7 Trends that Explain Why iPaaS is the Present and Future of Business

Why is iPaaS so important? And what does iPaaS account for in the first place? 

Automation is having a profound impact on business these days. While far from the most flamboyant executions out there — such as Amazon’s warehouse concepts — a number of automation solutions are improving productivity at the workplace by leaps and bounds, mostly by implementing the use of iPaaS.

Defining iPaaS: An easy-to-adopt, promising technology

The acronym iPaaS stands for Integration Platform as a Service and refers to A category of cloud services that enables the connection and development of apps, as well as the design, improvement, execution, and automation of workflows and processes.

Integration platforms as a service help companies and organizations improve their productivity and revenue levels by enabling the creation, enhancement, and automation of workflows. This allows data to flow freely beyond app boundaries and human error mistakes, among other benefits. 

Connections between apps have been a core need since software became the standard at workplaces around the world. In this aspect, little has changed: in fact, the need for reliable integrations has skyrocketed, as more apps are used now than ever before. 

Think of the apps you use every day: Gmail, Slack, Facebook Messenger, Zoom, ClickUp, Salesforce, QuickBooks — the list could go on forever. Up until recently, companies would either

• Hire a team of IT professionals to work on integrations (or assign an existing team with the tasks)

• Outsource the job to a software factory

• Contract gargantuan, third-party solutions with steep learning curves, faulty support, and little customization

With the arrival of cloud services these alternatives quickly fell short, favoring the adoption of flexible, cost-effective, and high-performing integration platforms as a service.

Exploring iPaas: Frequently asked questions

Nowadays, companies like Make are empowering both technical and non-technical users with the ability to connect apps with just a few clicks — a quantum leap in terms of accessibility and power. Unsurprisingly, this has driven an explosion in demand for iPaaS, and also pushed very important questions to the front scenes of automation:

• How to choose the best iPaaS vendor?

• Where will software integration companies be in the next couple of years?

• To what extent can processes be automated?

• Is iPaaS better than AI?

• Will iPaaS replace the ESB at larger companies?

Even industry insiders will tell there aren’t yet easy answers to these and other questions. Instead, it might be safer and more informative to look at current trends. In order to understand what the future may look like, we need to look at the present first.

7 trends to understand the importance of iPaaS

1. The iPaaS market is poised to keep growing at fast rates

Successful markets promote competition to achieve and deliver better products and services. The iPaaS market is boiling with competitors, but according to Gartner, signs of consolidation are already here. 

For customers willing to adopt iPaaS, this is great news, perhaps analogous to a software “goldilocks zone”: even if you don’t get the best possible product now, you will be getting a really good one, and most likely an even better one in the near future.

2. IT departments are under too much pressure, and iPaaS is instrumental in reducing the burden

In 2018, a survey published by Blind showed that nearly 60% of tech workers are burnt out— these are epidemic numbers in a strategic workforce. According to a different study by Kronos, the main reasons for burnout are unfair compensation (41 percent of respondents), unreasonable workload (32 percent), and too much overtime work (32 percent). 

This is where iPaaS comes into play for the benefit of everyone: by freeing IT workers from mind-numbing activities that take too much of their attention while paying too little for it. iPaaS leaves the field open for more exciting, less-repetitive tasks, and arguably, decreased burnout rates.

3. Everyone wants a stake in the iPaaS market, and this speaks volumes of its importance

From newer players like Cyclr to leading platforms like Make and behemoths like Google, Dell and Amazon, the automation ecosystem is moving fast and attracting talent from all over the tech industry. The number and quality of competitors also serve as an indicator of the value that lies within workflow and process automation these days.

4. Service-oriented economies are thirsty for productivity gains

Productivity in the services sector remains one of the hottest topics out there. In a world where dreams (and nightmares) of problem-solving AIs haven’t yet lived up to its promise, iPaaS rises as a more feasible path toward short-term productivity gains. Areas and disciplines showing the biggest potential include marketing, healthcare, e-commerce, and data entry

5. The adoption of iPaaS fits change management efforts like a glove

One of the challenges corporations and governments face these days has a lot to do with legacy technologies and processes. Disengagement, burnout, and obsolescence are modern workplace plagues, and iPaaS helps fix a number of scenarios with its ability to connect all kinds of apps and systems. If you are considering alternatives, it’s always wise to look after elasticity, robustness, and great customer support.

6. iPaaS is positioning itself as a positive alternative to AI

Concerns over job losses, biased design, and rogue developments may be easy to brush off while discussing AI over coffee, but when it comes to adopting products at the enterprise level, the risks are still “too high to rely on”. 

Turn to iPaaS, and you will discover products that speak to our better selves by empowering creativity, diversity, and innovation in the workplace. And, unlike artificial intelligence, iPaaS products are readily available and fairly priced.

7. Support and discussion communities are in full bloom

A welcome development of the iPaaS scene is that everyone can jump into vibrant conversations about theoretical and practical, real-life applications of the most popular, readily available products out there. Thriving user communities act as an extra layer of support to discuss ideas and address issues.

A protocol for creativity and improvement: Choosing the right iPaaS for your business

By supporting virtually infinite combinations between apps and products, iPaaS feels less like a software product, and more like a protocol to create, explore, and improve. This promise can be fulfilled by top iPaaS vendors, but nevertheless, relevant differences will be found among them. 

So, how to choose the best product? A viable course of action is to take a look at the features offered by each product and to see how they align with your business needs. If still in doubt, please consider:

• Asking your team to test free versions of products before making a pick

• Reading reviews from independent sources

• Comparing price plans of shortlisted products

With lots of exciting features being released every day, the iPaaS scene advances at a relentless pace. One thing is certain: in these times of cloud-connected everything, staying at the cusp of what happens in and around iPaaS — the connective tissue of it all, the glue of the internet — is something worth doing.

Bring all your tools together with Make, a web-based tool to connect apps and automate workflows using a beautiful, no-code visual builder. The inbuilt HTTP app enables you to connect to any web service or API without writing a single line of code. Make’s free plan comes with all its powerful features; give it a go and you might just fall in love!