What is an Enterprise Integration Platform?

Modern enterprises operate with hundreds of applications across departments, from CRM systems and ERP platforms to marketing automation tools and legacy databases. While this application diversity drives innovation and specialization, it also creates a critical challenge: how do you make these disparate systems work as a unified ecosystem?

In this blog, we’ll explore how enterprise integration platforms like Jitterbit Harmony provide secure and scalable connectivity across legacy, on-premise and cloud-based systems.

What is an enterprise integration platform?

An enterprise integration platform serves as the central nervous system that connects, synchronizes and orchestrates data flows across the entire technology stack. Rather than building custom point-to-point integrations that become maintenance nightmares, an enterprise integration platform creates scalable, secure and manageable connections between business-critical applications.

In a previous blog, we talked about different integration methods, like API integration, ESBs and EDI. One of the main benefits of enterprise integration platforms is the ability to combine multiple integration methods, orchestrating and automating workflows across the entire tech stack from one central hub.

Enterprise Modernization is No Longer Optional

For most businesses, the road from startup to enterprise is a long one. It can take years or even decades for a company to scale to that level, so it’s not surprising that many of today’s enterprises still rely on legacy systems. It’s not for lack of awareness — in fact, our 2025 Automation Benchmark report found that 99% of enterprise IT leaders acknowledged the need for seamless integration and automation. So why do 71% of those same respondents still lack the unified platform to achieve it?

Modernization can be daunting, but failing to modernize is far riskier. Without efficient system integration, enterprises face:

• Data silos that stifle decision-making. When customer data lives in Salesforce, financial data sits in NetSuite, and operational data remains trapped in legacy systems, leadership lacks the unified view needed for strategic decisions.
• Hindered scalability. Point-to-point integrations multiply exponentially as organizations add new applications. Each new system potentially requires connections to multiple existing platforms, creating a web of dependencies that becomes increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain.
• Compliance risks. Regulations like GDPR, HIPAA and SOX require organizations to maintain data integrity and audit trails. Fragmented systems make it challenging to ensure compliance and respond to regulatory requests promptly.

How Enterprise Integration Platforms Work

Enterprise integration platforms serve as the middleware layer that facilitates communication between different applications, databases and systems. Modern enterprise integration platforms typically include the following components:

Cloud-Native Architecture

Most modern enterprise integration platforms use a cloud-native iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) architecture, which provides built-in monitoring, security and configuration tools. Despite being cloud-based, they can still connect to on-premises systems using secure agents or connectors, enabling hybrid environments where internal applications and cloud services communicate seamlessly.

Pre-Built Application Connectors

Enterprise platforms typically offer pre-built connectors for integrating popular business applications. Rather than spending months developing custom integrations, organizations can connect systems in days or weeks using ready-made components and drag-and-drop interfaces.

Explore Jitterbit’s library of application connectors

API Gateways

An API gateway is a core component of an enterprise integration platform that acts as a control point between external clients and internal systems. It handles authentication, routing and protocol translation, ensuring that data flows securely and reliably across the network.

The Jitterbit Harmony platform goes beyond API integration to communicate with applications and data sources via electronic data interchange (EDI) and message queuing (MQ) — enabling automation across even more applications and processes.

Data Transformation Tools

An enterprise integration platform doesn’t just move data. It transforms and standardizes data so that it can be accurately interpreted across different systems using data mapping and validation tools.

Benefits of a Unified Integration Platform

Key benefits driving enterprise platform adoption include:

Accelerated Time-to-Value

Traditional integration projects can take months or years to complete, delaying the business value of new applications and initiatives. Enterprise integration platforms reduce implementation time with pre-built connectors, templates and visual design tools. This acceleration becomes particularly valuable during acquisitions, system migrations or rapid business expansion scenarios.

Reduced Cost of Ownership

Point-to-point integrations create hidden costs that compound over time. Each custom integration requires ongoing maintenance, monitoring and updates when connected systems change. As organizations add more applications, the complexity and cost of maintaining these connections grows exponentially.

A unified integration platform consolidates these connections through a single platform, dramatically reducing maintenance overhead.

More Accurate Data

Data inconsistency across systems creates operational inefficiencies and undermines decision-making. Enterprise integration platforms include data transformation, validation and cleansing capabilities that ensure information remains accurate and consistent as it flows between systems.

Automated data governance rules prevent duplicate records, enforce data standards and flag quality issues before they impact business processes. This improved data integrity enhances customer experiences and increases confidence in business intelligence and analytics initiatives.

Improved Operational Efficiency

Manual data entry and system switching consume significant employee time and introduce error risks. Enterprise integration platforms automate routine workflows, eliminating manual touchpoints and enabling employees to focus on higher-value activities.

For example, when a new customer signs a contract, an integrated platform can automatically create records in the CRM, trigger provisioning workflows, update billing systems and notify relevant teams — all without manual intervention.

Enhanced Security and Compliance

Enterprise integration platforms provide centralized security controls, audit trails and compliance reporting that would be difficult to implement across multiple point-to-point integrations. Built-in encryption, access controls and monitoring capabilities help organizations meet regulatory requirements while reducing security risks.

Choosing the Right Integration Platform

Selecting an enterprise integration platform requires careful evaluation of your organization’s current needs, future growth plans and technical requirements. When comparing different platforms, ask yourself the following questions:

What do you need to connect?

Based on your existing tech stack, evaluate each platform’s connector library, data transformation capabilities and support for different integration patterns (real-time, batch, API-led connectivity). Ensure the platform can handle your specific application ecosystem and data volume requirements.

Are there any industry-specific regulatory requirements you need to consider?

Review the platform’s security certifications, encryption capabilities and compliance features to make sure they meet your industry’s regulatory requirements and organizational security standards.

Who will be using the platform?

Gartner studies have estimated that 80% of technology products and services are built by users who are not technology professionals. Evaluate the platform’s visual design tools, documentation quality and learning curve. Platforms that enable both technical and non-technical users to create integrations provide better long-term value.

Build, Manage and Maintain Enterprise Integrations with Jitterbit iPaaS

Named a Visionary in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for iPaaS, Jitterbit empowers organizations to connect applications, automate workflows and accelerate digital transformation initiatives with:

• Over 400 pre-built connectors for popular enterprise applications, including Salesforce, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics and SAP
• Intuitive drag-and-drop, low-code design studio
• AI-assisted data mapping and workflow optimization tools
• Expedited app development using natural language processing
• Enterprise-grade security on a secure hosting infrastructure

Explore the Jitterbit Harmony platform for enterprise integration and automation, or get in touch with a product expert to learn more.

Demo: Take a Self-Guided Tour of Jitterbit iPaaS

Ready to experience how an enterprise integration platform can transform your organization’s connectivity and automation capabilities?

Take a self-guided tour of Jitterbit iPaaS to explore the visual design environment, check out our pre-built connectors and see how quickly you can create powerful integrations.