Category: B2B Integration
November 27th, 2018
Push vs. Pull: Avoid Misunderstandings in Your Integration Efforts
So far in this “Integration 101” blog series, I’ve covered the basics of integration and tried to untangle some of the misunderstandings around APIs and web services — what they are and what they can and can’t do.
And, speaking of misunderstandings, there’s a lot of confusion about push versus pull when it comes to integration. Who’s pushing and who’s pulling? When do I push versus pull? And does it really matter? It does matter.
August 13th, 2018
Integration: Key Ingredient for Transforming Chain Restaurant Industry
Chain restaurants can relate to the old saying, “Too many cooks spoil the soup.” But I’m not talking about a dozen kitchen workers in white aprons stirring a pot of chicken noodle.
I’m talking about the legion of business applications in place at both the corporate and HQ-level in chain restaurant businesses. These software systems often work across hundreds of franchises.
For the most part, these applications are integrated ad hoc, if at all.
August 8th, 2018
The API Economy: Part of a Bigger Integration Picture
There’s a cloud of buzzwords around APIs, the API economy, and just where APIs fit into the vision of digital transformation.
Dell Boomi is all about creating the connected business, and we believe APIs are certainly part of it.
So, in this post, we’ll look at APIs from two vantage points:
- What we’re hearing about APIs from CIOs
- How the Boomi unified integration platform can help organizations quickly create high-quality APIs and dramatically reduce management headaches
Does Your Approach to APIs Scale?
July 25th, 2018
The Foundation of the Connected Business Is a Unified Integration Platform
To ensure business agility while keeping operational risk in check, integration remains a necessity. At the most basic level, integration is the process of connecting disparate data sources — whether cloud-based, on-premise or a hybrid — to allow data to flow to exactly where it needs to be.
A recent Vanson Bourne survey of 900 IT decision-makers worldwide shows a clear focus on integration. According to the report, eight of 10 IT leaders believe that greater connectivity should be their number one priority.
May 17th, 2018
B2B and Supply Chain Integration for NetSuite Retailers
In pursuit of the omnichannel shopping Holy Grail, retailers often focus on the front-end customer experience with slick ecommerce websites, mobile apps, digital marketing and interactive brick-and-mortar store experiences.
Yet the front end is only part of the equation for retail success. As the Dell Boomi retail team confirmed at NetSuite’s SuiteWorld conference in Las Vegas last month, top retailers pay equal attention to back-end processes, from business-to-business (B2B) transactions to supply chain management.
April 19th, 2018
Integration Drives Customer Experience Management for Omnichannel Retailers
Consumers generate data every time they interact with a brand. Clicking a digital ad, browsing a website, cashing out at a brick-and-mortar store, or using a retailer’s mobile app…each interaction creates a veritable gold mine of information that retailers and consumer goods companies can use to drive sales.
If properly harnessed, that data provides the foundation for customer experience management (CEM) — the ability to understand consumer behavior and preferences, create a unified 360-degree customer view, and generate insights for consistent, personalized engagement across any channel.
April 12th, 2018
Application and Data Integration Can Help Organizations Better Respond to GDPR Challenges
The European Union (EU) Data Protection Directive was passed in 1995. However, it didn’t foresee all the changes that would happen because of the evolution of digital technology. As a result, an update was needed. And now it will be shortly. The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes effect on May 25, 2018.
Though certainly not a fix for every aspect of the GDPR, data and application integration can play an important role in how organizations respond to GDPR requirements.
March 28th, 2018
The Future of the Integration Cloud Is Available Today…and It’s Boomi
On Wednesday, March 20, 2018, Salesforce announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire MuleSoft for approximately $6.5 billion. Salesforce indicates that MuleSoft will power what it is calling its new “Salesforce integration cloud.”
That is a great vision and promise. It is one that we enthusiastically support. The best news? The Integration Cloud is available today. It’s been here for more than a decade. It’s called Boomi.
March 20th, 2018
Boomi Providing Easy Access to Accurate and Reliable OANDA FX Data for Major ERPs
Companies doing business internationally, regardless of their size, have a business need for foreign exchange (FX) data. Reliable and timely currency information is key to maintaining accurate financial and accounting processes and pricing strategies. This is easier said than done.
The OTC (over-the-counter) nature of the FX market makes it opaque, decentralized and fast-moving, with trillions of dollars’ worth of transactions happening on a daily basis. This causes inconsistency in pricing and creates an environment that makes it difficult for corporations to access accurate FX data.
March 9th, 2018
EDI Cloud Integration: Making a Good Thing Even Better
There’s a lot of research out there that says B2B integration can make or break your business. In fact, industry analysts have called out B2B integration as one of the top three critical integration scenarios that businesses face.
B2B integration run by electronic data interchange (EDI) makes it possible to effectively manage your partner network — vendors, suppliers and distributors. While EDI is the most established method for running B2B networks, organizations are facing multiple challenges with this decades-old technology:
- Inflexible, legacy EDI systems that were not built to integrate with new cloud-based applications
- Inability to support business initiatives for mobile applications and API connections
- Complicated troubleshooting and error resolution
- Lack of end-to-end supply chain visibility
- Slow partner onboarding
To learn more about how Boomi’s low-code, cloud-native integration platform can deliver hassle-free integration and EDI management, please attend our upcoming webinar, “Managing Your B2B Transactions in the Cloud.”
EDI Is Great, But…
Studies conducted by a host of organizations like GS1 UK confirm the continuing value of electronic data interchange (EDI).