Cloud App Integration Challenges Limit Demand

There's been a proliferation of new apps in the cloud. Yet the need to integrate all those apps in the cloud has not yet reached critical mass, according to a recent survey conducted by Spiceworks in collaboration with Scribe Software, a provider of application integration tools. The survey of 284 IT professionals finds that existing legacy apps, such as ERP systems, are staying put on-premise. However, companies are deploying new apps, such as marketing automation systems, in the cloud. What has yet to happen is large-scale integration of apps running on-premise and in the cloud. Yet when those apps are integrated, most organizations still rely on custom coding that often requires manual efforts that make use of APIs, according to the study. That may also account for why the study finds most organizations don't seem too happy with the integration tools on which they currently rely. It's only a matter of time before much of the integration process becomes more automated in the cloud. Meanwhile, solution providers should expect to see a lot more demand for integrating apps across hybrid cloud environments once the number of application workloads running in the cloud achieves critical mass.