Traditionally, most companies deployed digital integration solutions in an enterprise-centric manner that prioritized connecting business units to internal applications and business partners through standard EDI technologies. As a result, integration happened from the "inside-out", with internal systems dictating the level and extent of connections with external systems.
Over time, this model proved ineffective, thanks largely to increasingly dynamic markets, which pushed businesses to become more agile and responsive. Most recently, pandemic-related disruptions forced companies to abandon their gated integration approaches in favor of more openly collaborative models.
As a result, legacy EDI technologies, which were typically layered on top of other solutions without necessarily integrating with them, gradually gave way for a more holistic and accommodating model- ecosystem integration.
What is ecosystem integration?
Ecosystem integration is an advanced, process-driven approach that connects the core revenue-generating processes between an organization and external partners like suppliers, customers, data service providers, and logistics vendors. It forms the digital fabric that ties business processes and systems together to communicate seamlessly and respond swiftly to disruptions and opportunities.
Ecosystem integration encompasses more than just internal application integration or front-end B2C integration. It gives a business direct communication links with its entire value chain, delivering multi-layered visibility and far greater control than traditional "internal" integration.
Ecosystem integration supersedes EDI integration
Electronic data exchange (EDI) was created to solve the numerous problems of manual communications. By facilitating the exchange of electronic documents from system to system within and outside a business, EDI enables faster, cheaper, more secure, and less error-prone transactions.
EDI platforms enable data exchange using a set of standards that dictate how the information must be organized for it to be accessible by both sending and receiving systems. Initially, EDI standards were proprietary, designed by companies to connect with their partners. However, as technology advanced and more companies adopted digital data solutions, industry groups opted for more universal format standards. This decision gave rise to today's widely-used industry-specific data standards, such as ANSI X12, EDIFACT, HIPAA, and RosettaNet.
EDI standards are critical to the technology's success, but recently, their rigidity has come into question. Modern-day supply chains comprise a myriad of different players spanning across industries that use disparate EDI standards. Consequently, businesses that do not know how to integrate systems beyond EDI risk missing out on connecting with certain critical partners within their ecosystem.
Because of rapidly changing market dynamics and customer expectations, an agile, adaptable supply chain is more crucial than ever before. Therefore, businesses require integration that goes beyond EDI standards to complete all the gaps between them and external partners.
Ecosystem integration represents an "outside-in" approach to integration. Instead of using pre-set EDI standards as the basis of external integration, it incorporates both EDI and non-EDI frameworks to open up a company to as many partners as necessary for a frictionless business ecosystem. Consequently, all the revenue-generating processes within and outside a company can be connected to its business-critical internal applications.
Ecosystem integration platforms vs Legacy EDI software
Today, ecosystem integration has emerged as an enterprise discipline and a software category because it enables companies to build automated processes that respond intelligently and dynamically to market changes.
Ecosystem integration platforms enhance B2B/EDI integrations with full data orchestration and intuitive, persona-driven insights, giving users real-time visibility, control, and governance beyond the capabilities of legacy EDI software. They connect all revenue-generating processes within and outside a company to its business-critical internal applications through agile links that can seamlessly transform to respond to market changes.
Below are four notable aspects of ecosystem integration platforms that make them more comprehensive and useful than legacy EDI software.
1. Integrated industry standards and protocols
An ecosystem integration platform utilizes industry-certified compatibility for all communication standards and protocols, eliminating the need for third-party solutions. It also supports onboarding processes through existing templates that can easily be scaled up or down to match the number of users. Legacy EDI solutions typically require third-party communication technology and custom scripting for onboarding standards.
2. Uninhibited data interchange
For data interchange, ecosystem integration establishes dynamic and adaptive EDI and non-EDI functionalities with any-to-any integration and transformation. Additionally, application integration is enhanced through robust API frameworks and protocol connectors, which blend with traditional batch-based EDI to provide smooth orchestration across core processes like order-to-cash and procure-to-pay.
3. Automated business process design
Most ecosystem integration solutions come with intuitive wizards for straightforward business process design, testing, and execution. Such automation is typically outside the scope of legacy EDI software.
4. Personalized, user-focused visibility and governance
Ecosystem integration platforms offer intuitive and persona-based user-focused solutions, such as automated configurable dashboards, auditable reports, and process notifications, which place organizations on the driving seat of their data transformation agendas. However, legacy EDI toolkits typically lack the capability to interface with end-user applications for real-time monitoring and reporting and often require integration with third-party services.
Benefits of ecosystem integration
As a modern, future-ready approach to multi-enterprise integration, ecosystem integration empowers organizations to achieve maximum value from streamlined partner connections. Here are five compelling benefits of ecosystem integration.
- Streamlined integration. Ecosystem integration consolidates B2B and application integration standards into a single platform, enhancing operational visibility, control, and governance for seamless integration among business partners.
- Optimized core business processes. Ecosystem integration provides a one-stop-shop for designing, implementing, and automating all critical supply chain transactions, including order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, tender-to-invoice, and many more.
- Lower TCO. Ecosystem integration enhances data compatibility across the entire business environment. Internal and external business partners work together to ensure information accessibility and accuracy, eliminating the costly penalties of integration errors and unreliable transactions.
- Accelerated time to value. Proper ecosystem integration platforms utilize industry-certified standards, protocols, and templates for communication, onboarding, and API deployment. As a result, they significantly reduce the effort and complexity of getting parties well integrated.
- Proactive exception monitoring. Ecosystem integration gives you real-time process visibility through automated dashboards, reports, and notifications. You can monitor exceptions and make system adjustments proactively.
How Can Remedi Help You Achieve Ecosystem Integration?
Ecosystem integration platforms offer a much more comprehensive solution for communication and collaboration among business units and partners in today's digital era. So, if integration challenges are impeding your revenue velocity, or you are struggling to get end-to-end supply chain visibility, you can turn the tide with ecosystem integration.
As the top data integration consultant in the industry, Remedi points businesses to the flexible, scalable integration solutions they need to establish solid and sustainable connections across their internal and external networks. Whether you are looking to establish seamless intra-company data transformation or robust collaboration with external partners, you can count on Remedi for the right infrastructure.
Remedi works with top-range solution providers, including Microsoft, IBM, and Cleo, to provide tailored ecosystem integration solutions that will begin delivering value in the shortest time possible. Moreover, our experienced and highly skilled integration specialists can work with your team in any capacity, from system integration consulting to complete platform management, to help you achieve your integration goals with minimal costs and complexity.
