In an enterprise, two software systems often need to exchange data. Choosing an integration method often comes down to two main choices: SFTP and API.
It often takes more work to determine the right integration technique. It’s like figuring out which integration technique works for an integral—especially ugly ones like u-substitution, integration by parts, and partial fractions.
Security
When it comes to integrating your business data, you need to find the most secure method that will allow you to make the most of the information and gain valuable insights. This is why keeping up with new technologies and best practices in integration architecture as your company grows and evolves is essential.
SFTP, also known as Secure File Transfer Protocol, is one of the oldest forms of file-based data integration. It uses shell encryption to connect two systems to exchange flat files. One of the critical challenges of using SFTP is that it requires employees to manage sensitive data manually. This introduces human error and can allow crucial issues to perpetuate within the system. Additionally, it cannot function in real-time.
APIs are a more modern, robust, and secure way of making digital systems’ talk’ to each other. They eliminate the need for a third-party app to act as an intermediary, which is essential if your organization needs to work in real-time.
Scalability
One of the biggest challenges when it comes to data integration is scalability. The number of systems and applications that need to be connected grows exponentially as the business matures. In this situation, it becomes impossible for a single person to handle manually every piece of data that needs to be integrated.
The solution is leveraging automated processes such as considering SFTP vs API. However, choosing the best method for your organization depends on your requirements and technical capabilities. SFTP offers a simple and secure solution for batch data transfer, while APIs offer greater flexibility for real-time data exchange.
If you choose the manual SFTP integration approach, employees must work with different user interfaces and query languages to operate each system. This means they must have detailed knowledge about each file’s location, logical representation, and semantics in the source system and the target application. This manual process could be more scalable and requires more time to manage.
In addition, SFTP has to rely on common file standards that can change with each software release. This can be risky for your organization because it introduces inconsistencies and errors into the system that may cause significant problems when integrating with new sites.
Flexibility
As you evaluate different data integration methods, consider how they’ll impact your team and the necessary resources to implement and maintain. Skilled IT teams are in short supply, and if an integration technique requires a large number of technical experts to get up and running, it may be best to find a solution that can support the workload of your existing employees.
Manual data integration relies on a data manager to oversee each process step, creating custom code and connecting data from multiple sources. This approach can be time-consuming but offers complete control over your integration strategy.
Point-to-point integration is an effective method for simple systems. Still, it can quickly become a management nightmare as the number of system interfaces and data formats to homogenize increases. This is especially true if you are dealing with data that needs to be updated regularly, as it can take hours to validate each integration’s results manually.
Flat-file integration is often used to transfer batches of data for processing or other tasks that require a static data set. However, the lack of real-time information makes it difficult for teams to monitor files and alert users to changes. This can lead to unnecessary errors and missed opportunities. Modern solutions like SFTP offer a cloud-based SFTP service integrated with webhook notifications, allowing you to stay informed in real-time.
Performance
SFTP is a manual data integration method that requires employees to manually download and upload flat files between systems, requiring them to validate each piece of information. This type of integration can be time-consuming and introduce errors in your data, making it difficult to make accurate business decisions.
In addition, SFTP only allows for data to be transferred on a schedule, which can be inconvenient for businesses that need real-time data exchange. In contrast, APIs are designed to allow for a more dynamic and interactive data exchange between software applications, making them an ideal choice for businesses that require more advanced functionality.
However, implementing an API can be expensive and require a team of developers to design and code. As such, this option is usually reserved for businesses with ample IT resources and budgets.
Using an off-the-shelf solution can speed up implementation, which can happen in days or weeks, depending on the size of your organization and the project’s complexity.
