The Pros and Cons of Integrating your Business Apps

In our previous blog, “What is Application Integration?”, we explained what that means as well as how and why business owners choose to integrate their business applications. When you’re trying to create a seamless flow for your bookkeeping and business needs, but you use several apps, integration may be the best choice.

However, with more apps, sometimes the process can get a little complicated. Let’s walk through the pros and cons of integrating your business apps.

Pros

1. Easy process automation. From the handing off of data to other apps, to creating a continuous workflow for bookkeeping, to the re-use of map templates for onboarding, integration can be of great use for business owners. You can also set up triggers and alerts for events, proactive troubleshooting, and internal communications.

2. More visibility. You can easily collaborate with your team and track information when integrating your apps. Your team can view and report on all the data throughout the created workflows. This is also great for customer service, as you can respond to customer requests and meet expectations even faster.

3. Multiple processes can operate at the same time. This concurrent processing can include order-to-cash transactions, product lookups, and reconciliation from the front-end to the back-end. Therefore, multiple orders and even batch orders can be submitted and processed in real-time.

4. It is essential for scalability. When growing your business, you will always want to automate wherever you can. When you integrate all your systems together, you’ll be able to rapidly scale and handle the increasing workloads on another level.

Want to learn more about scalability? Check out our blog, “What Does It Mean to Scale Your Business?”

Cons

1. The applications can end up siloed. When applications are worked up individually but outside the enterprise’s core, they can hold the data hostage in a siloed part of the process. This can happen if your IT infrastructure does not support integration of cloud-based services.

2. Lack of data transformation and mapping capabilities. Some apps will simply not route, transfer, nor accept the data efficiently. Therefore, that real-time visibility will be prohibited, making it difficult to meet the customer demands at a faster pace.

3. Integration can be a long and inconvenient process. When integrating your apps, it can be an all-consuming event, and it may require specialized technicians to maintain those inner workings. There might be transaction errors or slower data workflows, which in turn could affect business partnerships and overall business growth.

How We Can Help

• At Assemblage, we provide expert advice on cloud-based technology to go paperless/lite, to increase automation and minimize manual data entry.
• We also assist with conversions and new system implementation.
• Additionally, we have an innovative and strategic approach to managing/streamlining all critical components of businesses day-to-day back-office functions i.e. recruiting, administrative, bookkeeping, and accounting.

If you’re looking to outsource, contact us today, and tell us how we can be an asset to you!