Cisco predicts there will be 50 billion connected devices in the world by 2020, most – if not all – of which will share data in the cloud.
The growth in cloud computing is changing the way software is delivered and consumed, moving from an ownership to a rental model. According to the IDC, software as a service (SaaS) is growing five times faster than packaged software, and by 2018, about $1 of every $5 spent on packaged software, and $1 of every $4 spent on applications, will be consumed via the SaaS model.
The aggregation of services in the cloud is great news for businesses because they can pick and choose services from hundreds of different vendors. It’s also great news for developers as it allows them to get creative with their applications and solutions. However, it becomes a bit of an IT nightmare to ensure all these services are in sync and are securely integrated.
In the past, businesses would implement an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) to manage integration. ESBs kept all of a business’ systems in the network, behind a firewall, but were not built for the cloud. They could be adapted to operate in a cloud model, of course, but this was usually at the expense of network functionality as ESBs run at a slow cadence.
One solution to manage them all
Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) solutions were designed to run at a much higher cadence than ESBs and, because they were built for the cloud, do not come with legacy infrastructure baggage.
Flowgear, Africa’s first cloud-based integration platform, is disrupting the way integration is done. It removes the number one barrier to enterprise cloud adoption – keeping it all connected.
All businesses rely on the same types of software and services, such as ERP/accounting, email and billing platforms. iPaas “glues” all these services together, and because many of these integration patterns are common across businesses, they are highly repeatable and do not need to be built from the ground up.
Here are some of the top reasons businesses choose Flowgear as their iPaaS provider:
1. Peace of mind
You cannot talk about cloud computing without talking about security, particularly when focused on the topic of integration.
Data is a company’s most important asset and needs to be protected when at rest or in transit. In the cloud, companies start communicating outside of their firewalls and deal with a number of different vendors. How confident are you in those vendors’ security systems? Flowgear’s entire delivery mechanism has been encrypted from day one so you can be sure your data is secure both inside and outside the firewall.
2. Complete data control and easy compliance
Businesses are subject to a number of pieces of legislation pertaining to data sovereignty, security and storage. Complying with all of these regulations becomes difficult when dealing with many different vendors.
The Metadata Gravity Engine within Flowgear allows you to tag data to ensure it stays where it’s meant to stay.
For example, customers’ ID numbers can be tagged as such and will never leave the firewall or will never leave the country’s borders.
3. Encrypted data movement
How you get data in and out of the organisation is also crucial. When working in the cloud, you’re dealing with a number of external services and you may not know who is running those services or how they are secured.
Flowgear’s DropPoint software agent sits on the customer’s premises and encrypts outgoing data. It allows data to move through the network without punching a hole in the firewall.
4. Convenient logging
Everything needs to be auditable these days, especially if companies are to comply with the abovementioned data legislation. Businesses need to be able to account for their data, including who accessed it and what changes were made to data sets. Flowgear allows you to do this and provides granular recordkeeping of activities without putting the data at risk.
5. Benefits of multi-tenancy
The cloud is ultimately a community of best-of-breed providers, allowing businesses to choose which solutions they want to use from a host of different providers. The same is happening in the integration space.
Gartner predicts that, by 2016, 35% of enterprises will be using iPaaS capabilities. Flowgear offers an agile way of building integrations that allow businesses to securely and confidently move data around. This frees up time and budget, allowing companies to focus on and allocate resources to their core business.
The Flowgear partner programme enables software houses and system integrators to take the pain and cost out of their customer integration projects. It offers attractive returns to resellers of 10% to 30% margin discounts on usage, while partners who are trained and certified on the platform receive an additional 20% discount. Partners also benefit from technical, sales and marketing, and operational support.
Or why not try before you buy? Flowgear can also be consumed on a pay-per-use basis in the Azure marketplace.
To find out more about Flowgear for technology partners, take a look at videos from our Agile Integration event.
