How To Be Smart About iPaaS Adoption

CFOs - Don’t Be Afraid of Integration, Be Smart About It

Take it from someone who totally missed the boat on iPaaS. A little over a year ago, I was approached by an iPaaS company to do some consulting work.  At the time, I knew very little about iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service.)  In fact, after spending nearly 15 years reselling Sage Intacct, one of the leading cloud-based accounting software applications, I wondered why a company would need to purchase specialty integration software.  My ignorance had me wondering why this type of software (iPaaS) would even need to exist.  Given today’s cloud solutions have open APIs and pre-built integrations to complementary software solutions, I totally missed the role this critical technology plays.

At the time, I thought isn’t the compelling value proposition to CFOs of cloud-based, best-in-class software that:

1. You and your accounting and finance team can choose applications that meet your specific requirements
2. Take advantage of pre-built integrations to quickly get these applications working together
3. And in turn, create your own best-in-class suite?

That is why companies like Sage Intacct, Oracle NetSuite, Acumatica, Workday, and Quickbooks have marketplaces with hundreds of applications each touting their integrations to the core ERP/GL, right?

And while all these ERPs/GLs, and many others, have software partners with pre-built integrations, not all integrations are created equal and not all will meet the specific requirements of your organization.

Five Key Questions CFOs and controllers should ask about integration

To be smarter about each integration, I have learned it is important to ask five questions about out-of-the-box integrations and not to be afraid of what the answers might uncover.

1. What do you mean by yes you can integrate with X Y or Z? What data, what transformations, and what directions of data flow do you support?
2. Do your out-of-the-box integrations still work if we have configured or even customized the applications in a certain way? And then ask to provide examples.
3. If we do need to customize the integration, do we need access to our own or your technical resources? How much will it cost if we need to hire you to do it and how long will it take?  How will these custom integrations be supported?
4. How are errors reported? Will we be notified?
5. And the all-important question, what do we do when no pre-built integrations exist?

Depending on the answers to these questions, you might determine that the out-of-the-box integrations will be just fine.  And you might determine that other options need to be considered.

Regardless of the answers you receive, don’t forget that before asking a vendor any questions about integration, the most important step is documenting how you want the data to flow across your applications to drive the most efficiency in your business processes.  Make sure you understand this first.

Why iPaaS is important for accounting and finance teams

What I have learned over the past year – now as a full-time employee of that iPaaS company that I consulted for, is that integration is not something to be afraid of.  In fact, after speaking with customers, system integrators, and other software publishers, iPaaS (integration software) should really be a part of every accounting and finance teams’ technology stack.  The right iPaaS solution ensures that the information across the applications you rely on stays in synch, with limited to no effort.  That might sound like a shameful plug from someone working for an iPaaS company - fair enough, but let me give you a few more things to think that highlight why iPaaS can play an important role in your fintech stack:

1. Digital transformation of accounting and finance is increasing the number of applications that CFOs and controller rely on. Do you have an efficient way to keep data across all your applications in synch?  Is managing multiple, point-to-point integrations becoming a challenge?
2. Most integrations available on the marketplace of ERP providers run through the ERP. How do you handle the workflows that don’t go through your ERP? For example, if you want to send information from your CRM or payroll application to your CPM/budgeting application?
3. Manual spreadsheet-based exports and imports still dominate how companies move data between applications, costing valuable time and increasing the probability of human error. Are you avoiding integration because of concerns over complexity and cost?

An iPaaS Primer for CFOs and Controllers

So how does iPaaS work to make it easier for CFOs and controllers to address each of these situations? First off, let’s define iPaaS.  Literally, iPaaS stands for integration Platform-as-a-Service.  At its core, iPaaS is subscription, cloud-based software that facilitates the seamless movement of data across applications.  It allows companies to collect, transform, and upload data across both cloud and on-premises/hosted applications.  The beauty of iPaaS is that you can build, manage, and support all your integrations through a common platform.  This eliminates managing multiple integrations through a variety of methods and user interfaces.  It also can help streamline technical support and issue resolution as all the integrations are managed through a single platform.

Yet for the CFOs and controllers at many SMBs and Medium Enterprises, the idea of deploying an iPaaS solution seems overwhelming.  This typically occurs for one of two reasons: being unfamiliar with iPaaS and/or knowing that the first wave of iPaaS solutions served large enterprises and required people with technical backgrounds to implement tailor-made integrations.  As a result, these solutions were considered extremely expensive to acquire, implement, and support.  Especially when each custom integration can be a bit of a black box requiring external resources to maintain and troubleshoot when issues arise.  A tough reputation for iPaaS to overcome.

But today, there are countless companies in the iPaaS space, many targeting SMBs with solutions that are quite easy to deploy.  That is because of a no-code, low-code deployment model.  In this model, the iPaaS provider offers pre-defined connections to commonly used applications that typically can be set up without the aid of a technical resource and in turn, can be deployed very quickly.

Being Smart About Integration

So, what is there to be afraid of?  Nothing!

• You know what iPaaS is – a technology specifically designed to streamline the flow of data across the applications you rely on - your ERP/GL, CRM, HR/payroll, CPM, and financial close applications.
• You know how iPaaS can help streamline your processes by automating the extraction, transformation, and load of data across all the applications you use.
• You know the questions to ask when selecting a new application or designing workflows/integrations across your existing applications.

Getting Started with iPaaS for finance and accounting teams

Given the sheer number of iPaaS solutions to chose from, how do determine which one is right for your organization?  Consider the following:

• Does the provider allow you to collect data from cloud and on-prem applications as well as from flat files dropped on an SFTP site?
• How much experience does the provider have integrating the type of applications you rely on day-to-day (e.g. ERP, CRM/billing, HR/payroll, CPM, and financial close.)
• Does the provider understand the type of workflows/transformations that are typically required to keep your information in synch?
• Is the provider’s product roadmap aligned with your future plans for your technology stack?
• Does the provider demonstrate a commitment to data security and privacy standards?

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