What is iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service)?
iPaaS is a cloud-hosted platform that lets organisations build, run, and manage integrations between applications without maintaining their own integration infrastructure.
Definition
Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) is a cloud offering that provides the tools, connectors, and runtime needed to integrate applications and data sources. It typically includes pre-built connectors for popular SaaS products, visual workflow builders, data-mapping tools, and monitoring dashboards. Because the platform is hosted and maintained by the vendor, teams can create integrations more quickly and with less infrastructure to manage. iPaaS is widely used to connect cloud ERP systems with CRMs, e-commerce platforms, marketing tools, and data warehouses.
How iPaaS Works in ERP
An iPaaS connects to an ERP through its API and offers ready-made connectors that map common objects like customers, orders, and invoices to other systems. Integration teams build flows visually, defining triggers, transformations, and destinations, then let the platform run and monitor them. This lowers the effort to keep an ERP synchronised with the rest of a company's software estate. Popular iPaaS products include Boomi, MuleSoft, Workato, and Celigo, several of which offer ERP-specific connector packs.
ERP Vendors with Strong iPaaS
Frequently Asked Questions
How is iPaaS different from ETL?
ETL focuses on moving and transforming data in batches into a destination like a warehouse, while iPaaS handles broader application integration, including real-time event flows and triggering actions between systems.
Why use an iPaaS instead of custom code?
An iPaaS provides pre-built connectors, monitoring, and managed hosting that reduce development time and ongoing maintenance, which is valuable when integrating many cloud applications with an ERP.