What is iPaaS? Integrating data flows to create new services

What is iPaaS? Integrating data flows to create new services
An integration platform as a service (iPaaS) is a cloud-based tool for linking existing applications and data flows into new services. Here are the key use cases, examples, and vendors.

What is iPaaS?
An integration platform as a service (iPaaS) is a cloud-based software package used to create new applications or to orchestrate data flows by linking together existing services and applications. It provides a way for organizations to readily make use of basic building blocks to streamline a process or establish a new service. For example, an iPaaS might stitch together a database that stores customer information, an API for converting an address into geographic coordinates, and a third-party service for processing credit card transactions so that users can complete tasks with one stop.

These platforms are equipped with routines for interacting with existing services using standard protocols and data formats. They are adept at requesting data from one service before filtering the data and converting it into another data format required by a different service, acting like transportation hubs for data transfers.

Similar approaches to integrating data flows are undertaken by technologies such as enterprise service buses (ESBs) and robotic process automation (RPA) . Each does similar work in integrating existing software packages and services.

The business case for using an iPaaS
iPaaS tools are engineered to handle the latest protocols and authentication methods, as well as the wide variety of architectures in use today. Sophisticated iPaas tools can link software running in different clouds, both public and private, and in different data centers owned by different companies with varying levels of trust. They can also integrate with so-called “dusty deck” software on older hardware, enabling organizations to squeeze more years out of legacy software.

A common feature among iPaaS tools is the ability to integrate with newer technologies and algorithms such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the blockchain. Because of this, iPaaS can add features from these algorithms to older systems using existing connectors, making them one of the simplest and fastest ways to leverage the latest technologies
Using an iPaaS can also save organizations a substantial amount of time and coding effort. Ideally, much of the integration glue code is already baked into the platforms and the development team can operate at the highest levels of abstraction.

Some iPaaS include sophisticated visualization dashboards for tracking progress and creating new integrations. Their visual programming languages can simplify the process of integration, enabling nondevelopers to contribute more easily and professional developers to create services more quickly.

How an iPaas works
iPaaS do much of the same work as raw code, but they hide much of the syntactic complexity behind a nice web application. The central hub can be configured with various modules that can connect with a variety tools and then feed the result to other services or applications. iPaaS vendors maintain a large collection of these connectors to many of the most common APIs and services on the internet.

Before the iPaaS can do its work, developers must create a description of how the data is transformed once it arrives. Some platforms require users to to write functions in traditional programming languages to filter and manipulate data. Others offer visual tools that can simplify the work and eliminate some of the issues with syntax that can make programming difficult. While these visual tools can open up the process to nonprogrammers, configuring the iPaaS still requires thinking like a developer about the abstract formats and data flows.

Once the connections are defined and the right modules installed, the iPaaS will run in the background ensuring that the data enters and leaves.