Why Businesses Are Rushing to Connect Their Digital Ecosystems

Good communication is vital in all aspects of life and business. Within business, improving the way different systems communicate and synergise with one another is a great avenue for growth. So, what modern digital strategies can we explore?

Mix and match: the best of many worlds

Third-party integrations are greater than the sum of their parts.

When we say “integration”, what we mean is a connection between two or more systems, which combines them into something more useful. These systems can share data and use each other’s functionality. Third-party just refers to the software systems that we use day to day, owned by other companies like Microsoft, Google, HubSpot, Slack, etc.

By combining third-party tools, businesses can create scalable value and innovate without reinventing the wheel (or changing people’s workflows too fundamentally).

How do these integrations work?

We won’t bore you with the technical details (after all, those are Novatura’s to deal with), but here’s an example of what we mean:

1. A customer purchases a product on a Shopify store.
2. Take the payment for the product using Stripe.
3. Mailchimp sends the customer a confirmation email and receipt.
4. Microsoft Power Automate creates a Planner task to remind staff to handle the order.

What ways can you imagine your software platforms interacting with each other, and do they create a result you’ve been searching for? Maybe that’s solving a growth bottleneck or freeing up time by automating tasks.

Why are integrations so helpful?

• Workflows: different tools communicate smoothly and seamlessly to complete multi-step tasks.
• Efficiency: remove the manual work of moving data across systems and replace it with considerably quicker automation.
• Scalability: handle more tasks, customers and data without requiring significant changes.
• Cost-Effectiveness: use existing, high-quality tools, reducing the need for custom solutions
• Reduce Human Error: fewer human personnel doing simple, repetitive work reduces mistakes and enables them to do more rewarding and productive things.

What services can I integrate?

The possibilities for third-party integrations are abundant. As a business, you can choose which ones complement your needs most. This list is by no means exhaustive, but here are some popular categories:

• Payment Processors: use platforms like Stripe, Square and PayPal to handle transactions.
• CRM Tools: integrate HubSpot and Salesforce to track customer interactions, manage leads, and organise data such as contacts.
• Messaging: automatic communication to clients or staff via SMS, email, WhatsApp, Slack, etc.
• Marketing Tech: track marketing campaigns through Mailchimp or Google Analytics.
• Customer Support: integrate helpdesk platforms like Zendesk and Intercom to facilitate customer communication and track issues.
• Accounting Software: automatically send invoices to customers using the Xero or FreeAgent API.

Summary

Third-party integrations offer a powerful and cost-effective way to improve scalability. By creatively managing your web services, you can shape your digital ecosystem to innovate and drive growth.

Has this article sparked any ideas for new or improved workflows? You might get more ideas from a call with one of our digital strategists.

If you’d like to start a conversation about integrating third-party platforms, contact Novatura. As a team of expert UK-based developers, we specialise in applying software to business projects of all sizes. Book a free, no-obligation call to discuss technological opportunities for your business using the link below:

https://novatura.co/contact