At Patchworks, our mantra is connections matter. That’s because we love connecting with clients, agencies, and software partners to give – and help them give – the best service possible.
But in terms of our day-to-day operations, it’s about connecting our clients’ applications with their core business processes.
That’s the power of integration. Many businesses decide to integrate their tech stack themselves, but outsourcing to a specialised provider such as Patchworks comes with major benefits which are hard to match by doing things in-house.
What is an iPaaS?
An integration platform as a service (iPaaS) is a platform which builds and deploys integrations through the cloud, allowing clients to set up connections between their core iPaaS Vendors business applications without having to install or manage any hardware.
That allows for a company’s tech stack to better communicate and send data where it needs to go.
At Patchworks, however, we’ve moved beyond being just an iPaaS and offering the standard expected service of our competitors. We’re also a software developer and have a range of applications from BI tools to stock control systems.
But when you could just do integrations yourselves, what’s the benefit of using a platform provider?
Fast and uncomplicated integrations
When handling integrations in-house, it’s not a case of blink-and-it’s-done. For each integration between core business applications, you need to carefully craft that connection from scratch – and the larger your business, the more of those integrations you’ll need to make.
An integration provider already has years of experience dealing with a range of partners, along with a library of pre-built connectors.
That’s especially true for the Patchworks platform, which lets clients take control of their own integrations by selecting the apps they want to implement quickly and efficiently through our self-service dashboard.
A more effective tech stack
An integration provider provides you with more powerful and effective data connections between your core business processes. Using the expertise, knowledge, and specialised equipment integration providers have access to, they can ensure your data gets where it needs to be with no hitch.
That means all of your tech will be more effective as a result. No more duplicate or inaccurate orders flowing from your ecommerce platform to your warehouse; no more poorly connected apps which don’t work as they should.
In short, your software is better able to communicate with each other, meaning you get more from each app.
A holistic and shared view of your data
One of the nastiest habits ecommerce companies can pick up is a variety of data silos across the operation.
A data silo is when one department has a collection of data only they have access to, even if some of it might be relevant to others in the business. That greatly hinders performance and transparency, as whenever someone needs some data held by a separate department, they need to go through an unnecessary process of obtaining it.
An integration provider ensures all of your departments have an interconnected data warehouse which is accessible and legible. They can also optimise data flows between teams, to boost efficiency even further.
Improved internal communications
Collaboration is key, and customers expect companies to have open and transparent communication between departments.
That’s particularly true for interconnected teams such as sales and marketing. Your sales team needs to know MQLs and relevant metrics, and your marketing team need to know overall sales performance.
An integration provider puts everything in sync, meaning every team and role can monitor the shared data and see how the company is performing across the whole operation.
Better customer experience
Leading on from the above, improved internal communications doesn’t just provide you with more coherent teamwork, it also provides better service to your customers.
For example, by allowing sales and marketing to better communicate and by properly integrating CRM systems, you can thoroughly track customer journeys and better solve their requests. Nothing annoys a customer more than having to constantly explain the issue they’re experiencing, after all – and a strong, integrated tech stack improves consumer tracking.
But it’s not limited only to that. Powerful integrations leads to better data insights, and better data insights leads to stronger personalisation for your customers. That means you can better segment your audience and deliver personalised messaging and experiences to boost conversions.
Highly cost effective
When you do your integrations in-house, you need to hire specialists – and they can cost you a lot of money.
But it’s not just salaries that outsourcing your integrations saves you money on. You also eliminate the need for purchasing and implementing your own in-house infrastructure and hardware.
An integration provider takes care of all of that for you, typically through a subscription method of payment. You don’t need to worry about paying for new hardware, licence fees, or staff.
If you’re looking for a skilled and experienced integration provider, look no further than Patchworks.
For more information on the Patchworks platform, as well as our low-code self service features, contact us through our website today for a free consultation.