Streamlining third-party application integrations with Birlasoft iConnect Framework

Jun 28, 2023

Infor | 5 min READ

ERP integration is a growing need to drive success across industries. Robust integration of on-premises applications, media services, networking channels, third-party gateways, and SaaS can enhance business performance through seamless data flows and processes across the environment. It is essential for enterprises to build integration for business services that can improve hybrid cloud capabilities and assure quality deployment with reduced time and minimized costs.

Ravindra Kabbur

Sr Solution Architect

Infor

Birlasoft

Birlasoft "iConnect," powered by INFOR OS (ION) is an agile framework to build seamless third-party integrations to the Infor CloudSuite applications. The solution is designed to address the specific challenges and requirements faced by CIO and their technical teams during the process of integrating 3rd party applications. Birlasoft iConnect is a result of our proven experience in multi-domain enterprise technology platform services.

iConnect standardizes the end-to-end integration processes with a framework as a tool and helps build robust and flexible integration solutions across all Infor CloudSuite solutions. It facilitates a seamless process with its prebuilt methods and predefined standard touch points using Infor OS – ION middleware which is a benchmarking technology for state of art Integration processes.

The Challenges

Modern CIOs and IT teams face disruptive macroeconomic forces, changing the state of flux. As digital transformation continues to be the key metric to measure success in the competitive landscape, software solutions entail integrations that drive adaptability, flexibility, and productivity to improve business efficiency.

The key integration challenges faced by CIO/IT teams are:

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Multiple components involved in the process of integrations, including inbound/outbound touch points, middleware, data formats, source, and target applications, cause sorting and alignment a daunting task.
The need for skilled resources and dependency on experts with functional and technical knowledge to design, execute, and support the integrations.
Keeping pace with ever-changing technology while ensuring the tools compatibility with the middleware, connectors, API gateways, and other Infosec elements.
An eye to differentiate integration errors which are disguised as product errors. Generally, these errors are unnoticed and fail during the error-handling process.
Compliance with policies of Infosec rules, web service providers, intranet constraints, and access issues are major roadblocks between third-party system integration and ERP.
Traditional integration processes are long drawn which increase resource costs and burnout resource productivity due to delays and unforeseen technical issues such as upgrade of redundant or legacy platforms which are expensive.

iConnect: An end-to-end Integration Solution

Birlasoft iConnect is a standardized framework with predefined components and configuration of a standard mode of connections that facilitates easy identification of the components required for the execution of integrations. It helps in scalability, speed to configure the initial design, develop touch points and data flow, eventually improving the productivity during the integration process.

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The iConnect framework platform solution enhances the integration process by:

Eliminating multiple dependencies on resources as the framework supports predefined and generic integration methods.
Minimizing efforts on regular update as iConnect is built on Infor OS, that is itself always up to date with ever-changing technology, ensuring that compatibility with Infor ERP is maintained.
Reducing dependency on external service providers to a significant extent as the framework provides access to predefined integration methods and data formats. The framework also supports all the generic connectivity services.
Mitigating compatibility issues with enterprise connectors and web interfaces supported by significant application vendors.
Facilitating faster process time to draw the integration designs, identify components for access, and identify data touch points resulting in optimal time spent on SIT and user acceptance process.
Providing end-to-end framework and flexibility to adapt to continuous innovation per customer needs.

Key Differentiators

iConnect framework is a unique approach in the initial solution designing of the integrations. Pre-assessed tools, connectors, pre-identified inbound/ outbound touch points and data formats differentiate this framework from the native approach of assessing monitoring process.

iConnect helps technical teams who are involved in the initial design structure of the integrations and is focused to resolve the specific issues faced during the integration process. With the ION as a middleware, it brings a benchmarking technology for state of th3 art integration processes.

It focuses on generic issues and challenges faced and with the Infor OS – ION as a middleware it brings a benchmarking technology for state of integration processes.

Powering Enterprises with iConnect: The Benefits

With iConnect framework, businesses can derive the following benefits:

1. Standardization

Building integrations with a standard workflow process automation like ION, allows a consistent, scalable approach across all integration methods, allows build uniform strategies, and avoids multiple integration option. Standard framework eliminates the dependency on native integrations and helps a real time approach, allowing an enterprise to strategize and scale its integrations with a single method that is market-proven and expedient.

2. Scalability

The standard framework allows scalability and flexibility by making available more options to choose/select the integration methods depending on the application and platform to be integrated. By using a pre-built framework to build integrations, the robustness allows the businesses to overcome the lingering problems. With the flexibility to make changes, the framework allows switching applications to be integrated, a seamless switch with minimum effort.

3. Value Delivery

The framework is available with pre-built connectors for inbound and outbound data touch points, eliminating the initial cost of platform dependency and upgrades in the case of non-compatibility. Furthermore, it facilitates proactive management of the IT budget when allocating costs for such 3rd party integration projects within the organization. The standardized process helps in the reducing the resource cost, cost of initial development and hiring of niche skills required for testing the integrations.

4. Clarity of Scope

Standardized framework allows to maintain clarity and the scope definition for the integration process, inbound and outbound methods can be a firm a definitive process. The standard framework defines the perquisites and usage of connectors for specific platforms, and the technical solution designing phase is transparent. It fills the gaps that traditional integration processes fail to address, allowing enterprises to build on their own terms with almost no limits.

5. Speed of Integration.

Framework includes pre-defined platforms, methods of inbound and outbound dataflow which reduces rework, repetitive task for building third-party integrations. Speed and accuracy are achieved, and the framework helps to build new integration flows with the pre-packed solutions. It stretches the flexibility to include/exclude components when using standardized Middleware (Infor OS- ION) and makes available a comprehensive pre-built set of tools and services to connect any number of applications

To learn how we can help you on a seamless integration to Infor CloudSuite journey using iConnect Framework, speak to our experts today.

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