Integration is the process of connecting different systems, applications, or data sources to work together more efficiently and effectively. Integration enables automatic data exchange, improved workflows, and seamless collaboration.

What is application integration?

With application integration, you connect different software applications to exchange data and make features work together. Applications are integrated using APIs, middleware, and other technologies.

What is system integration?

With system integration, you link different IT systems, applications, and data sources to optimize complete business processes.

Integration

What is Integration?

Integration, which we implement in HelloID via connectors, is necessary in the modern IT environment to enable different systems, applications, and data sources to work together. Organizations now use various technologies and platforms to support business processes. Without integration, such systems cannot communicate efficiently. A lack of integration creates data silos, inefficiencies, and operational challenges. IT integration links different IT systems, software applications, and data sources. Integration enables real-time information sharing and process optimization, which improves productivity and decision-making. In this article, we explain integration in IT environments and provide examples and challenges. We then focus specifically on integration within IAM environments such as HelloID.

Types of Integration in IT Environments

There are different forms of IT integration, depending on technical and organizational needs:

Data Integration: This integration focuses on combining and synchronizing data from multiple sources into a single, consolidated data environment. It is used to design data warehouses, business intelligence environments, and data science applications.
Application Integration: This IT integration focuses on connecting software applications so they can work together efficiently and effectively. Organizations may, for example, integrate their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application with their financial software.
System Integration: This integration typically involves multiple forms, such as application and data integration, to enable complete business processes within an organization. When companies implement new applications or processes, this typically concerns system integration.
Cloud Integration: This form of integration focuses solely on connecting and developing cloud environments. Integrating existing systems, including on-premises systems, with cloud platforms is also part of your cloud integration.
IAM Integration: This is a specific integration that connects IAM platforms to all relevant source and target systems. We will examine this later in the article.

Benefits of Integration

Integrating IT systems delivers many benefits. A few include:

More Efficient Operations: You can better automate manual processes that involve multiple systems and exchange data without errors.
Faster Communication: If systems can exchange data directly, this accelerates the handling of business processes and decision-making.
Cost Reduction: By reducing manual and duplicate work, you reduce operational costs.
Improved Data Management: Integration prevents data duplication and inconsistencies across databases. For each data domain within an organization, or across organizations, you can rely on a limited set of source systems.
Better Scalability: Integration enables process automation, making scaling easier; staffing is no longer the bottleneck.
Higher Customer Satisfaction: Customers experience a seamless service. Requests are handled faster while taking all available information into account.
Better Information Security: Integration allows you to organize and monitor IT security in an integral and consistent way. This prevents overlooked vulnerabilities within specific IT domains.

Challenges with IT Integration

IT integration offers benefits but also introduces challenges. Compatibility is one of them. System integration often requires linking legacy and modern systems, which is difficult when different languages and technologies are used. Complexity can be an obstacle as well. Large organizations have often grown to hundreds of applications and systems. This requires a solid integration vision and strategy that deploys the right technologies and competencies. Part of that complexity is cybersecurity, with questions about end-to-end encryption, access controls, and monitoring.

At the same time, new technologies continue to emerge that support and simplify integration. APIs have long been important building blocks for integration, and today, there are also low-code and no-code integration platforms that simplify the work. Open standards are an important aid for integration as well.

Integration in IAM Environments

Identity and Access Management is a specialized domain with its own integration aspects. An IAM environment enables users to authenticate and be authorized for connected systems in a simple, secure, and fast manner. Integration with identity providers, directory services, and Single Sign-On platforms brings specific challenges related to performance, speed, and scalability.

In addition, there is a more complex integration challenge. With the Provisioning and Service Automation modules, HelloID ensures that accounts and access rights for thousands of users in large organizations are issued and automated as much as possible. Hundreds of applications may be in use, and part of those systems must be connected to the HelloID platform. We see several integration scenarios. The most important are the integrations with source and target systems.

Integration with Source Systems

You can automatically grant accounts and access rights based on user attributes such as role, department, and qualifications. With concepts like Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC), a healthcare organization can, for example, define that users with the roles 'nurse' and 'physician' receive access to the clinical application. An additional rule can then restrict these staff members to patient records for the department where they work. Source attributes, such as role and department, are pulled from the HR system to ensure you always use the most up-to-date data. Data can also come from other source systems. Organizations may use a separate application to manage contractors. Scheduling information from workforce planning applications is sometimes used to manage access rights even more precisely.

The challenge in integrating those source systems is mapping data from multiple sources in HelloID to one uniform employee data model. This includes the employee's personal data, such as name and address, as well as employment contracts. That standardized dataset is managed in HelloID, in the Identity Vault. Standardization is important because when you select a new HR platform, you only need to adjust that single connector, and the rest of HelloID continues to operate unchanged.

Integration with Target Systems

We can automatically provision accounts and access rights based on RBAC or ABAC, as described above. We can also grant individual access rights using the Service Automation module. Regardless of how rights are granted, integration with target systems is required to configure and activate the accounts and permissions in those systems. Tools4ever has developed numerous connectors to make this integration as simple as possible. The starting point is usually an available API of the target system. With it, we build a connector that can create accounts and access rights, and then modify and manage them.

Examples of IAM Integrations

Different types of source and target systems can be integrated with HelloID. Below are several examples of commonly used IAM integrations:

HR-IAM Integration

HR applications are the most commonly used IAM source systems. HelloID, therefore, offers connectors for nearly all mainstream HR systems. The AFAS integration is a well-known example. Using data from the HR system, you can create accounts in relevant target systems and assign the required access rights. This HR integration is usually bidirectional. HelloID can not only receive data from the system but also change settings in the HR system. For example, you can use the AFAS connector to create employee accounts in the AFAS InSite self-service portal. Employees can then view and manage their own HR records.

Integration with an Identity Provider

Many organizations use an identity provider such as Active Directory or Entra ID. HelloID is almost always integrated with an identity provider to create accounts and configure access rights. Many customers therefore use the AD connector or the Entra ID connector. This integration is important not only for giving users access to office applications and email, but also for enabling Single Sign-On to other systems, so that users do not have to log in repeatedly.

IAM-ITSM Integration

HelloID is also often connected to IT Service Management systems. Multiple integration options are available for this, such as the TOPdesk connector. It is important that an ITSM integration not only creates accounts but also configures rights. You can also streamline downstream administrative processes with the IAM-ITSM integration. Through the HelloID-TOPdesk integration, you can simplify the handling of common tickets and changes. Examples include issuing assets, password resets, and individual authorization requests.

Connectors with EHRs and Other Healthcare Applications

Integration with Electronic Health Records (EHR) and other healthcare systems is critical for healthcare organizations. Manual account and rights management is not only labor-intensive but also highly complex. It is not just about providing accounts on time. To comply with information security standards such as NEN 7510, you must also define precisely which functionality is accessible and which client or patient data may be processed. These settings can depend on role, qualifications, and department. HelloID therefore offers multiple integration options, such as the certified Nedap Ons connector and the HiX connector.

Interdependencies Between IAM Integrations

The integration between your IAM platform and a system is not a stand-alone matter. A platform like HelloID also orchestrates workflows and data exchange across the connected systems. You use data from the HR system to create accounts in systems such as Active Directory. The Active Directory account data will then be used to configure settings in HR and ITSM systems as well. HelloID acts as an orchestrator, eliminating the need for many complex direct integrations, such as an AFAS-AD or AD-TOPdesk connection.

Learn More About IAM Integration

Learn more about the options for connecting the HelloID platform to various source and target systems on the Tools4ever site, including an overview of all connectors.

View All Integrations