Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

What Does Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) Mean?

Integration platform as a service (iPaaS) is a cloud service that allows software developers to automate how on-premises and cloud-based applications securely share data.

An important goal of iPaaS is to simplify management of complex hybrid cloud and multi-cloud architectures. The challenge is that even when simplified, real-time data flows in hybrid and multi-cloud environments can still be very complex.

iPaaS cloud services provide customers with access to an executive dashboard that can easily be customized with pre-built connectors and business rules. The service provider is responsible for handling the back-end services that support hardware management and data governance, including encryption.

To accommodate small and mid-size businesses, an increasing number of iPaaS vendors are offering low-code/no-code (LCNC) versions of their iPaaS services. LCNC dashboards allow non-technical line of business (LOB) employees to connect on-premises and cloud applications and synchronize data flows without help from their IT department.

Techopedia Explains Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

Enterprise iPaaS simplifies enterprise service bus (ESB) projects and reduces the need for an organization to hire additional software developers to write custom application programming interfaces (APIs) that integrate APIs published by multiple cloud services. This type of cloud service also eliminates the need for an organization to purchase message-oriented middleware or enterprise application integration (EAI) software.

iPaaS services are typically purchased as a monthly subscription. iPaaS has also become a value-added part of comprehensive enterprise packages from many cloud computing vendors, including Boomi, SAP and TIBCO.

Boomi - includes data mapping tools and a library of connectors that can support multiple integration patterns.

SAP Integration Suite - allows customers to integrate on-premise and cloud apps with pre-built content and tools managed by SAP.

TIBCO - facilitates the creation, testing and deployment of custom APIs to integrate cloud services with on-premises applications.