Cloud-based systems are becoming critical in today’s age as cloud adoption rates for large enterprises skyrocket around the world. According to a report by McKinsey, big companies are planning to have almost 60 percent of their environment in the cloud by 2025. However, many companies struggle to integrate their on-premises systems with cloud-based systems and platforms, for it requires careful planning and proper execution. This is where cloud integration services play a crucial role.
This article explains cloud services, their importance, benefits, and types. It also briefly discusses the steps you need to take to integrate your existing on-prem systems with cloud-based systems.
What are Cloud Integration Services?
Cloud services refer to a set of tools and technologies IT companies utilize to enable a business to connect its on-premises system with cloud-based services. It allows enterprises to integrate data, workflows, and applications across multiple environments and platforms.
Cloud integration service providers employ various technologies and tools like APIs, gateways, connectors, and middleware to perform data, application, and workflow integration between on-premises and cloud systems.
Importance of Cloud Integration
The use of cloud computing is proliferating rapidly, with large companies taking the lead in cloud adoption and adopting AI and other emerging technologies. However, a sizeable number of companies still rely on traditional on-premises systems and technologies to handle their day-to-day operations. This often results in a fragmented IT environment, where applications and critical data are scattered across different systems.
Such fragmentation makes it difficult for the organization to manage, analyze, and utilize data. It also makes it very difficult to automate workflows and enable efficient collaboration across various teams. This is where cloud integration services can help you by bridging the gap between on-premises and cloud platforms. Companies are able to build a cohesive IT infrastructure that increases their ROI manifold.
By integrating the environments (on-premises and cloud), companies can harness the power of cloud computing efficiently. Here is what you can expect from integrating your on-premises systems with a cloud environment:
- Data Integration – Cloud integration helps businesses develop a single source of truth for their data by integrating data from different sources.
- Automation – Another benefit of cloud integration is that it enables businesses to streamline and automate their processes.
- Collaboration – Integration between on-premises and cloud environments also helps you enhance collaboration by giving access to the same source of truth for data to all the teams and departments.
- Agility – Integration helps you leverage the power of cloud computing, thus enabling you to become more responsive and agile to changing market dynamics.
Let’s look at the types of cloud integration.
Types of Cloud Integration Services
There are various types of cloud services. Each type addresses a specific integration challenge.
Here are some of the common types of cloud integration services:
- Data Integration – This type of integration, as the name implies, integrates data from various on-premises applications and platforms with the cloud. It includes the processes of mapping, transformation, and synchronization.
- Application Integration – This type of integration integrates on-premises applications with apps in the cloud environment.
- Process Integration – This integration enables an organization to automate and streamline its processes. Process integration involves using tools for workflow automation, business process management, and robotic process automation.
Benefits of Cloud Integration
Here are some of the benefits.
- Reduced Costs – Moving to the cloud enables you to optimize your IT costs significantly.
- Enhanced Data Quality – Data integration helps you improve the quality and accuracy of your data, thus allowing you to make informed decisions.
- Reduced time-to-market – Cloud computing automates and streamlines many of your day-to-day tasks, helping you reduce the time it takes to launch a product.
- Improved Customer Experience – Cloud integration enables you to improve your customer service by providing access to the same data to all the teams, helping you develop a consistent and personalized customer experience.
- Scalability – Another key benefit of cloud integration is that it allows you to scale your IT infrastructure as per needs, enabling you to respond to changes in the market in time.
- Competitive Advantage – One of the most important benefits of cloud integration is that it enables you to gain a competitive advantage by helping you innovate and deliver top-notch products and services at a relatively lower cost.
- Improved Security and Compliance – Cloud integration also helps you beef up your security as your cloud service provider is likely to have advanced compliance and security certifications – something most companies lack on their own. Therefore, you enhance your critical data security by integrating your on-premises systems with cloud-based platforms.
- Disaster Recovery – Cloud integration also helps you improve your disaster recovery capabilities by backing up data, workflows, and applications in the cloud.
How to Integrate On-Prem Systems with the Cloud?
Although on-prem-to-cloud integration can be challenging, you can take some of the following steps to make the entire exercise easier.
- Identify Requirements – The first step before you commence your integration is to identify the requirements. This entails understanding your existing IT infrastructure, determining the data and systems you want to integrate, and identifying the workflows you want to share across the two environments.
- Select Cloud Integration Services – After identifying your integration requirements, you need to determine what type of integration services you require. Various kinds of services are available, and you should choose the one(s) that best meets your needs.
- Configure Integration Services – This is a vital step in the cloud integration process. It involves configuring the integration services to work with your current IT systems and apps. This step may involve setting up APIs or connectors, configuring data mapping and transformation, and defining processes and workflows.
- Testing – After configuring the integration services, you have to test them to ensure they are working as planned. This entails testing application and data integration, checking workflow automation, and ascertaining whether collaboration across the company has improved or not.
- Monitor and Maintain – Once you have integrated your on-premises systems with the cloud, you have to monitor them to ensure they work fine. You also have to set up notifications and alerts in case any issues arise. Moreover, you must perform regular maintenance tasks to ensure that your systems are secure from threats and breaches.
Conclusion
Integrating your on-premises systems with the cloud has become almost essential for businesses in order to remain competitive. It is just one of the many steps companies are on their way to digitalization. And although it can seem like a daunting task, it is one that you can execute without much ado if you properly plan for it.
It is time to leverage the power of cloud computing, and by integrating on-premises systems with the cloud, you can get the best of both worlds.
Are you ready to do it? Xavor offers cloud integration services that help you optimize costs, mitigate risks, and improve collaboration.
Contact us at [email protected] to book a free consultation session with our experienced Cloud & DevOps solutions team.