Are you wondering how to use Integration Platform as a Service? If yes, you should check out this helpful guide to using iPaaS.

It seems like every day there’s a new acronym to keep track of.

It all started with SaaS (software as a service), and these days everything is shortened down to one word!

The latest trend in modern technology is iPaaS, or perhaps more familiarly, integration platform as a service.

However, this is certainly no fad for you to dismiss. The right iPaaS for you could completely change how you scale your business.

What Is iPaaS?

First things first: what does “integration platform” really mean?

Take a step back and look at all the various types of technology your company uses.

You’ve likely got accounting software for your finance team. Then you’ve got a human resource management tool for your HR department. A CRM certainly figures as a top priority for your sales organization. A marketing automation platform and email broadcast tool are crucial for your marketing department.

There’s a whole host of software that your organization no doubt requires to function.

Sometimes, you need those various types of software to be able to talk to each other neatly.

For instance, let’s say you’ve got a marketing automation platform that helps your team to generate warm, well-qualified leads for your sales team to go after.

Would it not be a boon to your sales team if the marketing automation platform could talk to the CRM tool to make sure that the right contacts and leads automatically got ported over? This would take any manual import/export out of it.

If those two tools do not have a pre-built integration, then maybe this wouldn’t be possible. That’s exactly where an integration platform as a service steps in.

The iPaaS will allow your two tools to talk to each other by linking the two platforms’ APIs.

If you’re not super technical, the best way to describe it is that the tools get integrated under the hood, and your iPaaS serves as the bridge that the data can travel across.

How Is the iPaaS Industry Structured?

If the idea of what an integration platform can do excites you, but you’re worried about the price tag, never fear.

There are a host of various integration platforms with various functionalities and features. They also come at a range of price points, so there’s an option for every budget out there.

Once you conduct a needs assessment of your company to figure out exactly what you need an iPaaS to be able to handle for your business, you can take those requirements and kick off a formal vendor evaluation process.

Leverage Integration Platform as a Service

Now that you have a solid understanding of what iPaaS is, it’s time for you to start leveraging the power of integration platform as a service.

If your company is currently experiencing issues scaling its enterprise IT tech stack, then it’s time to get on the iPaaS bandwagon!

For more technology advice, make sure to check out the rest of the articles on the blog!