1.
The Dell Boomi vs SAP Cloud Platform Integration debate – Finally settled
When it comes to integration,
IPaaS is a first-class citizen.
IPaaS expanded to Integration
Platform as a Service is a cloud
based offering that has
essentially dethroned the legacy
on-premise middleware in the
electronic data interchange
(EDI) segment. IPaaS is an
essential cog in the digital
transformation engine. As
companies take the digital route
and move critical assets to
cloud, integrations and by
extension, an IPaaS is inevitable.
Choosing an IPaaS is often
tricky especially when there’re
so many good ones out
there. Before we draw curtains
on our verdict on the specific
subject here, let’s take a quick
look at some of the key
considerations whilst choosing
an IPaaS.
1. Enterprise grade IPaaS:
IPaaS is a strategic
investment. Gone are
the days when LoBs
decided their
“middlewares” - IPaaS
decisions are strategic,
company-wide
decisions. IPaaS is a
critical piece of software
that enables end-to-
business processes
spanning across variety
of systems. An
employee hired in
SuccessFactors/Workda
y makes her way into an
SAP/ADP payroll system
via an IPaaS. An order
raised in Salesforce that
gets encashed on an
SAP ERP system also
needs a very strong
integration via an IPaaS.
No wonder mature
IPaaSs are selling like
hot cakes today e.g.
MuleSoft and Scribe.
So, what makes an IPaaS
enterprise grade? At the
bare bones, all IPaaSs
are doing ETL - extract,
transform and load in
one form or the other.
Hence an IPaaS worth
its salt should have the
ability to extract data
from a variety of on-
premise, cloud and
hybrid data sources e.g.
Salesforce, SAP,
Dropbox, SFTP, FTP et
al.
The transform layer
should provide a kitchen
sink of tools to queue
the thus extracted data,
slice, dice and massage
the data, allow complex
mapping in terms of field
and value, functions
whilst mapping e.g.
string concat, date
format etc and provide
for a coding exit for an
eventuality when
everything fails.
In the load layer, a
mature IPaaS should
provide the right
contrivances to relay
data into any form of
data sink, cloud and on
premise alike.
To top it all, the IPaaS
should provide a
performant, tolerant
runtime and strong tools
to debug, troubleshoot
and monitor the
integrations that’re built
and run on them.
2. User experience: Ux or
the lack thereof makes
or breaks a SaaS product
and IPaaS isn’t an
exception. For starters,
everything related to an
IPaaS - from process
creation (specifically the
integration development
environment IDE where
the process is built),
testing, deployment, and
operations to delivery -
has to be web based.
There’s simply no room
for an on-premise
element, say an eclipse
based IDE in an IPaaS.
Going full on browser is
the first step.
Intuitive controls, with
natural and clear
navigation, make up for
a frictionless, frustration
free user experience
that lets users get things
done. Akin to any SaaS
of today, this aspect is
certainly the next in the
pecking order.
Finally, knowing the end
user is everything. If
likes of techno-geeks
from IT Crowd are the
ones that build IPaaS
content of strategic

2.
value, there’s also
another userbase that’s
looking for quick and
effective ways to set up
small integrations and
data transfers. Gartner
terms this steadily
growing user segment as
Citizen integrators.
3. Citizen integration
capabilities: Citizen
integrators, mostly
millennials and Gen-Zs,
are power users who
know their business
thoroughly but don’t
care about the technical
underpinnings of APIs,
IPaaSs and what not.
IPaaS for them, is more
like IFTTT. SAP
SuccessFactors Business
Rules and Integration
Center are excellent
examples of citizen
integration done well.
IPaaSs should let such
users to quickly get
what they want done.
4. Ability to handle Hybrid
IT landscapes: On
premise assets are a key
component of any IT
landscape and that also
includes a landscape
that’s undergoing digital
transformation. Hence
the ability of an IPaaS to
handle archaic, often
verbose data formats
and non-standard
security requirements
e.g. SAP RFC is an
important trait.
5. Finally, content: Yes,
content is the king,
queen, bishop, knight
and the rook. If IPaaS is
an operating system,
content on IPaaS aka
integration packs are the
apps. These out-of-the-
box integrations play a
significant role in
deciding on the IPaaS as
they enable seamless
business process
realisation in a
configuration over code
pattern.
Now that we’ve laid out our
criteria for choosing an IPaaS,
let’s get to the question of what
IPaaS is good for your
company? Dell Boomi or SAP
CPI?
Dell Boomi, perhaps one of the
best IPaaSs we’ve worked on
insofar, came into the SAP
world when SAP bought
SuccessFactors back in 2011. All
SuccessFactors integrations
took the Boomi route. So,
Boomi started as a foreigner in
the SAP HR space that SAP
grudgingly accepted for quite a
long while due to the lack of a
better alternative. Boomi,
featuring prominently in the
top-right quadrant of the magic
quadrant, is a Gartner darling. In
our opinion, Boomi takes the
top spot in first four of our
aforementioned criterion not
just vis-à-vis SAP CPI, but
perhaps against a bulk of the
other IPaaSs out there. SAP CPI
pales in comparison to the web-
first Dell Boomi. The former’s
strong adherence to Enterprise
Integration Patterns (the book)
and Fiori design to realize those
patterns - Fiori is great for
enterprise CRUD applications
and reporting; not so much for a
graphical editor - hinders its
evolution into a Boomi like Ux.
That said, SAP CPI has its fair
share of fans. For developers
and consultants coming from
the archaic world of SAP
Process Integration, CPI is a
phenomenal upgrade.
But where SAP CPI really scores
is in its content. SAP CPI might
not be the IPaaS in the shining
armour like Boomi; but what it
lacks on the Ux and CI
capabilities, it makes up for it
with an excellent array of ever
growing content. SAP is the
world’s biggest enterprise
software company and nobody
knows enterprise business
processes better than they do.
They bring this advantage to
bear in creating out-of-the-box
end to end business processes
or CPI content. The last time we
had a look, they had over 170+
integrations. At the moment
this’s mostly SAP specific
content spanning across SAP
S4HANA, S4HANA Cloud,
SuccessFactors, Ariba, Concur
and the likes. However SAP’s
recent tie up with Cloud
Elements is bound to change
that. With Open Connectors (CE
OEM), one can use CPI to
connect to literally any system
under the enterprise sun -
including big names amongst its
competition like Workday and
Salesforce.
To summarize, there’s no black
and white solution. IPaaS
decision should is a decision
very specific to your company.

3.
Go with SAP CPI
• If you’re an all-in SAP
shop. The product teams
across various LoBs
within SAP talk to each
other. That means the
CPI content they deliver
every quarter is in sync
with the latest
developments on the
source and destination it
connects to.
• If you have been using
SAP PI/PO and have in-
house PI/PO expertise.
By the way, SAP PO 7.5
also comes packed with
a CPI runtime => CPI
content created on the
cloud can be run
natively within SAP PO.
• If your long-term cloud
strategy is in line with
SAP’s. SAP is a cloud-
first company. CPI, for
all its lacunae, has come
a long way. With some
of the best engineers
and product managers at
SAP working on CPI, it
can only go north from
here. Betting on CPI for
fulfilling strategic IPaaS
needs is certainly not a
bad idea.
Go with Dell Boomi
• If SAP footprint in your
IT is small or negligible.
• If you’re attempting a
green field
implementation.
• If your consulting team
is more functional than
technical. Learning curve
for Dell Boomi is really
gentle compared to the
steep learning curve of
SAP CPI – your
functional consultants
can easily pick up on
Dell Boomi.
• With over 100+ out of
the box connectors, use
Boomi if you’ve a
disparate array of cloud
and on-premise systems
that needs to be
connected.
• If you’re running on a
clock to get your project
done, use Boomi for its
incredible
implementation and
turnaround speeds.
There’re also more
Boomi developers out
there to be hired than
their SAP CPI
counterparts.
About integrtr GmbH:
We're an Integration
Lifecycle Management
company always hungry for
complex integration
challenges - irrespective of
the IPaaS at play.
Do write to us at
sales@integrtr.com for a free
demo of SAP CPI and/or
Dell Boomi to help you make
an informed decision.
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respective owners.