Author
August 4, 2022
The reality of business today is that digital-first organizations have a significant advantage over their legacy infrastructure-dependent peers. The evolution of technology, the rise of globalization, and changes in how buyers expect to interact with sellers have bogged down businesses dependent on siloed data and systems.
But technology has a solution for this challenge. Enterprise integration allows companies with legacy, niche, or customized systems to connect data and processes with modern platforms to embrace digital transformation and remain competitive. And yet, the number of organizations who’ve fully implemented an integration strategy remains low.
6%
responded that they have a particular integration technology under consideration
30%
say time-to-market is one of their biggest objectives for digital transformations and cloud migrations
28%
say reducing overall operational costs is one of their biggest objectives for digital transformations and cloud migrations
*This blog post, originally published in August 2022, was updated above to reflect data from the 2023 State of Enterprise Integration Report published in April, 2023.
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What is Holding Businesses Back from Software System Integration?
If enterprise integration is such a boon to businesses, why are so few adopting an enterprise integration strategy? How can we explain the glaring disparity between those who view integration positively and those who are implementing it – especially amid a growing push for digital transformation?
Tech professionals from developers to the C-suite point to a wide range of factors holding back the implementation of their enterprise integration strategies.
1. Platform Integration Budget Constraints
Budget is the most commonly cited roadblock to enterprise integration, with 36% of tech professionals saying cost concerns negatively impact enterprise integration plans. It’s not uncommon for integration projects to go over budget, and decision-makers are often forced to choose between competing priorities – many of which are more appealing to stakeholders.
2. Security Concerns During Integration Implementation
Changing how your company’s data or systems are accessed – or handing control of business critical information to an external party – can be daunting. Many enterprise integration platforms and services don’t provide enough transparency into how sensitive data is transported or protected to put IT professionals’ minds at ease. Nearly one-third (31%) say concerns about the security of their systems or data hinder the implementation of an enterprise integration strategy.
3. Lack of Integration Expertise
Attempting to implement an enterprise integration strategy without a team that has the required skills and expertise or know how to integrate software can result in a project that blows past deadlines or hampers other projects, negatively affecting budget. Engaging third-party professionals or consultants can help but comes with increased cost and/or security concerns.
42%
of IT professionals said their integrations had ineffective practices and other inefficiencies that impact the success of the business
98%
of IT professionals said they have rebuilt integrations for existing key business applications in the past 12 months
*This blog post, originally published in August 2022, was updated above to reflect data from the 2023 State of Enterprise Integration Report published in April, 2023.
4. Legacy Systems and Legacy Architecture
The last few years – particularly as businesses rushed to adapt to new models during the pandemic – have left many organizations dependent on patchwork fixes or custom built internal solutions that don’t lend themselves to a digital transformation. And when business critical data is trapped in siloed systems, many companies assume that cloud migration or integration are off the table. In fact, almost one-third of IT professionals say concerns that their legacy or custom systems can’t be integrated have kept them from moving forward with enterprise integration.
42%
of IT professionals say their top objective in the next year is to upgrade from legacy infrastructure
*This blog post, originally published in August 2022, was updated above to reflect data from the 2023 State of Enterprise Integration Report published in April, 2023.
iPaaS Removes Digital Integration Roadblocks
Is there a way to remove these roadblocks and close the gap between companies that acknowledge the importance of enterprise integration and those that have embraced an enterprise integration strategy?
Choosing an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) solution can help address many concerns that keep companies from moving forward with integration. The “as-a-service” model of iPaaS solutions can help mitigate budget concerns by reducing upfront investments or costly long-term commitments and allows users to fully experience the benefits of integrated software.
The right enterprise iPaaS provider will protect data in transit and at rest with solutions that facilitate comprehensive testing of all systems and integrations before going live. And an intuitive, visual solution can alleviate the need for your organization to dedicate all your top experts to the integration process, simplifying the development of integrations for legacy and custom-built applications.
The Current State of Enterprise Integration
The 2023 State of Enterprise Integration Report by Digibee offers unique, data-based insights into the latest trends in enterprise integration as well as a look at current best practices and changes to expect in the future.
Digibee empowers businesses to build flexible, scalable integration architecture that helps them compete and excel in today’s rapidly changing digital-first environment. Our cloud-native, low-code integration platform allows organizations to connect applications, processes, and people, for a faster time to market without hefty upfront commitments.
For more insights on current trends in enterprise integration, download your free copy of the report or contact our experts directly with your questions.
