Developing Secure and Agile Cloud Integration Strategies

The cloud is helping to bring big changes. It is fully capable of producing actionable insights and evolved consumer experiences that have never been obtainable before. It is solving problems and increasing efficiency while keeping data protected.

As we progress into a more cloud-friendly business environment, many companies still find that their operations are tied to traditional workflows. In order to facilitate support, there must be ticketing. For finance, there is accounting. And for manufacturing, there is ERP.

The honest opinion of many enterprise executives is that, while the cloud offers a wealth of benefits, integration can be a struggle. As a business attains more Software-As-a-Service (SaaS) applications, more data gets fragmented and stored in servers known as cloud silos. While cloud infrastructure can make daily processes better, increased siloization stagnates them.

The solution to this problem lies in how the integration strategy is approached. A secure and agile strategy will create synergy and sidestep backlogged productivity. So what are the components to building such a plan?

Be Flexible:

Flexibility brings the potential to adapt and change implementation models with ease. It is common to be encumbered by flat, obsolete point-to-point migration that simply doesn’t work with modern infrastructure. This rigid approach can cause failures in many aspects of the integration, including frustrations between key decision-makers and lower level technicians.

Crafting a flexible and scalable plan brings forth a more fluent integration and permits enterprises to increase and decrease the number of endpoints as needed. Realistically, the only way for a solution to be in any way successful is for it to be flexible.

Keep it Secure:

One of the major causes of cloud-adoption hesitancy is the issue of security. Some people associate the cloud with the image of internet-connected public entities. The cloud is safe, but it can only remain safe when the right procedures are in place. Protecting data, applications and infrastructure can become a complex concern during integration. It is important to take the right steps to mitigate all safety risks.

The strategy must review the ways in which all elements will be safeguarded. Security basics include:

• Authentication: The integration solution needs to be able to authenticate and approve access to on-premise resources and cloud-based resources.
• Encryption: It is also imperative that the solution fully encrypts data.
• Compliance: The data must be stored in compliance with federal and provincial privacy legislation, as well as SSAE 16 best practices.
• Connection: It is vital to have a fortified system for connecting the cloud to the company. This system must not jeopardize the data in any way during this process.

The obstacles associated with deploying cloud integration can make some people guarded. Many businesses end up holding onto old, frustrating practices instead.

While cloud integration challenges are certainly palpable, they can be overcome when working with the right provider. An adaptable service delivery and centralized on-demand IT management streamlines efficiency by enforcing a well-organized utilization of resources. It can also ensure that enterprise-level standards are continuously upheld and that data is thoroughly protected. Flexibility, productivity and safety can be undoubtedly achieved with the appropriate provider and plan.

Now is the time to get serious about developing your cloud integration strategy. New solutions are quickly coming to the forefront, such as Integration-Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS). iPaaS will be providing businesses with an array of unique patterns that meet their needs while keeping their valuable data secure. This is a compelling consideration for enterprises that want to adopt a positive solution that conquers the deterring challenges of integration.