This is certainly a common situation for many organizations: system integrations accumulate over the years with new systems, services, and business needs. Eventually, the overall environment grows so extensive that managing, developing, and planning for the future are no longer simple tasks.
The situation was familiar to Lounais-Suomen Jätehuolto as well. The integration environment built over the years consisted of numerous different system connections and data transfer solutions. The complex overall structure made it difficult to manage and monitor integrations and quickly identify potential error situations.
Integration strategy provided direction for development
To resolve the situation, LSJH engaged Reflector as a partner to assess the current state of the integration environment and identify opportunities for improvement.
– Our client wanted an objective perspective on their integration architecture options. For this reason, Reflector as a technology-independent partner was selected for the analysis, says Reflector consultant Tomi Mörsky.
As the project progressed, a clear overall picture of the current environment emerged, along with an understanding of what LSJH needed.
– We proceeded step by step in the project. First, we defined the integration strategy, then built an integration architecture to support it, and finally scored the solutions that met the set objectives both technically and from a business perspective, Mörsky explains.
LSJH’s integration strategy emphasized the importance of a cloud-based solution, reliability and continuity, as well as security and transparency.
EU regulations affecting organizational data management, such as GDPR and NIS2, require that data flows are traceable, anomalies are detected quickly, and responsibilities are clear. It was important to consider these requirements when designing the integration architecture.
In addition to these, it was important for LSJH that the solution’s costs would be highly predictable and that processes could be simplified.
– It was important to us that the cost structure of the integration platform is understandable to business management as well, says Mörsky.
Cloud-based integration architecture met the objectives
Based on the strategy, an integration architecture was defined for LSJH. In this case, cloud-based approach, REST interfaces, and fault tolerance clearly pointed toward an iPaaS-based architecture, complemented by API Management and event-driven models in selected areas.
Mörsky explains that an iPaaS solution was selected because it supports cloud-based development well and enables centralized integration management. API Management brings interface management and security to the overall solution, and event-driven data transfer is utilized where data needs to be transmitted quickly.
Integration environment creates foundation for the future
As a result of the renewal, LSJH gained a clear vision for developing the integration environment and an architecture that scales to business needs in the future as well. The cloud-based integration platform improves integration manageability and facilitates connecting new systems to the overall environment.
– The goal was not simply to replace an old solution with a new one, but to build an overall environment that can be developed in a controlled manner in the years to come. When strategy, architecture, and technology support each other, implementing new integrations is significantly more straightforward, Mörsky summarizes.
