Work Area
Integration Platforms
When many tools must share data, connecting each one to every other becomes a tangle. We build integration platforms that put one hub in the middle, so every tool connects once, every message is logged, and a new system can join without rewiring the rest.
- 1,200+ clients helped
- Building since 2010
- 15 services, one team
- 50+ technologies
At a glance
What we build
We build integration platforms: a central hub that connects many tools, so each tool connects once to the hub instead of separately to every other tool.
Problems we solve
As tools multiply, direct connections multiply faster, and each change to one tool breaks several links.
Who we serve
Organizations with five or more connected tools, and technical leads tired of fragile links between systems.
How to choose
Use a hub when many tools share the same customers or orders. For two tools, a direct connection is enough.
In practice
A hub that tools share
We build a central layer that receives information from one tool and passes it to others in an agreed form. Each tool connects to the hub once, and the hub manages the rest.
The benefit grows with the number of tools. With three tools, direct links are fine. With ten, the links number in the dozens, and no one knows which depend on which.
A hub also gives you one place to watch. You can see what was sent, what failed, and what is waiting, which is hard when each link is separate.
Tangled links compared with a hub
Before: Tools connected to each other. Store linked to accounts, email, and stock; Accounts linked to email and records; Each link built and fixed separately. After: Tools connected to a hub. Each tool talks only to the hub; The hub passes information on; Changes are made in one place.
Before
Tools connected to each other
Every new tool needs several new links.
- Store linked to accounts, email, and stock
- Accounts linked to email and records
- Each link built and fixed separately
After
Tools connected to a hub
Every new tool needs one link.
- Each tool talks only to the hub
- The hub passes information on
- Changes are made in one place
Often built with
Inside the hub
What the hub does with a message
Each message passes through the same short series of steps.
What the hub does with a message
A sequence of 5 steps. Receive: A tool reports a change.; Translate: Convert it to the shared form.; Decide: Which tools need to know?; Deliver: Send it, and retry if a tool is down.; Record: Log what happened..
- ReceiveA tool reports a change.
- TranslateConvert it to the shared form.
- DecideWhich tools need to know?
- DeliverSend it, and retry if a tool is down.
- RecordLog what happened.
What we aim for
Four qualities of a good hub
Clear
- A shared description of each kind of record, such as a customer or order.
Forgiving
- Retries when a tool is down.
- Messages are never lost, only delayed.
Visible
- A view of what moved, what failed, and what waits.
Changeable
- Swapping a tool means changing one connection.
Technology
Under the hood
What we settle early: patterns and operation, so nothing surprises your team later.
We use an event-driven design where it fits, with queues that hold messages until the receiving tool is ready, and a controlled front door, called a gateway, for each connecting program.
- Idempotent handling, so a repeated message has no repeated effect.
- Dead-letter queues for messages that cannot be delivered.
- Alerts when failures exceed a set rate.
Choosing the right approach
When a hub is too much
A hub adds a component to run and understand. For two or three tools with simple links, a direct connection or an automation platform is cheaper and easier.
We recommend a hub only when the number of tools, or the cost of failures, makes it worthwhile.
A typical example
Five tools connected through one hub
A typical case is a business with an online store, accounting software, a warehouse system, a customer database, and an email tool, all connected pair by pair. Replacing the warehouse system would mean rebuilding four links.
A hub could hold one connection per tool. Replacing the warehouse system would then mean changing one connection, and the other tools would not notice.
Tell us which tools must share data
List the tools that need to share information. We will draw the connections and say whether a hub is justified.