Author
December 13, 2024
Who has never been thrown back and forth on a phone call when trying to resolve a problem with a large company? “I don’t have access to your data here in the system, I’ll send you to the responsible area”, the customer hears several times until they give up or, at the height of their patience, wait for long minutes or even hours until they get a resolution.
It may seem like a simple thing, but this type of situation is just the tip of the iceberg of a very deep problem. It is the difficulty many organizations have in integrating their databases, applications and systems, allowing different areas to communicate as if the company were, as it is, in fact one.
This is something that often happens when companies start to grow or go through a disorganized digitalization process. In order to solve their problem, each area chooses the software that best suits their needs. In other cases, the decision may come from above, choosing a single supplier. This means, in many scenarios, that areas have to give up features and facilities.
After all, the supplier with the best ERP will not always have the best CRM, which sacrifices the good performance of the company as a whole. It shouldn't be that way.
The evolution of integration: the problem that has spanned decades
Integrating systems is not exactly a new problem. Making two computer programs talk to each other was an issue in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and it continues to be so today. The challenge, however, is that as time progresses arithmetically, the amount of information available and programs used grows exponentially.
More than that: with technologies like cloud computing and artificial intelligence, more and more data is being recorded. And this data can be used to generate more efficiency, productivity and better customer service. Integration, therefore, is a problem that all companies should address.
And that's where the dilemma begins.
The traditional options: internal effort or plastered platforms
When it comes to integrations, many organizations are faced with two possible choices. The first is to dedicate time, money and personnel from internal technology teams to build the solutions themselves. For example: a credit analysis system could communicate with payment method software and the general customer registry of an e-commerce site.
It is hard work, but it consumes valuable resources. And it is worth mentioning here: skills shortage and the dispute for senior professionals in the development area to exemplify why consuming such resources is not easy.
By using the time of the internal team or partner developers to build an integration solution behind the scenes, the company shifts efforts away from the heart of the business. It is trying to solve a problem with an enormous amount of effort. And constantly, since with each software update it is necessary to review what has already been implemented.
The other option in this dilemma is to opt for service integration platforms, known by the acronym iPaaS. Unlike the previous solution, traditional iPaaS solutions can bring long-term ROI and provide business agility.
But they also have their problems. There are a number of challenges to implementing a platform of this type. These range from installation costs to inflexible pricing models. They also involve a long implementation period and the need for specialized professionals involved in the solution.
The new economic model of integrations
Amidst so many risks, benefits and problems, there is a middle path: a new economic model for integrations. That's what we do here at Digibee, with our iPaaS. It reviews the foundations on which integrations are built, breaking down the dilemma of having to choose between building it yourself or purchasing traditional and extremely expensive platforms.
In this new paradigm, the focus in billing is on the use of integrations. It is a model similar to what happens in cloud computing – when companies were able to stop buying physical servers to build their data centers and started using on-demand infrastructure. The ability to respond quickly to demand, in fact, is another advantage of this new model.
In addition, Digibee's iPaaS has other advantages. One of them is the simplification of integration work, allowing the organization's technology team to focus on the core business. Our solution also has the ability to integrate more easily, using platforms no-code and low-code.
It is a type of solution that allows many companies to drastically reduce the time spent on integrations. According to data from the consultancy Gartner, they can consume up to 50% of the time and cost of executing an IT project.
>> Book a personalized demo with our team of experts and see how Digibee’s iPaaS will bring efficiency to your business.
Artificial intelligence: the co-pilot of integrations
Digibee's platform has enormous potential to benefit from the use of growing generative artificial intelligence. A good example is enabling technology to be responsible for document the steps that each professional decided to take when establishing the necessary integrations for organizations.
It is a useful way to use technology to take care of one of the most neglected or postponed tasks within development teams, even though it is extremely necessary, whether for maintenance or auditing. The emerging technology, which divides the hearts and minds of technology executives between anxiety and doubt, can also be useful to resurrect concepts that many abandoned in the past due to difficulty in adopting.
Introducing AI Pair-Programmer
This is the case of Pair Programming, a software development technique in which professionals work in pairs, like a pilot and a co-pilot, writing their codes. Originally, Pair Programming would bring benefits such as safer, cleaner and better-written codes, but it has become uncommon precisely because it requires two people to do the work of one.
With Digibee AI Pair-Programmer, it is possible to use artificial intelligence as a co-pilot to choose the necessary integrations. While the developer writes, the machine reviews the choices and suggests improvements, based not only on its knowledge, but also on the thousands of other integrations made by different users over time.
From one moment to the next, the difference will be like walking through the middle of the forest, but with a very detailed map and an experienced navigator by your side.
The future of integrations and the human role in development
Of course, amidst so much innovation, there are those who believe that artificial intelligence is coming to steal jobs. It's not a scenario that seems feasible in the development universe., for a simple reason: today, companies' demand for software is still not met by those in the market.
As time passes, new solutions become necessary, and there needs to be free developers and programmers to build all this even faster, with a human eye. And the more software there is, the more efficient integration solutions are needed, in a virtuous circle.
That's why we work every day to provide tools to enhance people's work, in order to guarantee the quality and speed of evolution that we deserve. So I invite you to subscribe a no-obligation chat with our team and get to know Digibee's iPaaS in depth.
