Integrate Apps Seamlessly

Step 1. Scope & Plan Integration Strategies

Sfinitor's team advances project stage.

• Gathers requirements for a unified business system
• Integrates specified systems, shares designated data
• Assesses software compatibility, identifying capacities & limitations for seamless integration
• Assesses infrastructure abilities and limitations
• Data Flow Analysis: Determines suitable data routing and potential format transformations
• Assesses utilization of communication protocols among integrated apps
• Business success metrics for an integration initiative encompass various areas such as expedited order processing/delivery times, diminished transaction errors, optimal resource allocation in storage, computing, and application upkeep
• Compliant design mandated for the unified system: adhering to regulatory standards

Step 2. Integrated system design

Sfinitor's team matches business needs with an integration solution, detailing its technical specifications.

• The integrated system necessitates considerations in terms of availability, integrity, scalability, maintainability, performance, and persistence, aligned with business requirements and the associated applications for seamless functionality
• Security specifications outlined for unified system
• Decides on an appropriate app integration approach:
  • Common data storage:
    • Shared Database: Integrating Multiple Apps' Data
    • Platform-specific apps, such as Salesforce and SAP ERP, utilize proprietary databases, making direct integration challenging
  • Direct (point-to-point) integration:
    • Streamlined compatibility with external applications, predominantly for third-party tools
    • Specializes in crafting direct system interfaces (primarily for legacy or niche integrations)
  • Mediated integration:
    • An Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) serves as a central intermediary for communication among services. It performs tasks such as message processing, transformation/modification, and routing; transaction management; process choreography; and security management. ESB solutions can either be purchased or custom-built, particularly for niche integration requirements
    • Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) encompasses various integration offerings such as API management, orchestration, messaging, data translation/transformation, and adapters. These tools can be deployed in their entirety or selectively to suit specific needs
  • Using specific software (‘robots’):
    • Software robots, or bots, replicate human actions in interacting with computer systems, encompassing typing, clicking, and transferring data between applications

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of various integration styles outlined in Sfinitor's Enterprise Application Integration Guide and Cloud Integration Approaches Overview to make informed decisions.

Step 3. Tech stack assessment and comparison for chosen integration method, ensuring optimal technology selection

Sfinitor's BA and solution architect evaluates and identifies 2-3 optimal technology stacks for the selected integration strategy (for instance, an ESB-based integration might include Talend ESB and SAP PI). Similarly, for iPaaS-based integration, options like Azure iPaaS or Informatica iPaaS are assessed. Subsequently, in collaboration with project stakeholders, they analyze all potential strategies to select the most strategic ones that best align with the project's objectives.

Step 4. App Integration & Testing Execution

Further steps will differ depending on the chosen integration approach and tech stack. Below, we describe the process for two most popular integration types.

Direct integration

• Custom API design and installation, or utilizing pre-built APIs for seamless implementation

Mediated integration

• Constructing/acquiring a versatile messaging infrastructure (Message Processor/ESB) for efficient routing, modifying, aggregating messages, and transforming data mappings
• Choose/Construct Application Adapters for seamless communication with the Glue Layer
• Orchestrating integration:
  • Setting up triggers for service request dispatching
  • Configuring outbound request invocations towards target system

Integration validation by QA team ensured.

• Ensures verification of both uni- and bi-directional queries across linked applications, with a focus on orchestration testing. This involves checking the sequential or asynchronous calls made to several services, collectively referred to as flow testing
• Essential for integration projects: Approved failover and recovery mechanisms ensure smooth operation
• Assesses security vulnerabilities. API and web services require rigorous examination due to their susceptibility to cyberattacks. Ensuring the security of exposed web services is paramount, as the architecture and usage type dictate varying levels of risk