changed
risks. without affecting the functionality of
other subsystems. This plays in favor of
high scalability. Also, such projects are
reliable and quite easy to design. As far
as the cons, maintenance and
troubleshooting get more complex with
the spreading of integration tasks across
the systems.
 IT 3 INTEGRATIVE PRORAMMING & TECHNOLOGIES

- WHEN TO USE IT: An ESB model is them accessible via a single user
interface. It presents a library of pre-
an optimal way to implement large
built connectors that enable disjointed
projects such as enterprise application
applications to communicate with one
integration (EAI), allowing them to
another despite where they are hosted.
scale when needed. It’s a good fit if a
iPaaS handles data transformation and
company needs to bring it together on-
shipping from and to applications.
premises. Simplified illustration of possible iPaaS
connections.
- PROS AND CONS: iPaaS is
advantageous in tons of ways. It’s
flexible, multi-functional, and scalable.
With iPaaS, integration activities are
automated, facilitating the connection of
systems and databases deployed in any
environment and enabling faster project
delivery. As far as the shortcomings,
DEPLOYMENT OPTIONS FOR there might be security concerns as with
INTEGRATED SYSTEMS any public cloud.

Though we’ve described the three most - WHEN TO USE IT: iPaaS is great for
common architectures, the reality is more real-time applications and it enables a
complicated than that. A single integration variety of integration scenarios
including enterprise application
approach may not be sufficient anymore —
integration (EAI), data integration, cloud
especially when speaking of enterprises
integration, B2B integration, API
leveraging a wide range of technologies. Often,
management, Internet of Things
companies have to combine all three patterns integration, and many more.
within one ecosystem, using various types of
middleware and API layers between IT
components. Luckily, the growing number of
cloud platforms offer their services to handle
complex integrations. Below are two popular
deployment options to consider.

1. Integration platform as a Service

(iPaaS)
- Integration Platform as a Service is a set
of cloud-based integration solutions
mostly used for building and deploying
integrations in the cloud. As an all-
inclusive service, iPaaS couples
systems, processes, and data, making
 IT 3 INTEGRATIVE PRORAMMING & TECHNOLOGIES

Hybrid integration platform (HIP) - Key steps of -This step involves choosing one of the common
system integration Companies can automate models we mentioned above or designing a
and gain full transparency of their business custom architecture to meet your specific needs.
operations by joining enterprise data and You also need detailed blueprints of how
systems together. If you want to conduct systems will communicate with other
effective integration and return your comprehensive systems. The most labor-
intensive, this phase is of great importance as it
investments in no time, there are a few crucial
outlines the integration model, methods, and
steps to take. Steps to take to implement
process in general. Preliminary and physical
system integration
designs are created at this stage.

 Implementation

-The new integrated system is thoroughly

tested to make sure that all modules
seamlessly interact with one another without
losing any data during transmission. After
that, it can be implemented and presented to
users. It is recommended to keep the
implementation stage short to avoid
challenges relating to possible changes in
the integration process. Agile project
management can be applied during and after
this phase to help a company adjust to the
 Planning and feasibility changing landscape of integration systems.
analysis
 Maintenance
- Every integration process starts with the
assessment of systems to be integrated and -You shouldn’t neglect routine maintenance on
mapping out a realistic strategy. Draw an the system. Scheduling performance diagnostics
accurate picture of your current software and to make sure that all modules function flawlessly
its tech specifications and define all and no errors occur is advised.
integration requirements. Also, determine
What is the role of system
the scope of your integration project, its
schedule, and cost. It’s a good idea to integrators?
include all possible risks in your plan and
ways to handle them. You may have the best integration
technologies, but, without human expertise,
it won’t bring you much value. Instead of
designing and implementing the integration
 Architecture modeling project on your own, you can opt for the
 IT 3 INTEGRATIVE PRORAMMING & TECHNOLOGIES

services of system integrators that have all

required resources and experience.

A SYSTEM INTEGRATOR (SI) is an

individual or company that helps clients
bridge scattered computer subsystems from
different vendors and ensures those
subsystems function in accordance with one
another. System integrators perform various
tasks such as planning, regulating, testing,
and often maintaining computer operations.

The services of system integrators can be

your best bet in case you want to save time
and effort. Instead of searching for and
communicating with vendors yourself, you
hand the project over to specialists who
already have all the needed connections and
know how to best approach system
integration in your case. The most beneficial
thing of having a system integrator is the
expertise and resources they offer that
customers often lack internally.