Written by Andy Mardell, Technical Account Manager
It’s estimated that 85% of business apps will be SaaS-based by the end of 2025, so keeping all your data, information, and details in check could become a more time-consuming headache very soon. So it’s ironic that 54% of businesses introduce SaaS systems to help improve productivity, but the more systems they add, the less productive they become. That’s why integrating your SaaS enterprise software could be the solution to reducing admin, cutting costs, and increasing productivity across the board. Goodbye admin, hello business growth.
We’ve worked with various clients over the years to help them integrate their third-party SaaS services and CRMs into their business’s website, app, or portal. And we’ve seen just how beneficial it can be for the client firsthand.
When it comes to deciding how to integrate, there are three options: out-of-the-box integrations that use the SaaS platform’s pre-built features, a standard API integration, or an advanced bespoke integration. Let’s break them down…
An out-of-the-box integration essentially takes a SaaS platform’s pre-built features and connects it with your website. This can be a relatively straightforward task that’s easy to set up and could be implemented by internal teams or by working with some agencies. But there are some drawbacks, including:
While this might seem like a quick win, the limitations can become tedious and challenging, preventing your business from really utilising the full potential of your SaaS platform. And you could still be left with lots of backend admin and housekeeping, so you might not even save your company much time.
Most SaaS enterprise software products will provide their own APIs that users can use to connect their SaaS platform with their website, portal, or app. Compared to an out-of-the-box integration, this can have benefits including:
But these integrations still have some serious drawbacks. For example, they’re very complex to set up, so your team will need a good level of technical knowledge about the API and platform you’re using. You may even need a specialist to help you out. And it gets even more complex if your business needs the API to connect to other third-party systems. So this can quickly become a complicated and time-consuming task that still won’t offer you the best utilisation of your SaaS platform.
If you want to make full use of your SaaS platform, beyond standard form handling or CRM syncing, an advanced bespoke integration is the way to go. Using a completely custom API, you can connect more than just your core SaaS software to your website—you can also connect with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, Product Information Management (PIM) software, Digital Asset Management (DAM) software and custom APIs, creating a central, automated hub for all your data that then powers your websites, apps, portals and internal tools. This comes with countless time-saving and cost-saving benefits:
Advanced bespoke integrations are highly complex because they’re built around your business’s unique needs, so they need some level of ongoing maintenance to ensure the integration works efficiently and correctly all the time, but the benefits speak for themselves, especially when it comes to cutting back on tedious admin so you can focus on business growth.
Here at Si digital, we believe that if you pay for a SaaS service like Salesforce or HubSpot, you should be able to utilise every aspect of it, so fully bespoke integrations with your website, app, or portal are the way to go. But integrating your SaaS enterprise software can be a daunting task.
We’ve been working with our clients for the last two decades to build them bespoke websites with complex integrations, and we use our Faraday™ framework to work efficiently and effectively. Faraday™ allows us to bring our clients solutions that help them to meet their internal business targets, KPIs, and goals—so they know we’re all working in the same direction.
When it comes to bespoke integrations, we’ve built our own custom Si Middleware. It works a little like a connection hub for your computer. We use it as a central point to connect all your business’s SaaS systems to your website, app, and portal, so data can flow quickly and easily between your various systems and platforms. Our Si Middleware is also scalable and flexible, so if your business finds it needs to use a new SaaS system, we can easily connect it up with everything else. Check out the diagram below to see how all the different elements of our Si Middleware work.
One of our biggest SaaS successes has been our work with Harwin, where we not only designed and built them a new website but also integrated their Salesforce system with their new website.
Beyond the standard integration functionality, we built a bespoke integration that synchronises over 4,000+ products with their CRM and website, as well as integrating with other SaaS systems like Bynder (DAM), TraceParts (3D CAD models) and SnapMagic (PCB Footprints). And the benefits have been outstanding.
From the 90% reduction in page load times to the 97% decrease in filter interaction times, their advanced bespoke integration with Salesforce has been a huge success.
The integration has also had benefits internally. It’s dramatically reduced the amount of admin the team has to carry out to update product details, allowing them to focus on growing their business and following up on valuable leads. Harwin proves exactly how a seamless Salesforce integration can help to drive business growth.
Read more about how we helped Harwin here.
If integrating your SaaS systems sounds like something your business could benefit from, you can find out more about how we can help here, or get in touch to book in a consultation.
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