Presented by SAP

The ability to collaborate and exchange information in real time across diverse systems and applications is a necessary foundation for business success and innovation. This is especially true when it comes to getting the most value out of data and AI investments. 

And yet, a common IT paradox is that simplification can be exceedingly complex.  

As companies adopt more software applications to manage their business operations, the need to seamlessly integrate all their systems and software applications -- as well as the data that lives within those applications -- grows too.  

Simplifying the intricate IT landscape of an IT service provider to the beverage industry was like capturing lightning in a bottle. As an IT services provider, they provide a common set of processes, data standards, and manufacturing solutions to twelve of the brand’s bottling partners across 512 locations in the United States and Canada.  

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step  

The IT service provider found itself with a challenging integration environment that connected many different business applications across each of their bottling partners. This setup heavily relied on multiple middleware solutions to facilitate data exchanges between sales, order management, supply chain systems, finance, and HR -- and ultimately resulted in a web of dependencies that increased maintenance efforts and reduced agility.  

In 2020, the IT Service provider modernized their legacy API platform, which garnered early wins from the improved scalability and agility of cloud-based systems. “Our goal at the outset was to convince all our bottling partners to agree to a common process, and then to build that common platform,” said a manager of the IT Service provider.

By 2022, however, their operations had grown to involve more than 90 APIs, powering over 70 applications and processing 500,000 daily messages -- prompting them to initiate a full-scale API platform replacement.  

They decided to adopt an event-driven architecture with SAP Integration Suite to reduce dependency on traditional point-to-point integrations, enable real-time data flow, and streamline API deployments with governance and reliability. This resulted in a more responsive and resilient digital ecosystem, accelerating business processes and improving data accessibility across the enterprise. 

Too many tools, not enough integration  

Looking back, the IT service provider realized their IT landscape depended on too many integration platforms to connect their business applications together. They’re not alone. In a recent SAP virtual summit, Shari Lava from IDC shared research findings from a custom study*. IDC found over 40 percent of companies (out of the 650 surveyed) reported using four to seven different integration vendors. Another 50 percent of respondents said they were very likely to add yet another integration solution within the next 12 months.

SAP believes these findings suggest: 

Organizations should plan and budget for integration early in their digital transformation. Half of the companies surveyed by IDC reported needing more than one tool to meet their technical requirements for data integration, process integration and application integration needs. Another 42 percent of companies noted their initial integration tool doesn’t adequately serve all developer types within their organization. Considering integration needs up-front in the planning process can avoid a continuous sprawl of integration tools.   

Organizations have a growing appetite to maximize developer efficiency. Companies surveyed by IDC reported that improving automation and deploying generative AI solutions were some of the top priorities to focus on in the coming years. And, if current integration solutions portfolios don’t adequately meet those needs, organizations are more than likely to shop for yet another solution. Viewing integration as an enabler of developer efficiency can accelerate innovation. 

A single solution to connect everything and innovate faster 

By leveraging SAP Integration Suite, the IT service provider has reduced runtime costs by 50 percent. The company centralized the bulk of its API workloads, leveraged native integration adapters to manage both SAP and non-SAP application integrations, and enhanced real-time data flow across their operations. Additionally, the flexibility of SAP’s solution freed the IT service provider to dramatically reduce their dependence on multiple integration platforms. 

“We have all our integration bases covered with SAP Integration Suite,” said a manager. “Coupled with its strong process automation capabilities, and seamless connectivity with AI tools, this solution has greatly accelerated developer productivity while giving us a lot of room to innovate and respond to evolving business demands.” 

It seems that it isn’t just carbonated beverages that they are capturing in a bottle. 

Bharat Sandhu is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Business Technology Platform at SAP.

*Source:  IDC Webinar, sponsored by SAP, Integration Insights Live: Innovate with a Modern iPaaS

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