How To Deliver Sitecore Integration To Improve Scale

How To Use The No Code Sitecore Integration Platform To Improve Scale 

Legacy Sitecore api integration tools and solutions which rely on deep technical skills are being replaced by no code data integration tools like Put It Forward.  Organizations like Sitecore have chosen to embed Put It Forward data integration automation into their tools and solutions because it is modern, creates scale and addresses the solution needs of the digital world.

Why this matters to you is that the competitive landscape is changing fast and the solution software of yesterday doesn't map to the modern digital world.

Why Start Using Sitecore Integration To Save Implementation and IT Development Resources?

Many people spend 40-70% of their Sitecore implementation budget and time on integration.  This is a very expensive proposition when timing is everything in the digital world.  In fact the number one reason why Sitecore Commerce and Experience projects fail to start or don’t fully execute is because of the cost of integration.  Access to the critical data within Sitecore and the external business processes is a mandatory component of any successful digital strategy.

Very simply it’s impossible for development resources to more efficiently manage heavy lines of code development than it is to work with a no code integration solution.

Recognizing this Sitecore and Put It Forward have invested resources in raising the integrity of the integration options available for a successful integration implementation.

Creating more options for Sitecore integration for those that choose to go the build it themselves route or those that want to leverage the prebuilt no code solution.

Compare the no code Sitecore integrationcapabilities with legacy coder tools.

Best Practices For Sitecore Commerce Integration

There are several core best practices that can be leveraged to get the most out of a Sitecore integration connector.  

• Decide on the business processes which need to be integrate
  • Such as customer updating or inventory management
• Determine the events when data should be updated
  • Such as when inventory is updated in an ERP system like SAP should Sitecore Commerce be updated right away
• Define what data should be included in Sitecore
  • Such as CRM data from Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics or marketing data from Marketo
• Establish the integration frequency needed to meet your commerce critical data sla’s
  • Such as real time, once every 5 minutes or perhaps twice a day

Out Of the Box Solution Scenarios For Sitecore Integration

Put It Forward and Sitecore product management have defined several core bi-directional integration scenarios which are turn key out of the box ready to deploy.  

1. Automatically creating or updating a customer
2. Automatically creating or updating an account
3. Automatically creating or updating an item
4. Automatically creating or updating inventory
5. Automatically or creating the Sitecore catalog
6. Automatically or creating promotional items

There are many things that can be done and set up to automatically integrate with other technologies.

Each of these Sitecore integration solutions are completely configurable and require no code to extend or customize, saving you a lot of time and resources.

Here's a quick video of some of the Sitecore integration key features:

Extending and Customizing Your Sitecore Integration Platform Solution

There’s going to be times when you want to take that out of the box turn key solution and extend it to meet your needs.  Maybe you have multiple Sitecore Commerce deployments or they need to be connected to a custom system or there’s a specific critical data element that IT needs to manage or integrate into your business intelligence solution.

The beauty of a no code integration solution like this is that it can be done quickly and efficiently at scale.  The only limitation is your imagination.

Leveraging the Sitecore Integration API 

Traditional middleware is all about creating code heavy black boxes for anyone that is not a developer because that was how you could leverage the api to its fullest.  Using the integrated data services of Put It Forward that have analytics, data stage, data preparation and data security functions built right the IT developer can go faster and further than with just writing code for Sitecore api integration solutions.

The beauty of the Put It Forward Sitecore integration solution is that it brings the power of the api right into the hands of those that want to scale.

Integrating Into Business Processes

There will alway a wide range of scenarios that you want to integrate Sitecore Commerce and content solutions into.  Using the process management and business rules engine within the connectors you can bring your enterprise and engagement systems into the story.  There are over 350 different out of the box connectors available for Sitecore.

Covering everything from Sitecore active directory integration for identity management.  Some scenarios are more about engaging the social audience through Sitecore Facebook integration and others start with the CRM solutions like Sitecore Dynamics 365 integration.

How To Set Up  

Set up is super simple, contact your Sitecore account manager because they manage the licensing.  If you need some help getting connected let us know below.

How Much Does Sitecore Integration Cost?

The days of you having to pay $15,000 or $25,000 or $50,000 or over $100,000 for unsupported Sitecore integration projects is over.  Best thing to do is contact your Sitecore account manager to get the price and cost discount that’s associated with your contract.

Put It Forward is a long term member of the Technology Alliance Program that Sitecore manages to control the quality of solutions being offered.