APIs, AI, and Application Integration: The Google Way

Introduction

In this article we will explore how the newly introduced Google cloud product for Integration, Application Integration(iPaaS), is poised with capabilities to challenge the existing major players in the iPaaS space. We will see how the Google Application Integration packed with Apigee and DuetAI is different from the rest of the platforms by a country mile.

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)

APIs are simply the bridge between apps. They let different applications “talk” to each other, share data, and perform tasks collaboratively. Think of API as a waiter taking orders (data requests) from one app to another and bringing back the results.

AI (Artificial Intelligence)

Not the terminator kind! AI is simply another intelligent software trained on a massive, massive, massive set of data. It learns from patterns and can make predictions, automate tasks, and even understand your intent. Think of it as a super-powered assistant helping you build integrations faster and smarter. But they are a point-in-time intelligence, not an ever evolving one(yet).

Application Integration

While AI may be the latest star, there is another AI – Application Integration quietly undergoing its own evolution and revolution. Shedding its legacy names such as ESB (Enterprise Service Bus) , Enterprise Middleware, and Message Brokers, it’s emerging strongly as Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS).

The unsung hero of enterprise IT, which hardly gets the glory of that of data platforms or the shiny front end systems. Application Integration is the glue which keeps 100s of different IT systems, cutting across various protocols, working seamlessly without any friction and orchestrating complex workflows and moving data from one system to another. It’s like the plumbing layer of the enterprise IT systems.

Google Application Integration

Every business with a growing number of IT systems, demands seamless connectivity to be more agile and respond quickly to market trends. Gone are the days of convoluted integration approaches with more academic principles and architecture, which were never truly applicable for real world systems.

Enter Google! Yes, Google has launched its own iPaaS, bringing the power of Application Integration, AI co-pilot(Duet AI) and APIM (Apigee) all under one roof of GCP. With Google’s already strong cloud offerings, addition of Application Integration (iPaas) is truly poised to disrupt this space. Simply because, Google Cloud Application Integration isn’t just about connecting apps, It’s about connecting your business to its full potential. Here is how

Intuitive drag-and-drop interface: No need for clunky developer studios or millions of libraries on developer machines, build your integrations with ease, right from the browser. Even better, develop with simple prompts! Just say what you want to build, more on that here.
Pre-built connectors for 100+ applications: Connect your CRM, ERP, CPQ, Core Business Systems, database & more and the entire Google Cloud ecosystem with pre-built connectors
Manage APIs with Apigee: Application Integration that enables developers to not only connect their existing applications, but also build and manage APIs within the same interface
Connect Integration Flows and APIs with real-time insights: Leverage Google's data powerhouses like BigQuery and AutoML for actionable insights. Use the out of the box BigQuery connectors to respond to market dynamics in real time.
Duet AI, your development co-pilot: With Google Cloud Application Integration, you just tell Duet AI what your integration process should do and it does the job for the developer, ALMOST!, leaving the developer to fine-tune and deploy only. Developers can quickly generate integration skeletons, which can usually take days, in just a matter of minutes. I never imagined such a thing would exist in my lifetime, for application integrations at least!

How Application Integration complements AI

AI models are trained, of course, with lots of data! but they are often trapped with point-in-time knowledge. Which means, AI models on its own cannot get real time data or respond to real time knowledge based questions. This is where Application integration becomes the missing link, injecting real-world data and intelligence in real-time. Here’s how:

Data Feed: Application Integration provides continuous feed of data, fueling the AI models with more intelligence about real time changes to data
AI Plugins: Application integration allows us to integrate AI models also as another application to any part of the business, integrating the AI capabilities to web apps, phone channels or customer service agents and exec level functions.
The Learning Loop: Application Integration can provide AI models, the feedback loop, feeding its actions and applied results back to the model, to refine and fine tune its model. Sounds scary at times!
AI as a Service: Application Integration can expose AI models as APIs via Apigee, letting other applications tap into their brilliance, creating a collaborative AI ecosystem for broader impact.

Unlocking Hidden Business Benefits

Business Agility: Makes you business agile by responding to market trends with quicker solutions and faster time to market
Mergers and acquisitions: Seamlessly integrate or dis-integrate without impacting day to day business operations
Process Automations: Automate all manual feeds with autonomous processes
Enhance Customer Experience: Provide a unified & consistent customer experience across all channels
Flexible IT for Business needs: Business can slice and dice IT systems as necessary with a robust integration platform connecting it all