Most businesses end up with a collection of tools that each do one job well. A website, a CRM, an accounts package, a booking system, an email platform. The problem is that they don’t talk to each other, so someone spends their afternoons copying information from one to the next. System integrations are how you stop that.
The natural question is: “Can’t we just connect them?” Often, yes. But “just” is doing a lot of work in that sentence. System integrations range from a few clicks to a proper development project, and it helps to understand why before you ask for a quote.
What an integration actually is
An integration is a set of rules for moving information between two systems automatically. When something happens in system A (a new order, a form submission, a paid invoice), certain details are sent to system B, which then does something with them.
Most modern software makes this possible through an API, which is essentially a published set of doors that other software is allowed to knock on. Some systems have generous, well-documented APIs. Others have limited ones. A few have none at all, which makes life much harder.
The three common routes
Built-in connections
Many tools already connect to popular partners. Your accounts package might link to your bank, or your booking tool might sync with your calendar. Check these first. They’re usually the simplest and most reliable option.
Connector platforms
Services such as Zapier or Make sit between your tools and move data based on triggers you set up. They’re great for straightforward jobs like “when a form is submitted, add a contact to the CRM and send a Slack message”. They have running costs and limits, and complex logic can get fiddly, but for many small businesses they’re the right starting point.
Custom integrations
When the logic is complicated, the volumes are high, or one of the systems isn’t supported by connector platforms, a developer writes code to connect them directly. This gives the most control, but it needs hosting, monitoring and maintenance like any other software.
Why system integrations are rarely a five-minute job
The technical connection is often the easy part. The hard questions are about the data itself.
- Matching. How does system B know that “J Smith Ltd” is the same customer as “John Smith Limited”? You need a reliable way to match records, like an email address or account number.
- Direction. Does data flow one way or both ways? Two-way syncs are much harder, because you have to decide which system wins when they disagree.
- Mapping. System A might store a full address in one box, while system B wants it split into five. Every field needs a destination.
- Errors. What happens when something fails? A missing field, an outage, an expired login. Someone needs to be told, and there needs to be a way to fix it.
- Change. Software vendors update their products and APIs. An integration that works today may need attention next year.
Connecting two systems is mostly about agreeing what the data means. The code is the smaller half of the job.
Questions to answer before you ask for a quote
- Which systems need to connect, and which one is the “master” for each type of information?
- What event should trigger the data to move?
- Which fields need to go across, and what should happen to them at the other end?
- Does it need to be instant, or would a few times a day do?
- Roughly how many records a day or month are we talking about?
- Who should be alerted if it stops working?
Having answers to these will make any quote for system integrations more accurate, whether it comes from us or anyone else.
Don’t forget data protection
Every integration moves data, often personal data, from one place to another. That’s worth thinking about under UK GDPR. Make sure you know where the data goes, that each system is one you’re comfortable trusting with it, and that you’re not copying more than you need. If a connector platform sits in the middle, it’s another processor handling your data, so check its terms.
Start with the one that hurts most
Don’t try to connect everything. Pick the single piece of retyping that wastes the most time or causes the most errors, and integrate that first. See how it behaves for a month. Then do the next one.
Where we come in
Our integrations work covers everything from setting up connector platforms properly to building custom connections where off-the-shelf options fall short. If you’re not sure which route suits you, that’s a good first conversation, and it often forms part of a wider digital transformation plan.
