Data has never been bigger.
As of 2020, we produced and stored an estimated 40 zettabytes of data, and 0.0025 zettabytes are produced every single day.
Doesn’t sound like a lot? That may be because you don’t have a good grasp on how bit a zettabyte is. That 0.0025 zettabytes is actually 2.5 quintillion bytes. That’s how much we are generating, storing, and trying to use every single day.
It’s too much even for the most advanced AI processors, though they are finally starting to make use of this hoard of data. With it, we can put machine learning into hyperdrive, and supercharge everything in our lives, from research to operations to even personalization and creation.
AI and data come with their challenges, yes. No one person has access to all that data, either. That doesn’t mean that the way you’ve been handling your data is enough. No, you need to put your information to work so that you can keep up with the next generation of businesses that put AI at the forefront of their development.
If you have trouble putting all your data together, don’t worry. You aren’t the only one. All you need is iPaaS to get you started, and this article to guide the way.
What is iPaaS?
Integration Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS), is a cloud-based application that works to unify all your applications and data sources together. Think of it like the ultimate API that bridges all of your systems, services, and servers together so that you can finally streamline data sharing.
Not only will all your system be able to access the information that they need, but you’ll be able to see all your information at once. This makes it so much easier to innovate, and set up automation processes no matter what sector you’re based in.
Benefits of iPaaS
These iPaaS solutions help you unify data, streamline operation, improve data consistency, and more. With it you can launch your business into a new era of innovation, set up robust automation protocols, and boost security.
You can also prepare your system for AI. You may end up creating your own AI system, or you may end up using another service. Regardless, having all your information linked together will help your AI tools make use of your data in ways you only ever dreamed of before.
Key Data Challenges an iPaaS Solution Addresses
You can see all those benefits come to life just by understanding how, exactly, an iPaaS solution addresses the most common data challenges of today:
· Data Silos
Large businesses in particular can end up with multiple data silos. This happens most often if you have multiple branches, particularly if those branches cross international boundaries. While your business can operate with separate silos of information working cooperatively together, that isn’t how you can properly use AI or analytics systems to their fullest.
You will need to break down those data silos and unify them. You need a single source of truth. This is the key concept behind a data fabric, and it is how you can successfully compile all your information into one destination.
How do you get that data in one place? With an iPaaS solution. Since it’s cloud-based, it can be added to every system no matter where in the world it’s located, so that you can ingest data effectively into one source.
· Processing Delays
Multiple systems are needed to successfully run any business, much less a large-scale one. If there’s a delay between information being generated by one system, ingested by another, and then processed, then that’s time wasted. Extra steps also introduce the risk of errors.
An iPaaS solution can help connect those disparate systems together, allowing them to finally work hand-in-hand so data can flow seamlessly through them, even if the applications themselves weren’t built for corporation.
Have a look at what order processing and fulfilment can look like with iPaaS on your side:
- Customer places an order
- Your order processing system receives the order
- The iPaaS system connects your order processing to your order fulfilment system.
- The order fulfilment system prepares the order
- Order updates are sent through your iPaaS to your email marketing team
- Emails are automatically sent out, updating customers on their order’s status automatically
This may sound like a standard automation process, yes, but once you start to consider how those processes can look like when you’re dealing with a global supply chain, the importance of an iPaaS becomes clear.
You need a bridge that connects essential systems no matter which country they are located in, and regardless of whether they are a modern program or a legacy system. An iPaaS connects all applications, across the world, that are connected to your system to speed up workflows and minimize errors.
· Data Delays
Time is money, and instant responses and access to data can help business owners and leaders make better, more insightful decisions for the business as a whole. If it takes weeks to put together all the necessary information, and then analyse it, you can easily miss your opportunity window.
With an iPaaS, you can quickly access the data that you need. Pair it with a research-focussed AI, and you can collect the datasets you need, and analyse them all automatically and in some cases, instantly.
Never waste a second, and instead enable real-time data analytics just by making it easy for all your applications, systems, and servers to send data seamlessly from one to another.
Ready to Integrate iPaaS Into Your System?
If you want to get serious about your data, speed up workflows, reduce errors, and start making better decisions thanks to data analytics, then you need an iPaaS system. This is essential even if you compile all of your data into a data fabric, since your applications will still keep producing data, and you need to do something with that information.
Think of it like the veins of your business’ body. Your iPaaS sends lifeblood (data) through to every system, and collects at your brain (analytics) and your heart (storage). With that in mind, there’s no time like the present. It’s time to integrate iPaaS into your system today.