A 360 Degree View Of SaaS Integration

A 360 Degree View Of SaaS Integration - Presentation Transcript

A 360 Degree View of Integration: Overcoming Glue Integration Challenges for ISVs and End Users Rick Nucci, Co-founder & CTO Copyright © 2006 Boomi, Inc. All rights reserved. Boomi, Boomi On Demand, Visual Integration Platform, Atom and AtomSphere and their respective logos are the registered or common law trademarks or service marks of Boomi, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks and service marks used in this publication are the property of their respective owners.

Agenda Who is Boomi? The Evolution of Integration The SaaS Integration Map Best Practice for End Users Best Practice for SaaS ISV Q&A

Who is Boomi? AWARD WINNING TECHNOLOGY • Market/Technology Leader in Cloud Integration • Founded in March 2000 • 400+ Clients, 11 Countries -- SYS-CON “Top 100 Cloud Players” • Backed by FirstMark Capital

What We Do The Glue Between the Enterprise Cloud Ecosystem

Industry’s Largest Open Network Connect Once – Integrate Everywhere™

Agenda Who is Boomi? The Evolution of Integration • From closed systems to self service The SaaS Integration Map Best Practice for End Users Best Practice for SaaS ISV Q&A

Circa late 90’s

Circa early 2000’s Obligatory “SOA Stack” Source: BPM Institute

What was the problem? • This stuff is hard! • Only accessible to highly specialized/expensive resources • Re-create the wheel over and over • Only largest companies participate

Roots of Integration Complexity • Closed systems + vendor priorities = API Optional • Just write to the database! • Application customization disconnected from API • Wildly disparate integration standards, invocation models, programming styles

Today: SaaS Connectivity • Closed systems = no traction • API not optional • There is no database! • Multitenancy architecture forces customizations to manifest in API • We at least agree on a few things • HTTPS, SOAP/WSDL, REST/WADL

Today: The New SI • ISV’s generally focus on product/platform features • SI’s fill critical void of deep vertical knowledge • SI’s fill critical void of PaaS development • SI’s are transitioning: • From: send army onsite for months • To: 90%+ remote engagement, highly leveraged

Today: Big mentality shift • Who owns the integration problem? • SaaS ISV – must solve during sales cycle • Department purchasing SaaS: “I love your solution, show me how it connects to X”

Today: Big mentality shift ISV’s have transitioned from • “Here is the stack, good luck!” To…. • Demo of pre-built integration Ultimately to…. • Enable customers to try out the integration during trial

Agenda Who is Boomi? The Evolution of Integration The SaaS Integration Map • Where does integration start and end in the cloud ecosystem? Best Practice for End Users Best Practice for SaaS ISV Q&A

SaaS to Private Data Source SAAS APPLICATION TRADITIONAL PUBLIC CLOUD LOCAL COMPUTE NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE ENVIRONMENT (e.g. AMAZON EC2)

SaaS to SaaS YOUR SAAS APPLICATION SAAS APPLICATION INTERMEDIARY (INTEGRATION AS A SERVICE) SAAS APPLICATION -- IMPORTANT -- These are multitenant API’s. Each tenant using each SaaS app will customize it, and need SAAS those customizations for their APPLICATION integrations. This is not “code once per app”!

Primary Integration Patterns What happens across these systems? • Data Synchronization • Keep customer consistent across applications • Business Process Automation • Minimize human involvement in high volume, low value tasks • Mashup • Present unified view of data across applications on the fly • Data Aggregation • Maintain central data store for BI/Analytics

Agenda Who is Boomi? The Evolution of Integration The SaaS Integration Map Best Practice for End Users • Short and long term integration strategies Best Practice for SaaS ISV Q&A

Phase 1: Departmental Initiatives Indicators • Department implements first SaaS application • Disconnected from corporate IT Best Practices • Justify integration investment • Calculate departmental labor cost to manually enter data and cleanup errors Ensure integration solution is SaaS like the app • Complementary pricing? • Can you try it out online before buying? • How are upgrades handled? Leverage pre-built integration if possible

Phase 2: Shift to Enterprise SAAS APPLICATIO Web app N Financials SAAS APPLICATIO CRM PAAS N SAAS APPLICATION APPLICATIO NSAAS APPLICATIO NSAAS APPLICATIO HRIS N

Spaghetti 2.0???

It’s not about “hosting” integration. SAAS APPLICA Web app TION Financial s SAAS PAAS APPLICA CRM SAAS APPLICAT TION APPLICA SAAS ION TION APPLICA SAAS TION APPLICA HRIS TION SAAS INTEGRATION PLATFORM -- Centralized development, deployment, administration -- De-centralized runtime

Agenda Who is Boomi? The Evolution of Integration The SaaS Integration Map Best Practice for End Users Best Practice for SaaS ISV • The SaaS API Blueprint • Strategies for scale Q&A

SaaS ISV Best Practice Phase 1: Your API Phase 2: Productization

Phase 1: Your API Key Success Factors • Your API is part of your product • Owned by product management • Integrated into SDLC processes • Don’t charge extra for your API • “Oh, you wanted outlets for your electricity?” • Think self service • Free, open access to API and documentation as part of product evaluation • Your customers will come up with smarter uses of your API than you will

The SaaS API Blueprint Aggregation of API design across SaaS community Blueprint Assumptions: • Application is B not C • Application contains master data e.g. Customer/Employee • Application is some but not all steps in a business process • Application is commonly customized by end user Best Practices for API Design

Objects, not Operations YES! NO! Objects Operations Operations Customer browse(obj) browseCustomer() browseContact() Contact read(obj) readCustomer() readContact() edit(obj) editCustomer() editContact() Employee addCustomer() Etc. add(obj) deleteCustomer() delete(obj) • Leads to N * 5 call proliferation • Harder maintenance & readability, must remember conventions over time! (“add” or “create”?) • Other ways to declare which operations and objects supports

Meta data vs. Documentation • Put semantics in the API not the documentation • Provide API’s for • Available Objects • Distinguish base vs. custom if supported • Fields + Definition of a given Object • Occurrences, data types, possible values • Group custom fields into explicit section of object • Operations supported for a given Object • WSDL won’t have all the pieces… • If used, generate dynamically based on tenant

Other API Best Practices • Version your API • Your customers won’t upgrade when you do • Make version part of URL, e.g. • http://myapp.com/api/3.0 • Query by last modified date critical • Very common approach to capturing changed data • Gate API with consistent batching mechanism • Avoid use of arbitrary name/value pairs • Creates reliance on documentation YES! NO! <CustomFields> <CustomField <Terms>365</Terms> name=“Terms”> </CustomFields> <Value>365</Value> </CustomField>

SaaS ISV Best Practice Phase 1: Your API Phase 2: Productization

Phase 2: Productization • Patterns of re-use will emerge across customer implementations • Implement discovery process • Cross re-usability and market potential • QuickBooks, Salesforce, Great Plains = GOOD • SAP = BAD • Package up most popular integrations • What aspect of the integration will be unique from one customer to the next? • Login cred., custom fields, options, etc. • Bundle into your application

Agenda Who is Boomi? The Evolution of Integration The SaaS Integration Map Best Practice for End Users Best Practice for SaaS ISV Q&A

Questions? Thank You! Rick Nucci rick_nucci@boomi.com Boomi 801 Cassatt Rd. Suite 120 Berwyn, PA 19312 35 Boomi Inc. Confidential