Application Integration. How to approach it to make it work?

When creating a mobile application, the main goal is to respond to the target audience’s needs, to attract as many users as possible, translating into profits for the company. Above all, the app must be reliable and, if necessary, gather information from other vendors. So let me explain how integrations with 3rd party solutions can boost your business and how to approach it to make it work. 

What is application integration? 

Application integration is the process of delivering capabilities or resources from one application to another. Application development can benefit the developer using application integration, but it is also possible to create applications in such a way that they can be integrated with other applications. This can lead to revenue opportunities or increased reach for your app or platform. Almost every new application is usually a combination of three general types of code: source code provided by the operating system, code written by the developer that is specific only to the application being developed, and code written by other parties that the developer uses in the new application. 

Approaches to application integration

The need to integrate applications, which often come from different vendors and are created in different ways, has grown. In the software dictionary, integration of application is not a new subject. Thus older methods are mixed with those that have emerged recently. 

iPaaS

With the proliferation of SaaS applications has come the need for less demanding, more intuitive, and easier ways to connect and manage data. iPaas is a cloud-based integration platform as a service – connects data, applications, and processes. iPaaS automates and simplifies integration activities, making it easy to connect applications and data deployed in any environment, and enables you to create and deploy cloud integrations between cloud and on-premises applications and data using an API-driven, event-driven approach – without the need to install or manage middleware or hardware.

Point-to-Point Application Integration

This method is dedicated to integrating specific applications that are spliced together to achieve a business goal. This method works great with fewer applications because a large number of apps translates into a large number of point-to-point connections. Another aspect that is difficult to manage is a large number of updates (2 or 3 times a year) when moving applications to the cloud by SaaS (Software as a Service) companies. A large number of updates means constantly monitoring changes and fixing items that have changed. 

Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) / Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

Instead of multiple point-to-point interconnections, EAI employs a hub-and-spoke strategy. The integration application is a connector of sorts whose connections reach out to other applications with which it is to be integrated. EAI is a good solution for business process automation due to near real-time communication between applications. An enterprise service bus (ESB), which transports communications between producer and consumer applications, is today’s most popular EAI solution. This method will not be the ideal choice when considering integration in connecting applications to cloud preemptors and edge devices. However, it will work well for large companies when integrating on-premises applications. 

The main advantages of integrating apps

Application integration provides many benefits to the company. From a purely business perspective, working with an experienced agency that performs application integration will save money and time, which can be spent on further business development. Using the knowledge and experience of other companies, you can be sure that the integration will be successful. 

In addition, betting on the integration of your tools automates office processes. Employees will no longer have to “jump” between multiple windows and tabs and duplicate writing information in several places. The created, integrated platform can do it for them! The main advantage is the substantial time savings that can be spent on other tasks. The most common processes that can be automated involve invoicing, ordering and fulfillment, debt collection, and logistics. Integrated systems are a profit, both for external employees, for many customers and vendors, because they offer quick access to the required information and files needed for various processes. 

Examples of app integrations at Applover

Apple and Google provide huge frameworks that make it possible for developers to create mobile apps without the high cost required to generate the code for each component. Imagine that you want to create a calendar-connected app so that appointments are in one place and the user feels that everything is properly organized. That was our challenge while creating a web application for Signium – an expert in helping clients recruit, improve and retain the best leadership teams. As part of the company’s growth, they focused on an application to help manage customer and candidate data, resulting in an easy tool to schedule the meetings. Another Applover’s development project was to create a product integrated with Google Play and App Store apps. One of our projects involved an insurance policy app that rewards users for healthy behaviors such as walking, running, and cycling – Steppie. The founders of Steppie wanted the product to be well integrated with Google Fit (Android) and Health Kit (iOS) apps. These are the most popular health and fitness app kits in the market, and the Steppie App works as their extension, not instead of them.

Find a solution that integrates your system best

Application integration enables faster app development and improved user workflow. And this is what every app creator cares about. It is possible to use freely available frameworks, which significantly reduces costs connected with application development. However, it is worth remembering that it is not always possible to use existing data. For example, if you ever consider creating another popular ride-sharing app. You could use the route planning algorithms of Uber or Lyft. This would save significant development costs, but it is impossible because these companies do not offer this feature in the framework. This code is a competitive advantage for them, so they keep it private. Therefore, the best solution is to hire a company with experience in integration services and offer customized app development for your specific application.