Author
November 9, 2023
In an article from recent post, we shared some of the interactions our team had with IT leaders and architects at the Gartner Symposium in October. One clear takeaway was the level of frustration experienced by users of legacy integration technology.
In particular, the gap between what a company wants to do and what the technology is capable of doing. With legacy technology, integrations are time-consuming, requiring significant coding (both to build and maintain). The work must be done by specialized and expensive integration developers who, in turn, require ongoing certification and training.
The result? Mounting delays and mounting technical debt. Instead of enabling innovation, these legacy solutions impede it.
>> Book a personalized demo with our team of experts and see how Digibee’s iPaaS will bring efficiency to your business.
Why this is important to you
If you’re reading this post, chances are you’re an IT or development leader who wants to optimize the productivity and engagement of your teams as they build adaptive environments that support the business.
Chances are you already have integration technology in place, unless you’re custom coding your integrations in-house. The thought of replacing your existing system is traumatic. No one willingly signs up for a painful rip-and-replace scenario.
But it doesn't have to be that way. Really.
In fact, most Digibee customers deploy our modern integration platform in parallel with an existing legacy solution, giving them the overhead and time to make the transition appropriately. With Digibee, the path to replacement is simple and fast.
If you are considering a new iPaaS, here are some resources to help guide your journey:
- Gartner Integration Technology Assessment Research (pricing, licensing and other considerations)
- Legacy iPaaS vs Modern iPaaS (a detailed comparison between Digibee and the oldest legacy vendor on the market: MuleSoft)
Modern integration capabilities
Whether you choose Digibee or another modern iPaaS vendor, keep these attributes in mind to ensure your new integration strategy is successful.
1. Empower all the developers
The biggest drawback of most integration technology products is the inefficient use of resources.
Legacy iPaaS
Legacy solutions require specialized (certified/trained) integration developers to build and maintain integrations. This expensive and resource-constrained model is directly responsible for the increasing development backlogs that are a common byproduct of legacy integration technology.
60% of IT backlog projects require integration support
Low code automation tools
This is not to say that the work these specialists do is not valuable – it is! But they can only do so much. The complexity of the platforms and the limited supply of resources are factors that make it unnecessary for development teams to produce.
The other extreme are automation tools that create simple integrations, typically used by citizen developers.
Unfortunately, these tools do not support sophisticated enterprise use cases, only adding to the ever-growing backlog. Additionally, there is limited governance and oversight to ensure that security and other best practices are being properly implemented.
| Digibee empowers all developers to quickly build even complex integrations, solving any scenario. Bottlenecks and delays no longer hinder innovation. Instead, developers are empowered to advance their projects in real time. |
2. Create modular and reusable integrations
Development teams are tasked with ensuring that the business is able to respond quickly to changes in the market. Legacy iPaaS impedes rapid response, burdened with a rigid on-premises integration model that requires an abundance of code, time, and resources just to keep everything running.
While most legacy solutions claim to be “cloud native,” their DNA is derived from an on-premises model, and always will be. Instead, the vendor simply restructures the legacy technology to work in these environments.
Developers experience pain every time they want to change or reuse an integration. Rewriting custom code is difficult and time-consuming. The work must be carefully tested to track all the repercussions that a single coding change has on the entire organization.
| Digibee is the only truly enterprise iPaaS solution born in the cloud. Our integration platform is built on Kubernetes, making it truly modular, requiring less time and stress. Developers work more efficiently and everyone is confident that integration work does not result in unintended business consequences. |
3. Low code for the coder (…and AI-enabled)
Most software developers are wary of low-code tools. In many cases, writing custom code is easier and more complete than using a drag-and-drop interface. Plus, there’s pride in a job well done.
However, after the initial round of work, the team (and the company) must rely on the original developer to share their domain expertise when subsequent work is needed. Without first-hand knowledge of how the code was originally created, the code breaks and the business grinds to a halt.
| Digibee provides a low-code platform to abstract away the mundane tasks associated with building and maintaining integrations. Designed for professional developers, Digibee is purpose-built to free up time to focus on development (rather than integration). AI-enabled tools and processes for building pipelines and migrating integrations from other platforms only increase efficiency. |
Next steps with Digibee
We help organizations transition from legacy to modern integration strategies. Our iPaaS technology frees developers from mindless maintenance tasks, redirecting these valuable resources to focus on higher-value projects that will benefit the business the most. In this way, Digibee transforms enterprise integration from a time-consuming back-office function into a powerful tool for innovation.
If you have an integration story you’d like to share or you’re in the midst of a project you’d like to discuss, please contact us. If you are interested in more information about Digibee, please visit our website or book a demo.
