Knowledge hub · 4 guides

Middleware & integration

The software in the middle that lets your ERP, CRM, websites and partners exchange data reliably.

What it is

Every enterprise runs dozens, often hundreds, of applications. Middleware connects them: it moves orders from the website to the ERP, customer changes from the CRM to billing, and files to and from banks and suppliers.

Integration comes in three shapes: APIs (ask and answer, in real time), events (a system announces a change and others react), and scheduled data flows. An integration platform gives you all three with monitoring, security and reuse in one place.

Explainer

Why an integration layer pays off

Point to point

15 links

Through an integration layer

6 links

Six systems wired point to point can need up to 15 connections, each built and maintained on its own. Through one integration layer they need six, and each one can be reused.

Explainer

Three layers of APIs

System APIs
Unlock data in core systems without exposing their internals.
- ERP
- CRM
- Databases
Process APIs
Combine and orchestrate data for a business process.
- Customer 360
- Order status
Experience APIs
Shape the data for each channel that uses it.
- Web
- Mobile
- Partners

A pattern popularised by MuleSoft and now common everywhere: build each layer once, then reuse it, so the tenth project is much faster than the first.

Guides

Guides in Middleware & integration

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Salesforce's integration platform, built around reusable APIs.

Large estates with many systems and teams
Organisations investing in reusable APIs
Salesforce-heavy businesses

Typical project: 8–16 weeksSee vendors

Boomi

A cloud integration platform known for quick, low-code connections.

Connecting popular SaaS apps quickly
Teams with few integration specialists
Hybrid setups with a few on-premises systems

Typical project: 4–10 weeksSee vendors

Apache Kafka & event streaming

A durable, high-speed log of events that many systems can write to and read from in real time.

Real-time use cases: fraud, pricing, tracking, IoT
Feeding many downstream systems from one source of change
Very high message volumes

Typical project: 6–14 weeksSee vendors

Azure Integration Services

Microsoft's integration toolkit: Logic Apps, API Management, Service Bus and Event Grid.

Organisations already on Azure
Moving off BizTalk Server
Integration whose cost should grow with use

Typical project: 4–10 weeksSee vendors

At a glance

Guide	Best fit	Pricing	Typical project
MuleSoft	API-led integration across many systems and teams	Annual subscription sized by capacity or usage	8–16 weeks
Boomi	Fast, low-code integration between popular SaaS and ERP apps	Subscription by edition, connectors or usage	4–10 weeks
Kafka	Real-time data at high volume, feeding many systems at once	Free software; managed services charge for throughput, storage and partitions	6–14 weeks
Azure Integration	Pay-per-use integration for Azure and Microsoft estates	Pay per use for each service (runs, calls, messages), with fixed-price tiers for heavy loads	4–10 weeks

Glossary

Key terms

API: A defined way for one system to ask another for data or an action.
iPaaS: Integration platform as a service: cloud tools to build, run and monitor integrations.
Event streaming: Systems publish changes as events; others subscribe and react in real time.
Message queue: A buffer that holds messages until the receiver is ready, so nothing gets lost.
API gateway: The front door for APIs: security, rate limits and usage analytics.
EDI: Electronic data interchange: standard formats for orders and invoices between trading partners.

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