What is Hybrid Integration and 5 Considerations for Your Hybrid Integration Strategy

Originally Published on April 23, 2020

Enterprises worldwide are busy forging hybrid integration strategies to build technology-led capabilities and maximize the benefits of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). At this juncture, it becomes paramount for them to analyze their organizational maturity level and learn about all the different integration scenarios.

In their continuous endeavor to grow in a connected ecosystem — facilitated by technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) — enterprises are coveting to unleash new opportunities offered by the digital age. With the comprehensively expanding cloud technology, the contemporary businesses are in a dire need to connect on-premise applications, software, data, and the users with the infrastructure in the cloud to innovate, re-engineer, and deliver products and services.

But, there is a volley of challenges, and businesses find simplifying complex integration requirements difficult. However, approaches such as microservices, SaaS (Software-as-a- Service) integration, API-led connectivity, DaaS (Data-as-a-Service), API monetization, and more pacify the complexities.

Considering different topologies involved in the integration among and within the diverse cloud environment, a Hybrid Integraup in any organization. tion Platform (HIP) and strategy become crucial. But right before the enterprises make up their mind, it is important to understand the different integration scenarios.

What is hybrid integration?

Hybrid integration strategies enable seamless communication between an enterprise’s on-premise and cloud-based systems, ensuring that all applications, data, and services—whether legacy or modern—work together as a unified, agile ecosystem. These strategies encompass connecting diverse environments, supporting the smooth transition to cloud, and allowing businesses to innovate while maintaining operational continuity.

Hybrid Integration Strategies must be based on these Integration scenarios

The following are the top 5 integration scenarios that enterprises must consider while choosing a hybrid integration platform or building their integration strategies.

1. Hybrid Cloud Integration:The continuously transforming IT architectures have paved the way for hybrid cloud integration platforms, which offers a unified output to business users, irrespective of how the IT platforms are set up in any organization.

Hybrid cloud integration is a new way to integrate systems, applications, business landscapes, and more. It allows you to provide a captivating customer experience by connecting anything from on-premises frameworks, cloud apps, and all the way to edge IoT gadgets.

The following are some of the benefits of hybrid cloud integration:

• Ensures Regulatory Compliance
• Offers Security & Privacy
• Fosters Innovation
• Maximizes Investment

2. Data Cloud Integration:Organizations have numerous applications, services, and systems they employ to perform the diverse business processes and functions. And data, among all, plays the most essential role. Therefore, to put all the business components in parity, the data must be synchronized with the cloud.

An advanced HIP allows seamless data integration with the cloud. Offering DaaS — an approach that makes data available on-demand as and when required — a HIP allows the users to access easy and hassle-free data in real-time, irrespective of where the data is stored (on-premise apps or cloud apps).

The following are some of the benefits of data cloud integration:

• Offers Data Scalability
• Makes Real-Time Data Available
• Ensures Complete Data Security
• Provides Better Data Control

3. Multi-Cloud Application Integration :Many organizations have their application on the different clouds, which they want to integrate. With the availability of a multi-cloud management platform, organizations can reduce their dependency on a single cloud provider. It is an integration strategy that enables “integrating” multiple public and private cloud environments via APIs leveraging iPaaS platforms.

With the help of an advanced HIP, businesses can seamlessly perform such tasks. However, it is important to note here that multi-cloud integration and hybrid cloud integration is not the same.

The following are some of the benefits of multi-cloud application integration:

• Maximizes Productivity and Efficiency
• Improves Flexibility
• Offers Dynamic Pricing
• Helps Avoid Vendor Lock-in
• Supports Fail-overs and Disaster Recovery

4. B2B Integration :Business-to-business (B2B) integration is about integrating APIs from other organizations to create new services and products as well as accelerate innovation. B2B integration is largely about flawless communication with other organizations’ APIs and about automating the processes within. By digitizing information and data, an advanced hybrid integration platform, supporting B2B integration, breaks the barrier between trade partners and other stakeholders to support smooth trade among them.

With the digital-driven business landscape growing continuously, businesses must collaborate to achieve operational excellence and augment the performance of the supply chain.

The following are some of the benefits of B2B integration:

• Improves Supply Chain
• Boosts Business Efficiency
• Ensures Operational Excellence
• Accelerates Partner Onboarding

5. Legacy Integration: Businesses face the problem of integrating legacy systems with new technologies, web applications, mobile applications, and more, with the cloud. Legacy system integration tackles the challenge of connecting with APIs both on-premises and over the cloud, bridging the network divide.

Advanced hybrid integration platforms consist of connectors that leverage APIs to establish seamless connections between on-prémisse applications and applications in the cloud and ensures complete interoperability.

The following are some of the benefits of legacy integration:

• Supports Legacy Modernization
• Offers Flawless Communication
• Provides Instant API Connectivity
• Ensures Platform Interoperability

Why is Hybrid Integration Strategy relevant?

Successful integration strategies improve your understanding of selecting a bespoke hybrid integration platform and with an understanding of the above-mentioned integration scenarios, it will be easy for enterprises to analyze their organizational maturity level for building successful hybrid integration strategies

Be it integrating legacy data with the applications in the cloud/SaaS platforms, gaining visibility and control over integration, or be it identifying and troubleshooting issues as and when they occur, an advanced hybrid integration platform stands with you all along the way. With robust integration strategies in place, enterprises can feed their growth, innovation, and success on APIs, without having to make additional investment in IT infrastructure and resources.