Hip to be iPaaS AND iPaaS to be a HIP

There are two really big possibly ambiguous terms that are essential to us–essential to our strategy–and that tie to markets we serve. These terms are iPaaS and hybrid integration platform (HIP). Don’t get me wrong. By calling these terms big and ambiguous I am not saying they are not important. They are essential to us. They are the words through which the analysts capture the transformation of the integration space and the transformation of IT in its approach to all things integration. But there is some gray in many minds. We all must be comfortable with the overlap and the gray areas in these and with that confident in the essentials.

iPaaS and hybrid integration platform

For Axway, our strategy is to be a leader in HIP. HIP is defined as integration that IT offers as a service (self-service) to different integration personas, spanning multiple integration patterns and endpoints deployed across cloud(s) and on-premises. Our definition can be found in the excellent ebook–The Drive Behind Hybrid Integration Platforms.

Before we get lost in academics–we need to know and not let go of the why. The why we offer what we offer as AMPLIFY™ is “to enable you to become more competitive, customer-driven and agile to achieve faster innovation for your Digital Transformation enabling the business to find new revenue opportunities and delight their customers.”

For what we offer–know the essential in all that we offer is the empowering of the business with self-service integration while IT maintains corporate oversight. Which, yes, covers multiple integration patterns spanning deployment typologies. This allows for scale and speed.

iPaaS and hybrid integration platform

OK, so what are these terms? Let’s dive into iPaaS and hybrid integration platform. We will refer to Gartner. I’ll reference two recent and excellent reads from Gartner.

The HIP — by definition a combination of on-premises and in-the-cloud integration and API management capabilities (see “Innovation Insight for Hybrid Integration Platforms”)—is the key technology enabler for bimodal integration, because it can provide application leaders with a comprehensive platform to address a range of:

 

Use cases—application to application (A2A), B2B, cloud service, mobile app, API, event, robotic process automation (RPA), digital integration hub (DIH) and Internet of Things (IoT) integration.

 

Deployment models—on-premises, cloud, hybrid and edge.

 

Constituents—integration specialists, “ad hoc” integrators in LOBs and citizen integrators (i.e., business users; see “Integration Personas and Their Impact on Integration Platform Strategy”).¹

Continuing then–what about iPaaS? What is an iPaaS? and how does this relate to HIP? Here again, in one of Gartner’s latest documents is Gartner definition of an eiPaaS–Enterprise iPaaS. They offer a lengthy and very good and detailed outline–here is some content key to my points.

An enterprise integration platform as a service (eiPaaS) is a suite of cloud services that addresses a variety of scenarios, including application and data integration, as well as some combination of process, ecosystems, mobile, AI-enabled systems and IoT integration, as well as API management and digital integration hub capabilities.²

There is more! They go onto the important details of capabilities that includes hybrid deployments.

eiPaaS providers typically target application leaders and other buyers looking for a strategic integration platform that they intend to use across multiple, often business-critical integration projects, using a range of go-to-market approaches. As such, in a growing number of cases, organizations purchase eiPaaS to support an integration strategy modernization initiative, as a pivotal component of their HIP.

 

To play such a strategic role, eiPaaS offerings provide an advanced set of integration capabilities, including….Hybrid, multi-cloud deployment models that enable user organizations to deploy the runtime execution of integration processes in the provider’s cloud, third-party cloud infrastructures, Private clouds, Traditional on-premises environments, Any combination of the above.³

And further, they emphasize the breadth of use cases covered.

Many of today’s eiPaaS offerings are suites of capabilities that customers can procure as a single package, or as individual sub-suites that target:

 

Different use cases (including data integration, application integration, B2B integration, API management and workflow).

 

Different intended audiences (integration specialists versus ad hoc integrators).

 

Different target markets (large corporations versus midsize enterprises).⁴

HELP!

Commonalities–HIP and iPaaS (Gartner refers to eiPaaS–Enterprise iPaaS) cover diversities in integration patterns and use cases, diversity in endpoints, hybrid deployment options and addressing a range of personas.

One big difference–HIP is positioned as a “Capability Framework,” eiPaaS is positioned as a “suite of cloud services”.  HIP as a capability framework is “some assembly required“–it is something you build out within your organization. eiPaaS is a “product” you buy (ok, it’s a service but you get the point).

A key nuance not to be missed–HIP emphasizes self-service integration offered by IT. eiPaaS is self-service integration offered by a VENDOR. This then can and should be leveraged into building out one’s HIP.

So, what is Axway AMPLIFY?

Are we offering a HIP, an iPaaS? both? Well go back to the beginning of this blog to not lose focus, our strategic goal is to be a leader in HIP. And–allow the terms to not get in the way and focus on the why. “Axway enables you to become more competitive, customer-driven and agile to achieve faster innovation for your Digital Transformation enabling the business to find new revenue opportunities and delight their customers.” This is the important part.

Faster integration for faster innovation

So, what are we in all this? I have not answered!

AMPLIFY offers as SaaS “a suite of cloud services” supporting an array of integration patterns (mobile integration, app integration, API Management, Content Collaboration), allowing distributed run times for extending the integration patterns (App, API, MFT, B2B) across clouds and premises and we serve with this a mix of personas. This makes us an iPaaS with the experience of our platform rooted in the SaaS control plane through AMPLIFY Central and the Catalog with a core suite of cloud services of Application Integration, Mobile Integration and Content Collaboration extended with our distributed runtimes for API, MFT and B2B.

AND, yes, a critical point–we provide to our customers a self-service experience they can give to lines of business’s and integrators outside of IT all governed by IT through the central experience. This makes us a HIP. We are also open to the inevitable “Some assembly required” with incumbent technologies. Our foundational AMPLIFY Central and Catalog experience are built for this. We are open to competitive vendors technologies and customers incumbent ESBs, API Gateways and managers and such to be assembled with our capabilities as a collective HIP. So, we are a HIP and we are an iPaaS and we are ready to be the cornerstone for YOUR HIP.

Nuances!

Maybe. We internally, at times, trip on the terms. My suggestion to our sellers is to focus on the business value, the proposition of scaling integration and innovation at our customers and the use cases and allow for the areas of overlap and gray in the terms to fade away. Both terms are capturing the future of integration and both capture the future of how IT addresses integration. As for the terms for all leverage the power of both terms depending on your audience but focus on the value they represent to your organization, its future and its digital transformation.

1. Gartner, How to Implement a Hybrid Integration Platform to Tackle Pervasive Integration, Massimo Pezzini, Jess Thompson, Keith Guttridge, Elizabeth Golluscio Published March 2016 Refreshed April 2019
2. Gartner, Technology Insight for Enterprise Integration PaaS, Massimo Pezzini, Benoit Lheureux, 31 July 2019
3. Gartner, Technology Insight for Enterprise Integration PaaS, Massimo Pezzini, Benoit Lheureux, 31 July 2019
4. Gartner, Technology Insight for Enterprise Integration PaaS, Massimo Pezzini, Benoit Lheureux, 31 July 2019