The Boomi Blog

Connect Once, Integrate Everywhere

As you may have already seen, there are several exciting announcements happening at Boomi lately. One in particular that I wanted to highlight is part of our AtomSphere announcement. Effective today, we have released in beta our Connector SDK to enable anyone to connect an application to the AtomSphere platform. Once connected that application can now integrate with any of the hundreds of applications we now support. This is key to Boomi’s unique “Connect once, integrate everywhere” approach to integration.

What is a Connector?

Key to understanding this new capability is to briefly explain what exactly a Connector is. Simply put, a Connector is a small application module that wraps and “describes” an applications’ programming interface (API) so that is can be utilized without requiring programming skills. Things like how to login securely to the application, which business objects are exposed through the API, what calls does the API make available, how are customizations enabled, etc. The Boomi Atom then invokes the Connector at runtime to interact with a particular application, such as to add new data or read data from the application.

Once created, this Connector completely abstracts the technical details described above from the end user. The end user simply logs in to Boomi AtomSphere, specifies the application they wish to connect, and walks through a wizard that prompts them for information on how to connect to said application, what exactly they want to integrate, etc.

Perhaps most importantly is the maintenance of these Connectors. SaaS ISV’s make changes to their applications very often compared to on-premise ISV’s. This is one of the strengths of SaaS; these ISV’s can innovate very rapidly and upgrade all of the customers each step of the way in a cost effective model thanks to things like multi-tenant architectures. As these upgrades happen so do changes to the SaaS ISV’s API; it is therefore paramount that such API changes are handled and made invisible to the end customer. This is another big value add of Boomi’s Connector architecture; because we are ourselves a SaaS architecture, changes made to a SaaS ISV’s API are made once in the Connector, and then automatically propagated to all customers using it.

Now Open for Integration

By opening our platform and allowing our partners to now build these connectors, we are enabling an exponential increase in the number of applications that we can provide connectivity to. Rather than leveraging Boomi resources, application experts can now build connectors themselves, leveraging the knowledge they already have about their applications. As that application changes the Connector publisher now has complete control of exactly when they rollout upgrades to their Connector. Besides continuing to build connectors ourselves, Boomi also now takes on the additional responsibility of governance. We conduct a thorough security review of all connectors added to our platform, ensuring that connectors built on the Boomi platform meet the same guidelines we uphold ourselves during internal development.

Where can I learn more?

You can find the SDK and the documentation here, along with technical documentation and code samples. Login to your Boomi account or create one here to start building Connectors today.

New Connectors - Integrate Siebel CRM, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards

Our list of application connectors continues to grow, so much that we are struggling to keep up our announcements!  Here are the latest additions to the list of Boomi connectors:

• Siebel:  Connect and integrate the on-premise Siebel CRM application.  Interface support is via Siebel’s Integration Object API.
• PeopleSoft:  Connect and integrate the PeopleSoft ERP application.  Interface support is via the  PeopleSoft Java Message Agent Client (JMAC) and Component Interfaces APIs.
• JD Edwards:  Connect and integrate the JD Edwards ERP application.    Interface support is via the ThinNet XML API.

As always, the addition of these connectors means companies running these applications can connect them to any of the other applications we support.  Our full list of applications supported can be found here.

These connectors are available to all Boomi On Demand users, you can try them now yourself for free.

Boomi adds support for Innotas PPM

Boomi adds support for the Innotas PPM to our ever increasing list of applications supported.  Like many SaaS providers, Innotas has has made it dead simple to deliver their application.  With a complete on-demand model, companies needing a project portfolio management solution can turn to Innotas and avoid installing or maintaining any software, and can subscribe to the service on a per-user basis.

Utilizing our new Innotas Connector, Innotas customers now have the ability to integrate the PPM solution with other SaaS or on-premise applications.  Many organizations utilize CRM to manage their sales pipeline.  As those opportunities are won, projects can automatically be created in the Innotas application.  Also prevalent are timesheet applications; data from these applications can now be automatically integrated to Innotas.

Like most of our Connectors, you can login to the application from within Boomi On Demand and browse the objects that are available to be integrated.  After you select the object you wish to integrate, Boomi On Demand imports all of the information needed to "talk" to this API automatically.  You do not need to be a developer or learn any technical details of the Innotas API.   This makes setup and maintenance fast and simple.

We are excited to support this on demand application.  As always, you can try this connector for free here.

Integrate Peachtree using Boomi On Demand

We have added support for Peachtree to our ever growing list of supported applications and data formats we can integrate.  You can now integrate Peachtree from your web browser without having to learn the underlying technical API.  Connect to your CRM, supply chain applications, HR systems, data warehouses, etc. to automate the exchange of data and processes between these systems.


We support the following versions of Peachtree:

Peachtree Complete Accounting
Peachtree Quantum
Peachtree Premium. Accounting
Peachtree Premium. Accounting for Construction
Peachtree Premium. Accounting for Distribution
Peachtree Premium. Accounting for Manufacturing
Peachtree Premium. Accounting for Non-Profit

Support for Peachtree appears as another connector in Boomi On Demand, and like most of our connectors, there is no manual setup.  The user just points to their installed copy of Peachtree, and then can browse the available Peachtree objects that can be integrated.  Our connector is based on the Peachtree SDK kit, so any object exposed through that SDK can be integrated (virtually all of the Peachtree objects are available).

If you already have a Boomi On Demand account, this new connector is available for you.  If not, you can try it for free.  Further documentation can be found here.

New Features, Faster Integration Deployment

We are happy to announce some exciting features that we've released this week.  The three major enhancements have been Test Mode, Cross Reference Tables and Flat File Import.  We are always looking at ways to reduce the time it takes to setup an integration and get it working.  You find that as a common theme in our latest feature releases.

Test Mode

The first enhancement, Test Mode, is by far the most exciting.  There is no longer the need to build a process, deploy, execute & wait for the results in the Manage tab.  You now actually have the ability to test a process right from the Build tab while the process is open!  You simply need to click 'Test Mode' located in the upper right hand corner of your process and the screen will transform for you.  Choose your atom, hit the play button and watch it run.  You'll even see each shape hilight green and red based on the status of the run.  Logging also occurs at each shape, so debugging becomes very easy.  There are some data & size limitations for testing, but it comes in handy during development.

Cross Reference Tables

Next is our Cross Reference Table functionality.  Ever have some referencable lists that you'd like to maintain, but dont want to create a database table somewhere or write code?  For example, System A may have our country code defined as "_unitedStates", while System B defines it as "US", and System C may be "United States".  You no longer need to waste time on a database on your network, or write code to cross reference these values.  You can just create a table in your process and use/reuse in your maps, decisions, message shapes, etc.

Flat File Importer

Last but not least is our flat file importer.  We've heard the requests of our users and delivered.  You no longer have to manually build out your flat file mapping structures by hand.  In the flat file profile, you simply need to click the import button and pick a CSV file that is representative of your sample data.  Bingo, fields get populated for you!  Now all thats left is to define your length and mandatory field level rules.  We have now taken the fastest-to-deploy integration service and made it even faster!

We hope you all enjoy these recent additions and there are much more to come.  If you have any feedback on these, or other recommendations, please join our forums (www.boomi.com/bod_forums) and chime in.  Or if you're working in the application, feel free to ping our support team via live chat with your ideas as well (8am-8pm ET)  We truly welcome your thoughts!

Solving SaaS Integration for ISV's

At last weeks SaaS Summit hosted by OpSource, Friday's big announcement by Treb Ryan again reiterates the huge problem integration can be if it is not strategically addressed.  We are very excited to be such a big part of how OpSource plans to solve it.

But first, I thought the conference itself was excellent.  The OpSource team continues to run one of the most important industry events year after year.  Attendees get a full course of topics that matter most to SaaS ISV's or companies planning to migrate their offering to the SaaS model.  Topics like security, scalability, infrastructure considerations, marketing and of course integration were addressed by industry experts during the 2 day conference.

One of the sessions was a panel called "Integration behind the firewall - Take II".  Not only did this panel require a "Take II" (they did the same panel at last years conference) the OpSource execs said it was the most attended session of this years entire conference.  I was one of the panelists and was amazed by the amount of questions during the panel and afterwards.  I suppose the OpSource team saw this coming as Treb's keynote on Friday morning was all about integration. 

As Treb Ryan (CEO) and John Rowell (CTO) we preparing on the main stage, an odd song with the lyrics "Get on the Bus" kept repeating over and over again.  Treb opened by telling us that he had 6 songs to choose from, and he has no idea why he chose this one.  Richard Dym (OpSource CMO) said a quick prayer to the "Demo Gods" as he was telling us that this keynote would be featuring a live demo.  Treb than proceeded to highlight a strategy around integration that OpSource is calling OpSource Connect.  Connect is based around the OpSource Services Bus, which is a two way communication infrastructure that today allows any OpSource client to connect to any other OpSource client or service that is made available through the bus.  It solves a significant problem of standardizing the connectivity between web services, and allowing for relevant information to flow through the bus in a real-time and secure manner.  (Although better served in a follow on post, the summary here is although web services are a step in the right direction, they are not nearly as standardized as they are marketed.)

With the OpSource Services Bus (OSB) now in place, an OpSource customer can now leverage the bus to expose their own API.  This further separates OpSource from a generic "managed hosting provider" by delivering a critical capability that every one of their customers will need unless they have the means/time/resource to build one themselves.  They call this their  "Web Services Enablement Program".  So now thanks to  OpSource Connect you are on your way to having your app connected with every other app hosted on OpSource, and now on top of this you have a robust and scabale API for external resources to utilize for the primary purpose of integration.

So how does Boomi fit in to all this?  Well as the keynote proceeds, Treb announces "Boomi for OpSource Connect" as the solution to utilize and interact with the data available through the OSB and API's exposed through the "Web Services Enablement Program".  Now all OpSource customers have available to them Boomi On Demand, including a pre-built connector into the OSB.  Using our visual integration technology, users can browse and choose any of the assets available to them on the bus.  No coding, no learning about SOAP or WSDL.  Think of this as the bridge between what is on the OSB and everything else.  From other SaaS apps like Salesforce, NetSuite, Intacct, Entellium, SmartTurn, etc. to on-premise apps like QuickBooks, Peachtree, Great Plains, Oracle, SAP.

Further, as OpSource customers need to integrate their applications with data sources behind their customers firewalls, "OpSource Sockets" was also announced which utilizes technologies including the Boomi Atom that make it very easy to integrate with those data sources with no changes to the firewall required.

OpSource is adding huge value to their customer base with this new offering.  If there is one guarantee, its that integration will be a challenge for any SaaS solution.  By baking these capabilities into the over all "web operations" that OpSource provides, businesses will get to market faster and will have answers to the questions of integration that come up in their sales cycle.  The answer just went from "code to our API's" to "we have a solution for that, would you like to see a working demo?"

Speaking of demo's, after the announcement, John did a live demo using real data to showcase a very common integration.  He showed how the signup of a new customer in a SaaS app can automatically trigger an integration process to create an invoice in the finance application (QuickBooks in this case) and also create the new customer in salesforce.com.  He explained the flow and showed how it was done using Boomi for OpSource Connect.  The demo gods were kind to them that day as everything ran just fine.

A PDF of the presentation can be found here.

Use Alerts to watch your integrations

One of the features we released last month was Alerts functionality.  Alerts allow you to subscribe via RSS to either an account level or Atom level feed of your integration workflows.  You can subscribe to a "Alerts Only"  feed to receive notifications of execution errors or if the Atom goes offline, or a Monitor feed which includes all of this information plus completion notifications as well.  The Monitor feed is useful if you need to provide users with access to what is happening in your account/Atom, without giving them a login.

Many applications and devices now support RSS natively, so you can also serve these alerts up right inside the app of your choice.

If you are watching multiple RSS feeds, aggregators like Google Reader are great because they allow you to tag and organize large numbers of feeds very efficiently.

Boomi at the OpSource SaaS Summit

Come see Boomi at the 2008 OpSource SaaS Summit.  We will be making a special announcement pertaining to our partnership with OpSource.

I will also be on a panel entitled "Integration Behind the Fire Wall - Take II" happening on Thursday Feb. 28 at 1:30 pm PT .  Don't miss it!  I promise I will be as controversial as possible.

Boomi On Demand is now GA!

We are very excited to announce that Boomi On Demand is now in General Availability as of today!  From the press release:

“With a significant customer base to build on and all the right partnerships in place, it's no surprise that the Boomi On Demand beta has been a success so far,” said Dennis Callaghan, Analyst with The 451 Group, a technology industry analyst company focused on the business of enterprise IT innovation, in his report. He continued in the report, “Boomi On Demand has the potential to redefine SOA from the customer's perspective.” This comment appeared in an independent report, titled “Boomi shifts to on-demand model for SaaS/on-premise integration,” published on November 7, 2007.

The past few months have been very exciting for us.  After announcing our public beta program for Boomi On Demand at Dreamforce 07, we received overwhelming interest!  Starting with a dozen private beta's, we quickly grew to well over 100 companies in the program as of the end of 2007! 

>> See what analysts are saying
>> See what the media is saying

Thanks to all of you who provided us with feedback, enhancement requests and success stories. 

And if you haven't tried Boomi On Demand yet, you can register here for a 30 day free trial or click here to learn more.