Running your business likely involves a triple-digit number of applications, a double-digit number of unique data sources, and a complex mix of deployment models. An iPaaS Integrated platform as a Service is designed to address these challenges, by providing the technical means to manage APIs, orchestrate services, and process events. Research shows that cloud-based solutions – such as an integration platform-as-a-service – are currently favored over on-premises solutions, by a factor of nearly 3 to 1. Aberdeen research fellow Derek Brink is revealing new findings on how iPaaS is changing data integration management for some of the most successful companies.

1. 1
© 2019 Aberdeen | All Rights Reserved
Making the Case for
Integration
Platform as a
Service
Derek E. Brink, CISSP
Vice President and Research Fellow, Information Security and IT GRC
Derek.Brink@aberdeen.com | www.linkedin.com/in/derekbrink
August 2019

2. Executive Summary
Running your enterprise likely involves a triple-digit
number of applications, a double-digit number of
unique data sources, a complex mix of deployment
types, and a diverse mix of integration mechanisms.
To keep up with enterprise expectations for growth
and speed, your integration capabilities must
become more efficient — which calls for moving
away from the use of tactical tools to adopt a more
proactive, platform-oriented approach.
Aberdeen’s research shows that buyer interest in
advanced integration capabilities strongly favors
integration platform as a service.

3. Presentation Overview: Three Topics for Discussion
1. Business and Technical Context
• Powerful building blocks, practical challenges
2. Making a Technical Case for Integration
• From tactical tools, to proactive platforms
3. Deployment Trends
• Strong movement by buyers towards
integration platform as-a-service

4. Business and Technical Context
Powerful Building Blocks, Practical Challenges

5. The Current Mix of Enterprise Applications, Data, Deployment Models, and Integration
Mechanisms Represents Both Powerful Building Blocks and Practical Challenges
• Running your enterprise likely involves
• A triple-digit number of applications
• A double-digit number of unique data sources
• An increasingly complex mix of deployment types
• I.e., on-premises, cloud-based, mobile,
and connected devices (IoT)
• A diverse mix of integration mechanisms
• I.e., from ftp, custom scripts; to MFT, EDI; to APIs

6. Running Your Enterprise Likely Involves Integration of a Triple-Digit Number of
Applications, and a Double-Digit Number of Unique Data Sources
Source: Aberdeen, August 2019
0%
50%
100%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
0 100 200 300 400 500
ApplicationExceedanceCurve
(i.e.,Y%likelytoexceedXapplications)
NumberofRespondents(N=263)
Total Number of Enterprise Applications
Histogram (Frequency)
Exceedance Curve (Cum. %)
Median ~ 120 applications, 20 unique data sources
"Long Tail" > 1,000 applications,
> 50 unique data sources

7. Running Your Enterprise Likely Involves Integration of a Double-Digit Number of
Unique Data Sources, From an Increasingly Complex Mix of Deployment Types
Source: Aberdeen, Aubust 2019
64%
67%
39%
30%
0
50
100
150
200
On-premises applications Cloud-based applications Mobile applications Connected devices (IoT)
NumberofRespondents(N=263)
Application Deployment Types
Respondents report having a median of
20 unique data sources, from an
increasingly complex mix of deployment
types: from traditional on-premises, to
also include cloud-based, mobile, and IoT

8. To Keep Up With Growth and Speed, Integration Must Become More Efficient
• 95% of all respondents report
that the total volume of
enterprise data is growing
year-over-year
• 3 out of 4 (74%) respondents
describe their current
approach to integration as
batch-oriented, ad hoc, or
lacking any formal process
whatsoever
26%
40%
14%
20%
Real-time /
continuous
Primarily batch-
oriented
Manual, ad hocNo formal
process or
technology
Current Approach to Integration
% of All Respondents (N = 309)
Source: Aberdeen, August 2019

9. Leading Drivers for Current Investments in Advanced Integration Capabilities
• For business users, integration
capabilities represent powerful
building blocks for enabling
strategic initiatives, including
• Operating efficiencies
• Productivity
• Collaboration
• Digital transformation
• For technical staff, integration
also represents practical
challenges, especially
• Speed and cost of integration
• Security, privacy, and
regulatory compliance
Source: Aberdeen, August 2019
Taken together, these pressures make
up the leading drivers for current
investments in more advanced
integration capabilities, as seen in
Aberdeen’s benchmark research
carrots sticksspeed

10. Making a Technical Case for Integration
From Tactical Tools, to Proactive Platforms

11. A Large and Dynamic Portfolio of Enterprise Applications, Data Sources, Deployment Types, and
Integration Mechanisms Drives Exponential Growth in the Total Number of Potential Integrations
• For the modern enterprise, a large
and dynamic portfolio of
applications, data sources,
deployment types, and integration
mechanisms results in an
overwhelmingly large number of
potential integrations
• Doing the math: between 1,500
and 160,000, with a median of
26,000
• This is simply too numerous and
too complex for batch-oriented, ad
hoc, and informal integration
processes — particularly given
expectations for speed and costSource: Aberdeen, August 2019
1,500
26,000
160,000
0%
100% 0
40,000
80,000
120,000
160,000
IntegrationsExceedanceCurve
(Y%likelytoexceedXintegrations)
Total # of Potential Integrations
High = 10%
likely to exceed
Median = 50%
likely to exceed
Low = 90%
likely to exceed

12. Under the Status Quo, The Percentage of Total Project Time Allocated for
Integration Ranges Between 10% to 70%, With a Median of About 25%
Source: Aberdeen, August 2019
0%
50%
100%
0
10
20
30
40
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
IntegrationExceedanceCurve
(i.e.,Y%likelyforprojecttimeallocated
tointegrationtoexceedX%)
NumberofRespondents(N=263)
% of Total Project Time Allocated for Integration
Histogram (Frequency)
Exceedance Curve (Cum. %)
Median: ~ 25%
"Long Tail": 10% likely to exceed 70%
Respondents in Aberdeen’s study
identified integration issues as the
leading cause of late project delivery

13. Currently, Key Elements of Integration are Viewed as Immature
Key Elements of Integration
Level 1
Poorly-
defined
Consistently
reactive
Level 2
Defined on
an ad hoc,
project-by-
project basis
Mostly
reactive
Level 3
Defined
Mostly
proactive
Level 4
Defined and
measured
Consistently
proactive
Level 5
Defined,
measured,
continuous
improvement
Consistently
proactive
Current
Maturity Level
Net Maturity
Index
(% Level 4 / 5) –
(% Level 1 / 2)
-------------------
(% all)
Integrate data
from multiple sources
10.4% 22.0% 38.5% 16.5% 12.6% -3.3%
Syndicate data
between any two application endpoints
8.5% 15.9% 36.3% 20.3% 19.0% 14.9%
N = 364
Generally, +50% and above is
considered an indication of
strong maturity; -50% and
below is an indication of
strong immaturity
Source: Aberdeen, August 2019
Inspired by the well-known NPS,
a Net Maturity Index ranges
from +100% (everyone is
mature) to -100% (everyone is
immature)

14. That Was Then … This Is Now: Why New Thinking is Needed
• Five years ago, enterprise approaches to integrating enterprise applications
and data were:
• Commonly ad hoc and highly fragmented
• Increasingly driven by users, out of their fundamental need to keep up
with the accelerating pace of accomplishing their day-to-day activities
• At the same time, IT and Security staff were contending with
an additional set of drivers:
• Motivation to replace a hodge-podge of digital do-it-yourself approaches (e.g., ftp, custom
scripts, email attachments, and a growing host of “shadow IT” mechanisms) with one or
more standardized, enterprise-supported solutions (e.g., file sync / share, MFT, EDI)
• Growing concerns over security, privacy, reliability, and regulatory compliance
• Desire to improve visibility, control, and governance over integration

15. That Was Then … This Is Now: Why New Thinking is Needed
• Today, Aberdeen’s research shows that previous concerns
are amplified by new drivers and new use cases
• Significantly greater volume and complexity:
applications, data sources, deployment models, users, endpoints
• Strategic enterprise initiatives (e.g., digital transformation, employee collaboration)
are redesigning traditional business processes and workflows
— shouldn’t they also be redesigning the mechanisms for integration?
• Concerns about security, privacy, and compliance continue, especially when working
with data that is valuable (e.g., IP, CI) or regulated (e.g., PII, PHI, cardholder data)
• Increasing need to choreograph services and data movements through multiple
systems; increasing use of APIs

16. Tools vs. Platforms
In making a distinction between “tools”
and “platforms” Aberdeen is simply
reflecting a basic pattern of evolution,
which can be seen in several solution
categories:
• From a mixed bag of lower-level
tools for specialized technical staff
• To enterprise self-integration of
multiple point solutions
• To vendor-integration within
proprietary product suites
• To vendor / ecosystem-integration of
platforms for harnessing applications
and data across all modes of human /
system interactions
Source: Aberdeen, August 2019
Moving Forward: From Tactical Tools, to Proactive Platforms
• As the requirements for integration evolve and capabilities
continue to mature, the top performers are going beyond the
use of tactical tools for merely moving data from point to
point, to adopt a more proactive, platform-oriented approach
• A platform approach to integration helps enterprises to
realize more business value from its applications and data:
• From a wide range of data sources
• Into a wide variety of business-critical processes and
workflows, using a variety of integration mechanisms
• In support of a diverse population of users throughout
the extended enterprise (including employees, third
parties, business partners, and customers)

17. Deployment Trends
Strong Movement by Buyers Towards Integration Platform as a Service

18. Buyer Interest Strongly Favors Integration Platform as a Service
• When asked about the
advanced integration solutions
that organizations plan to use in
place of their current
capabilities, interest in cloud-
based delivery models — i.e.,
Integration Platform as a
Service — outnumbered interest
in on-premises solutions by a
factor of nearly 3 to 1
Source: Aberdeen, August 2019

19. Leading Reasons for Selecting Integration Platform as a Service:
Improve Speed, Reduce Total Cost
Multiple responses accepted; does not add to 100%
Source: Aberdeen, August 2019
44%
32%
30%
29%
27%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Improve speed of integration
Reduce total cost of integration
Improve ability to address security, privacy, and compliance
Preference for subscription cost model
Common approach for all integration projects
Percentage of All Respondents (N = 263)
ReasonsforSelecting
IntegrationPlatformas-a-Service

20. Aberdeen Research: Buyers Have Highly Positive Perceptions
of Integration Platform as a Service Solutions, in Multiple Dimensions
Net Perception Index ranges from +100% (everyone perceives negatively) to -100%
(everyone perceives positively). Generally, > +50% is viewed as significantly positive.
Source: Aberdeen, August 2019
58%
55%
58%
64%
64%
62%
63%
65%
-100% -50% 0% 50% 100%
Ease of onboarding
Breadth of integration mechanisms supported
Data services available (e. g. data cleansing)
Uptime of data integration connections
Reliability of data from integration connections
Quality of data (e.g., from extract, transform, load)
Quality of technical services staff
Quality of customer support staff
Net Perception Index +100% =
All Perceive Positively
-100% =
All Perceive Negatively
Significantly
Positive
Perceptions
Significantly
Negative
Perceptions

21. Summary and Key Takeaways
Context: Powerful
Building Blocks,
Practical Challenges
Technical Case: From
Tactical Tools, to
Proactive Platforms
Deployment Trends:
Strong Movement
Towards Integration
Platform as a Service
Running your enterprise
likely involves a triple-digit
number of applications, a
double-digit number of
unique data sources, a
complex mix of deployment
types, and a diverse mix of
integration mechanisms.
To keep up with enterprise
expectations for growth and
speed, your integration
capabilities must become
more efficient.
As the requirements for
integration evolve and
capabilities continue to
mature, the top performers are
going beyond the use of
tactical tools for merely
moving data from point to
point, to adopt a more
proactive, platform-oriented
approach.
A platform approach to
integration helps enterprises
to realize more business value
from its applications and data.
Aberdeen’s research shows
that buyer interest in
advanced integration
capabilities strongly favors
integration platform as a
service, primarily to increase
the speed and reduce the
total cost of integration.
Buyers have highly positive
perceptions of integration
platform as a service
solutions, in multiple
dimensions.
Source: Aberdeen, August 2019