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Standardized Customizations – The Integration Lifecycle in The Cloud.

In this whitepaper series Jay Ethridge and Joe Jezior of Technology & Business Solutions (TBS) review the vulnerabilities associated with traditional custom software integrations, explore the facets of the integration lifecycle and how ETL technology delivers dramatic efficiencies, and itemize the benefits of today’s cloud- and platform-based integrators for organizations looking to connect their Accounting systems with their corporate HR, CRM or other systems.

 

With the rise of cloud computing and the maturity of more accessible “fourth-generation” programming languages, a new breed of accounting software integration is becoming more and more available. Because this new agile and scalable integration paradigm is so radically different from the old custom integration model, a careful review is particularly valuable.

The new platform-based approach to integrations has been ushered in by technology companies like Pervasive, Oracle and Technology & Business Solutions, developers creating and leveraging ETL tools – for Extract. Transform. Load. – as a standard appliance (not custom application) to connect accounting, HR and CRM systems.

Simply put, leading technology companies now offer integration software packages that replace custom programming at a fraction of the cost and time. TBS delivers its integration appliance in The Cloud, enabling users to run their own integrations through a web-enabled control panel interface. By transforming integrations into a user-focused business tool, TBS dramatically simplifies synchronizations and significantly reduces the associated costs.

In a traditional integration model the entire span of data synchronization – from discovering and identifying business rules, to cataloguing all of the data pieces for transfer, to writing the connection program, to transforming the data for consumption, to in-taking the final manipulated data at the destination endpoint – is a custom process. Each step in this process is intensive and iterative. Each step builds upon the next. And so when unique procedures and programming are relied upon at every point along the way -- if any single variable in the custom process changes -- there are cascading and costly effects for the entire integration lifecycle.

(It’s like building a new telephone system each time you want to make an international phone call – first, let’s figure out what you want to say, then let’s take that message and put in a format for transfer, then let’s build a transmission method (wires or radios or satellites), then we’ll build a receiver for your call, at last we’ll convert your call into a language the recipient best understands.)

Platform-based integrations compartmentalize the synchronization lifecycle, and standardize what once was customizable. This method discretely packages the transmission (at both endpoints) and transformation (from one “language” to another) of financial and other data – undoubtedly the most programming intensive and costly components of a traditional custom integration – and leverages efficient and reliable ETLs to do the heavy lifting. ETLs see the data endpoints of an integration – a Costpoint Project Code or an Employee ID – as objects, not destinations in and of themselves. (“Ciao,” for instance, means “Good Bye.” How this sentiment is spelled in Italian or English doesn’t matter.) So, with a platform or appliance-based integration Output Object A always corresponds with Input Object A. Even if the details of these items change over time, the integration platform still works.

All that’s required for a successful and enduring platform-based integration then are the business rules that govern the connection of the Accounting system to the HR system, for instance – why an organization needs an integration, and what the organization needs to connect. For a platform-based integration these business rules represent the only necessary customizable piece of the synchronization lifecycle. When business rules are linked up with the proper platform, data integration becomes manageable, reliable and cost-effective.

Cloud-based integration appliances represent the best of this new breed, providing organizations with robust security and control. Because these integrators are delivered on-line – all data transmission and transformation are handled securely in the cloud – only authorized users may access the platform. These users go to an on-line interface to order their synchronizations on a set schedule or on demand, map data “objects” to transfer from end to end, and review synchronization logs for audit compliance.


This whitepaper series from Technology & Business Solutions LLC (TBS) explores the dramatic benefits that a new breed of cloud- and platform-based integrators are now bringing to market. The paradigm shift from customized connectors to scalable platforms is moving the creation and support for integrations from talented individuals to sophisticated software companies, with all their attendant resources, quality control and support infrastructure. The difference is like night and day.

To learn more about a cost-effective integration plaftorm tailored to your organization's needs, visit our I.C.E. webpage (Integrated Cloud Exchange), contact TBS or call 703.444.6562.