The Evolution of iPaaS
The Evolution of iPaaS
How did iPaaS evolve to what they are today?
One of the goals of APIs is to enable the integration between products. Since the beginning developers had the need to develop and maintain systems that were able to consistently use APIs to communicate with third parties. As the number of APIs has been growing, what is the role of the Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)?
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iPaaS hasn't always been as popular as it is today. Let's look at a brief history of API integration solutions to understand how things evolved to what they are now. Back in the early days of computing, having systems designed to perform specific functions was normal. Almost no one thought that connecting those systems together was needed. That was because most of that connectivity was being done manually. Operators of one system obtained a hard copy of the output that would serve as the input of another system. First, information was being passed as printed documents, then as punched cards and perforated paper tape, and later in the shape of magnetic storage. As you can imagine, the process was cumbersome, error-prone, and inefficient.
It was only in the 1990s, with the rise of Local Area Networks, that what became called Enterprise Application Integration gained adoption. Compared to the manual processes that were taking place before, communicating information over the network felt like a dream at the time. But not without its challenges, of course. These early EAI systems were very customized and required a large effort to put together. As the cost of implementing these solutions grew it was clear that something better was needed.
As technology advanced, a paradigm shift occurred with the appearance of what was called Service-Oriented Architecture in the early 2000s. SOA focused on modularizing software components into reusable services, promoting a flexible and scalable approach to application development. While SOA facilitated better integration, the complexity of managing services and orchestrating interactions between them still remained a challenge. With the increased number of on-premise services also came the increased connection between services from different companies.
With the adoption of cloud-based solutions companies found a way to expose their services more easily. Since cloud solutions removed most of the hurdles that were a part of on-premise software development, integration solutions had to evolve. iPaaS started as a way to offer agile integration solutions to the exploding number of services that were suddenly available on the cloud. In the beginning, iPaaS providers focused on offering ready-to-use connectors and templates to allow rapid integration. iPaaS has been quickly evolving since then into an industry of solutions with common characteristics:
Cloud-Based: iPaaS takes advantage of the cloud scalability and flexibility to help companies integrate services quickly.
Low-Code/No-Code: iPaaS platforms often feature low-code or no-code development environments, allowing users with varying technical backgrounds to create integrations without extensive coding expertise.
Pre-built Connectors: To streamline integration, iPaaS providers offer pre-built connectors for popular applications and services, reducing the time and effort required to connect different systems.
Scalability: iPaaS solutions are designed to scale horizontally, accommodating the growing needs of businesses in an increasingly digital landscape.
Real-Time Integration: iPaaS enables real-time data integration, ensuring that information flows seamlessly across systems, providing up-to-the-minute insights.
With an increased number of APIs available, some iPaaS providers adapted their offering to also include API management features. Instead of simply letting users build integrations between existing APIs, iPaaS solutions can also help customers expose and manage their own APIs. This change made iPaaS a more critical piece in the development of APIs and the management of integrations.
However, not all has been positive in the evolution of iPaaS. Security concerns, data privacy, and the complexity of integrating legacy systems are among the top considerations for organizations adopting iPaaS. The major difficulty still is today related to integrating on-premise legacy systems with modern APIs. While iPaaS can help, much of the heavy lifting still has to be done with the help of customized development. One of the trends we're witnessing now is the use of AI in iPaaS solutions to help alleviate the difficulties related to writing customized "glue" code.
AI not only helps engineering teams with their coding activities but also enables non-technical people to use integrations without even noticing. We're transitioning to a stage where integrations are ephemeral and built on the fly whenever users request them. Enabling non-technical users is fundamental to opening analytical and functional activities to a wide range of roles inside organizations. Suddenly, it's not just the engineering team who can build integrations. When everyone inside a company can leverage the power of interconnected services, the results can only be better.
The journey of iPaaS from the early days of EAI to the sophisticated cloud-based platforms of today reflects the evolving needs of businesses in an interconnected world. iPaaS has not only simplified integration but has also become a catalyst for digital transformation. With AI, iPaaS enters a new era where it becomes a foundational piece of any successful business.