B2B cloud integration: why companies are making the move to managed cloud services

For many years, companies have managed their own B2B IT ecosystems. In the context of modern operations, that avenue is becoming more complex.

On the one hand, you’ve got experts who’ve operated legacy systems leaving the workforce. Finding replacements is difficult in a generation that favors low-touch, modern technologies.

Alongside this talent shortage, the modern B2B ecosystem is changing. It’s no longer enough to maintain current processes. Organizations must invest in modern EDI and API-driven processes and B2B cloud integration. With this organizational change comes the potential for high costs and risks.

The result is a tug-of-war scenario. There’s a clear need to embrace modern integration technologies, but it’s a journey that takes time. Yet, companies don’t always have the time, resources, or skills to make this change.

To this end, more companies are partnering with managed cloud providers. They gain access to tools and experts that support organizational transformation. All the while, they can focus on their core competencies and revenue-generating activities.

Here are three ways partnership with a managed cloud service can support organizations in their B2B cloud integration journey.

Case #1: Saying goodbye to an unwieldy legacy EDI system

As businesses grow, they can find themselves continuously customizing their legacy mainframe EDI solutions to try and make them work. This ‘band-aid’ only leads to more headaches for the staff maintaining systems.

These legacy EDI solutions can often be installed in data centers and require millions of dollars to support. Eventually, they will reach the end of their life.

Moving to Axway Managed Cloud Services — in conjunction with our B2B platform — can help companies streamline and secure their EDI operations.

That was the case for one customer who recently migrated around 200 business maps to the Axway Managed Cloud. The effort represented the processing of transactions worth $7 billion in revenue and ultimately saved the customer millions of dollars.

Case #2: Meeting increasing industry and partner demands

The expansion of businesses and supply chains can lead to new demands. Take the automotive industry, for instance. As they’ve globalized operations, automotive leaders must make their IT infrastructure more flexible. Flexibility allows them to support efficient and reliable logistics on a global scale.

Initiatives like EDIFACT and OFTP2 have supported these efforts by providing standardized formats and protocols for exchanging business information. With the goal of long-term sustainability, migrating these operations to the cloud has been a natural next step for automotive companies.

Let’s use the example of Pöppelmann, a leading manufacturer of plastics and supplier of automotive components. To meet heightened demand and new standard criteria, Pöppelmann prioritized three initiatives:

1. Updating from VDA to EDIFACT
2. Converting to OFTP2
3. Moving from an on-premises system to a secure managed private cloud

With Axway, Pöppelmann was able to meet all these requirements. Thanks to Axway Managed Cloud Services for B2B, they have a stable B2B solution that supports more than 250 partners — some of which have extensive data.

Case #3: Gaining end-to-end visibility of partner transactions

Legacy EDI systems often lack real-time visibility into partner transactions. Enterprises can struggle to react proactively to disruptions without an end-to-end supply chain picture. This challenge can lead to poorer customer service, sitting on extra inventory, and increased costs.

Visibility into this event data became especially critical during the pandemic. Many businesses are in a supply chain crunch, and they need to know where to increase supply.

Lattice Semiconductor gained a single view of partner transactions by migrating from a legacy EDI system to Axway B2B Cloud Managed Services. The semiconductor manufacturer could see every step in the process, from order placement to fulfillment. From that data, they could drive decisions on where to increase supplies.

Lattice Semiconductor gained the real-time supply chain visibility they needed without investing in any new infrastructure or IT resources. They’ve addressed issues faster, reduced outages, and improved security with Axway’s infrastructure and expertise.

Axway is ready to support your journey to the cloud

At Axway, we understand that managing a B2B cloud integration can be complex. With a strong team of tools and experts, we can do the heavy lifting for you.

While accelerating the movement of your business processes to the cloud, we’ll oversee EDI and API flows on our modern integration platform. With our support, you’ll have more time to focus on what matters most: your business.