Updated on by Daniel Twigg
….well in truth, we do. Connectivity is the key element of any iPaaS solution. However, with over 300,000 SaaS companies no iPaaS is going to have 100% coverage.
Not unsurprisingly, therefore, connector availability is something we come up against frequently. Generally, we find that we have coverage of a large proportion of connectors that prospective clients need – but that we will need to build a few more either at the point of onboarding or further down the line.
So what are the options when a customer or prospect asks for a connector we currently don’t have?
We Build Application Connectors
We have a Connector Team dedicated to building new application connectors and extending existing ones. When you are onboarding we will be scoping both the connector to your own platform as well as any other third-party connectors required.
We have always taken a customer-first approach to the connectors in our library; building out services that are requested, and covering their major use cases to speed up development. It is efficient for both you and us.
With over 300 application connectors currently public (with over 100 more privately available) we’ve gotten pretty good at it!
We work in bi-weekly sprints so turnaround is normally pretty quick. In fact, our responsiveness in building out connectors for our users has gone down well. See what our users are saying for yourself.
Our CTO states that if a connectivity option is available – then we can connect to the application. It is a simple statement but true.
We normally find we build the ‘mainstream’ connectors, but it isn’t the only option. You could always…
Build The Connector Yourself
Our API mapping function is made available to users (in our Growth License and above) to self-build connectors. These are the same tools we use internally, resulting in a fully workable application connector when complete.
The process has been refined over the years, including ways to shortcut defining an API’s endpoints; from importing Swagger/OpenAPI documentation to pasting in sample JSON.
You don’t necessarily need to be a full-stack developer to build your own connector as the toolkit is guided and easy to configure. However the more developed centric also have the option to customise connectors with their own code.
Whilst all of the connectors in our library are built and maintained by us, and that you create using the tool will be maintained by you. Don’t worry, we include versioning to help you iterate on your connector work.
Want to get there even quicker, then check out our……
Generic Connections
If you’re feeling a bit impatient and want to get connected right away, then we have a range of Generic Connectors available in our drag-and-drop integration builder.
These can be configured so you can work with a wide range of data sources; from API endpoints, and event listeners (Webhooks) to direct-to-database connections.
Whilst these are great for testing, we wouldn’t recommend them for long-term production-level integrations – a connector built specifically for an application is always going to outperform a generic connector. Generic connectors will, however, allow you to prove your use case in no time at all!
And sadly there are always……
The Exceptions
It would not be fair if we didn’t acknowledge that there are always exceptions.
Surprisingly there are SaaS companies that still restrict access and/or don’t provide connectivity options. Happily, these are by far and away the minority. This lack of access is not an ‘iPaaS’ thing but is a general principle to which these platforms operate. You would be faced with a similar contention regardless of the methodology you used for connectivity.
The vast majority of SaaS’s welcome access to their platform as it extends their usage and invites a wider range of users to their platform. Creating an API connector for their application just opens up new opportunities for both them and their partners.
In Conclusion
In conclusion – if we don’t have 100% of the connectivity you need, speak to us. We are old hands at creating connectors and have multiple routes to fast-tracking connectivity for you. We are regularly extending our library and there is no reason we can’t extend it down the routes you require. If we foresee a problem we will tell you very quickly – we know what we are looking for.
