3 top trends in technology that drive the need for integration

February 26, 2021

4 minutes

Have you noticed a shift in your IT landscape over the past few years? You’re not alone: more and more organisations are replacing their monolithic systems with hybrid data-focused models that incorporate cloud, innovative technologies and more. This creates an increasingly complex environment, making it a challenge to choose the best integration tools. Today, we take you through the key technologies as determined by Gartner, for which integration is crucial.

Hyperautomation – advancement through new technologies

Hyperautomation is the application of advanced technologies like AI, RPA and machine learning (ML) to automate processes and improve them. The goal is to increase the efficiency of end-to-end business processes and save time beyond what is possible with traditional automation.

By implementing these advanced technologies, companies can create connected digital experiences for their customers, rely on digital interaction as the norm for collaboration and even stimulate co-innovation with customers and other partners.

The key to hyperautomation that adds true value? Integration!

How ODTH used smart cameras to improve its logistics operations

By installing smart cameras that use automated number plate recognition (ANPR) and integrating these within the existing SAP system, logistics firm ODTH managed to drastically reduce waiting times for truck drivers at the entrance and exit of its facilities. The result? A smooth logistics process, less stress for the staff and happy customers.

Read the full ODTH story >

Democratisation of technology – unifying business and IT

Democratisation of technology refers to the fact that technology is rapidly becoming more accessible to a broader audience. New, user-friendly technologies and improved user experience have empowered everyone in the company to take control over IT – and innovation. As a result, the process of innovation has experienced a shift: business is taking the lead over IT. Innovation now happens based on business requirements that are supported by IT.

To make that happen, good collaboration between business and IT is crucial – as is integration!

How Elia drives innovation with SAP Leonardo and S/4 HANA

At Belgium’s high-voltage infrastructure operator Elia, business and IT go hand in hand to achieve true innovation. That’s why the company invested in a strong digital core that is based on S/4HANA technology.

Explore Elia’s innovation journey >

Distributed cloud – creating a hybrid environment that combines the best

Distributed cloud is a cloud execution environment for applications that is – as the term implies – distributed across multiple sites and even providers. This enables you to pick and choose features and services to create a custom cloud solution that suits your needs. By not being limited to a single cloud provider, you stimulate innovation and reduce your dependency on the provider.

Distributed cloud only works by combining and interconnecting these applications so that they are managed as one integrated solution.

How to link cloud solutions to other on-premise or cloud applications

When combining multiple cloud solutions, it’s important to make sure they interact seamlessly. To that end, SAP developed numerous integration tools, templates and easily implementable solutions, such as such as SAP Integration Suite.

Apart from SAP Integration Suite, there are also other ways to connect cloud solutions to on-premise or other cloud applications, such as SAP Process Orchestration (PO) or even Dell Boomi.

Find out more about cloud integration >

SAP: the answer to your integration needs

Whether you’re looking for a way to make different technologies, business and IT or even multiple cloud solutions to work together, integration is always a must. That’s why SAP has developed a whole range of solutions to help you achieve truly modern integration that is:

Out of the box, with +1200 prepackaged integrations readily available on SAP API Business Hub.
Open, with Open Connectors offering more than 150 ready-made connectors to non-SAP products and technologies such as SalesForce, Facebook, Sharepoint, Dropbox, …
Holistic, with SAP Integration Suite embracing both application-to-application (A2A) and business-to-business (B2B) integration, leveraging B2B standards such as EDIFACT, EANSCOM, AS/2, …
AI driven with value mappings in SAP Integration Suite generated by a smart cloud mapping engine trained on thousands of mappings across SAP’s customer base

Want to learn more about new technologies and smart integration? Discover our offer.