Integrations
Harnessing the power and flexibility of integrations
Integrations
Harnessing the power and flexibility of integrations
- 3 minute read
Integrations form a central part of what we do when we build websites, apps, really just about anything. But when we talk about integrations, what do we mean?
At its most basic an integration is a connection of two distinct network enabled entities, allowing data to flow from one to the other. These connections are initiated by a request containing pertinent information kickstarting the flow of data. We’ll refer to these as the provider (the entity holding the data), and the client (the entity requesting the data).
Integrations offer a range of different possibilities. One of the most basic is to request data for display, while at the other end of the scale we can use integrations to pay for goods and services and to connect business systems together. This gives rise to a host of possibilities, perhaps to initiate automation sequences, perhaps raising a quote based on an interaction in an app and sending the quote off to a client.
There is no such thing as a standard integration because each integration is with a different system. When integrating with third party (provider), services the provider sets the parameters (the rules), for the integration. For example specifying if the integration should be authenticated and how the requests for information should be made and formatted. While the provider sets their own rules around the interaction and the shape of the data, there are accepted industry standards and protocols for how underlying requests for information should be made, which are designed to make developers lives simpler. When designing an integration it’s important to adhere to these rules so that other developers can integrate with services quickly and efficiently.
When integrating two previously unconnected systems we will define the rules, setting out the way the integration must be performed based on the requirements and availability of the systems. If we’re developing a brand new product we may create an integration from scratch, facilitating external connections to our service.
Integrations play a key role in our connected world and while they can sound complicated, when distilled down they exist to allow systems to talk to one another with the aim of making our lives a little simpler. If we take a social integration as an example, a good use case would be to post on a social channel and then have that post, or a representation of it, appear automatically on a website, neatly avoiding the need to post twice. Multiply this up by numerous posts across several social and/or communications channels and the benefits quickly add up.
When we say a representation of, we mean it. Many services have their own view of how data should be displayed, some more rigidly than others, but that doesn’t mean it's the best view for every scenario. Take a Google Calendar for example, a standard layout is a full month view calendar in Google’s choice of colours and fonts, which is a big chunk of screen estate, particularly on mobile devices. So instead we’ll use an integration, asking Google for the events, the dates, the times and the locations, and we’ll display that in such a way as to be reflective and complimentary to the design of the website app, or service, for screens of all sizes.
So whether it’s social media, everyday tooling like calendars, third party services, business systems, or even new builds, we love the power and flexibility of integrations.