Author
August 9, 2023
Do your professional developers spend a lot of time writing tedious code to support your MuleSoft implementation? Are you frustrated to see precious bandwidth diverted for training and certification simply so your team can use the integration technology that’s meant to serve them?
Well, get in line. If your business relies on MuleSoft to support your integration strategy, it could be a long (and expensive) wait.
When legacy technology lets you down, important innovation objectives remain aspirational as your integration team is bogged down with mundane, time-consuming tasks. It certainly doesn’t help that only a subset of your resource base is certified in MuleSoft and able to perform the work.
To decide if your organization is better suited to try another approach, here is a starter checklist of considerations to assess:
- Available resources
- Technical skills and capabilities of your existing team
- Total economic impact and return on investment (ROI) for the project
- Time required for each stage of the integration (build, run, monitor)
When you’re ready to review your technology options, one of the first questions you’ll encounter is whether you need a pro-code or low-code solution. But what if you didn’t have to choose?
Pro-Code versus Low-Code
Both of these terms are well established, but the perceived meaning of each likely varies from person to person, as they’ve been so widely applied. Let’s start with a level set on baseline definitions. According to the people at trio, here’s how these methodologies line up:
- Pro-code – A more conventional approach to software development, with professional developers owning all aspects of the work including coding, testing, optimization, and deployment – from start to finish.
- Low-code – A simpler, more accessible approach to software development that leverages existing infrastructure via a development platform. Developers use a drag and drop methodology to configure the required application or webpage. Low-code is more accessible, often used by less experienced people to perform straightforward tasks.
Now let’s examine the coding methodology based on integration model:
| In-house (pro-code) | Conventional iPaaS (pro-code) | Modern iPaaS (pro- and low-code) |
|---|---|---|
| – Integrations created internally – Skilled pro-code developers | – Integrations created by MuleSoft – Skilled, certified pro-code developers | – Integrations created by dev team within the Digibee iPaaS – Junior, intermediate, and senior software engineers |
Digibee simplifies the complexity of coding, enabling developers and software engineers of all stripes to use the platform so all members of your development team can contribute. Our low-code interface amplifies the software engineering skills of all workers for greater productivity across the team.
Junior developers help with the heavy-lifting, while senior developers focus on higher-priority projects, including the creation of code as needed. This enables all team members to focus more on strategic innovations and building – as integration stops acting as a bottleneck. With manual coding optional and only required for the highest value projects, the team is more productive and able to deliver a much higher ROI.
Read the ebook: 5 (+1) reasons for MuleSoft customers to choose a modern integration solution to learn more.
Let’s take a deeper dive into each integration model.
In-House (pro-code)
Internal software developers and engineers often take pride in building home-grown IT solutions and are often eager to tackle a large project such as a multi-faceted integration. So it’s no surprise that many companies default to building and maintaining their own integrations.
However, this approach creates some serious risks and challenges:
- The system increases in complexity as additional point to point integrations are created, requiring more time and resources to maintain, detracting from higher value work
- Only a subset of developers have the domain knowledge to understand the inner workings of the system, placing the company at greater risk every time someone leaves, while narrowing the resource pool
- Ongoing scope creep as developers and engineers build each integration from scratch with increasing levels of complexity
Initially these systems work well, delivering low upfront costs with the integration team fully in control. But over time the platform becomes cumbersome and time-consuming as connectors and related code maintenance increases and applications evolve. Instead of supporting innovation, in-house systems ultimately impede it.
Read the use case: An Enterprise Integration Showdown: DIY versus Digibee to learn more.
Conventional iPaaS (pro-code)
While you may have thought that moving to an iPaaS model with an established provider such as MuleSoft was the quickest, easiest route to support your integration strategy, the MuleSoft platform presents users with some glaring shortcomings.
Conventional iPaaS products depend upon pro-code developers to carry the load. The months-long implementation and specialized MuleSoft certification requirements stall your integration strategy, while your IT backlog continues to grow unchecked.
- Overly complex technology extends implementation time to months and even years
- Pro-code developers must carry out the work, limiting available resources to the most experienced (and properly certified) people
- Maintenance, EOL, and other time-consuming work takes precedence over innovation tracks, resulting in ever-increasing IT backlog
Modern iPaaS (pro- and low-code)
Every software developer writes code – this is often their happy place – so why not provide your team with an integration model that offers the best of both worlds?
Digibee doesn’t take the creativity out of integration; it simply makes it quicker and easier for developers to interact with different components of the interface. Our low-code drag and drop canvas eliminates complexity and a lot of the coding that is typically required. Enterprise integrations no longer need a ton of specialized coding, freeing up software engineers and developers to solve problems and innovate.
3 Integration Models: Pros and Cons
| Integration Solution | In-House (Pro-Code) | Conventional iPaaS (Pro-Code) | Digibee Modern iPaaS (Pro- and Low-Code) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resources | Highly-skilled software engineers and developers | Highly-skilled software engineers and developers with specialized training and certification | Developers at all levels |
| Cost | – Higher cost to retain internal domain experts – Lengthy implementation process Ongoing maintenance and management costs | – Complex licensing and pricing – High cost of lengthy implementation – Ongoing investment in training and certification – Higher cost per hire for MuleSoft-certified developers – Ongoing maintenance and management of the system – Customer support | – Simple, all in one pricing model (3 SKUs!) – Training, support, and maintenance included with the subscription – All developers are enabled to do the work |
| Time to Value | – Months to years – Long implementation time to build from scratch using internal resources | – Months to years – Long implementation due to complex product – Certification requirements limit the resource pool | – Days to weeks – Short implementation with all hands on deck |
| Scalability | Limited by ever-increasing complexity and abilities of internal IT staff | – Unlimited scalability with additional and ongoing costs. | Unlimited scalability with minimal additional costs. |
| Risks | – Single point of failure – Domain knowledge lost when key employees leave | – Increasing costs and dependencies as different components require upgrades, EOL, and maintenance | Flexible, platform supports a composable infrastructure to increase agility and decrease risk |
The Digibee Difference: Low-Code for Pro-Coders
Digibee has everything covered for a smooth, fast implementation. Our cloud-native, enterprise-ready integration platform accelerates time-to-value, mitigates risk, helps reduce IT costs, and delivers an interactive technology that easily supports a broad range of IT talent.
Discover all the benefits of Digibee’s modern cloud integration platform, including detailed comparisons between MuleSoft’s traditional model and Digibee’s iPaaS. Read the ebook: 5 (+1) reasons for MuleSoft customers to choose a modern integration solution.
For more information, read Digibee’s customer success stories or contact Digibee to book a demo.
