What is Application Integration?

Originally published Nov 1, 2020

Application Integration: A Detailed Primer

Modern application integrations are akin to a successful team. Just as an effective team is greater than the sum of its individual parts, the same could be said when integrating software applications — when done correctly, application integration bolsters an organization’s infrastructure, creating operational efficiencies and providing greater collective value for the business.

In short, when applications and systems that were created separately are integrated to work together, businesses can cut costs and become more efficient internally while also delivering an elevated experience to their customers.

What is Application Integration?

Application integration is the process of merging multiple software applications designed for individual, specific purposes, so that they can work together.

These software applications could be cloud-based (such as Salesforce CRM), reside on-premises behind a firewall (such as SAP) or be deployed in a hybrid environment (i.e., cloud apps hosted on an organization’s private servers).

The idea behind app integration is to create a more modern and unified infrastructure that streamlines the use of these apps as opposed to a clunky and fragmented experience that would result if they were each utilized in various silos.

What is Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)?

Enterprise application integration (EAI) describes application integration efforts on a much larger scale—instead of just connecting individual apps, EAI focuses on connecting systems across the entire organization.

In addition to modern integration tools like iPaaS, enterprise application integration may require a more complex set of solutions—like middleware or ESBs—that are better suited for large-scale, on-premises systems

Why is Application Integration Important?

Application integration is increasingly vital as businesses and other organizations seek to link their on-premises systems and cloud-based enterprise applications. Successful integration creates data flow and processes that are interconnected, ultimately giving organizations a wider set of tools with which they can work with their applications and correlating data.

How Does Application Integration Work?

For applications to share data and work together, they have to be able to communicate. Common mechanisms that make app integration possible include:

APIs

Application Programming Interfaces, known more commonly as APIs, are sets of “rules” or procedures that define how varying pieces of software should interact. APIs are nearly ubiquitous at this stage because they tap into the specified data structure to give developers the ability to quickly access the functionality of other applications.

Event-driven actions

When an event takes place within a series of connected applications — a piece of data being uploaded, for example — it triggers either an individual action or a set of actions, such as invoicing and billing a customer, or managing an opportunity-to-order workflow from NetSuite ERP to Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales.

Data mapping

The process of mapping data is key because it defines how that data or information will be exchanged, making it easier to export, group or analyze later on. A basic example of this is when a customer enters their information in a contact form within one application, and then that same data is mapped to corresponding fields in other applications.

Application Integration Use Cases & Real World Examples

Many types of organizations across a wide swath of industries use application software integration to modernize their aging processes and systems. Organizations in varied industries including consumer goods, retail, healthcare, manufacturing and banking have capitalized on integrations to meet their very specific business needs and objectives.

Real-World Example: App Integration in the CPG Industry

In one example, Kellogg’s brand RXBAR hit a period of rapid growth and needed to automate its shipping process to make it more efficient and keep up with customer demand. The brand previously used a series of manual processes to bid on shipping contracts with logistics partners, but the system was time-consuming and led to frequent delays. The main problem was the sales and customer service teams didn’t always have quick access to key data when they needed it most.

To meet this challenge, RXBAR integrated multiple applications and used NetSuite as a central hub, which allowed it to automate the bidding process and connect previously siloed data for organization-wide 360-degree visibility. The result was more productive teams, happier customers and, ultimately, increased ROI.

Benefits of Application Integration

Traditional and web application integration results in a number of tangible operational benefits for organizations, including:

The ability to access data from anywhere in the world

Data was already well on its way to being spread across multiple environments, and that trend has accelerated with teams increasingly distributed in the wake of the global pandemic. The beauty of integrating applications across these environments is allows teams to access data from anywhere and sort it in any format.

Near-instant productivity

Complicated applications such as ERP, CRM or CPQ tools all have characteristics that are unique, whether it’s the way Salesforce authenticates protocols or how NetSuite optimizes performance. Today, modern application integration allows organizations to quickly and easily integrate applications in a way that is functional and productive almost immediately, allowing teams to focus on more valuable work right out of the gate.

Real-time visibility into all aspects of the business

Full visibility helps teams save time and empowers individual employees to focus on more rewarding work. Since data is synchronized across the organization it helps ensure accuracy, while also automating mundane processes to streamline business operations.

Common Application Integration Challenges

Challenge #1: Lack of Resources

Limited resources are consistently one of the top concerns for IT leaders when it comes to business process automation. When IT teams are stretched thin, teams often resort to point-to-point integrations for new applications that are faster to set up, but become difficult to manage long-term.

Even when organizations have a more scalable integration platform in place, it can still create bottlenecks if it requires specialized expertise that limits usage to a small group of developers.

Solution: Low-code integration platforms empower non-technical users to build, deploy, and manage application integrations, reducing the burden on IT and speeding up time to value.

Challenge #2: Application Sprawl

An estimated 67% of enterprises today deploy over 500 applications, leading to what’s often referred to as “application sprawl” or “application overload”. App sprawl doesn’t just make integration more difficult—the lack of visibility into unmanaged apps can also create security risks.

Solution: A centralized integration solution, like iPaaS, provides a single platform for managing application integrations. When integrations are built and managed in one platform, it provides visibility into how apps are connected and what data flows between them, preventing duplication and fragmentation across the integration landscape.

Seamlessly Connect Applications with Jitterbit Harmony

Thousands of organizations trust Jitterbit to optimize their business processes through integrated application expertise. Here are just 3 reasons why Jitterbit is the perfect partner for your application integration needs:

1. Tailored Solutions

Jitterbit customizes integrations based on your requirements and budget. Need just a few integrations to sync core systems? No problem. Managing a large enterprise with eight or more applications? Jitterbit scales with you.

2. Built-in Compliance

The Jitterbit Harmony API Integration platform is both robust and compliant with industry-leading security standards, including MFA, SSO, E2E Encryption, SOC2, ISO 27001, GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA.

3. Comprehensive Security Measures

Jitterbit offers three layers of security – physical, organizational and logical, which includes:

• Secure authentication and logging capabilities
• Real-time security monitoring
• A transparent privacy policy