What is enterprise application integration?
Enterprise application integration is the work of joining up the big systems a business runs on — its CRM, ERP, finance, HR, e-commerce and warehouse software — so they act as one connected whole instead of a set of islands. When these systems are integrated, a change made in one place, like a new customer or a shipped order, automatically updates everywhere else it should, rather than being typed in by hand three times. The goal is one connected business where the data agrees and information flows on its own.
Enterprise application integration covers the whole job: mapping how each system holds and owns data, designing a central integration layer so systems connect once rather than in a tangle, choosing what syncs in real time versus overnight, handling conflicts, and monitoring every flow. Avaib has delivered software across more than 600 projects since 2004 and applies that engineering discipline to joining systems up safely, without breaking the live business while it happens.
How much does enterprise application integration cost?
It depends on how many systems you are joining up and how tangled they are today. Connecting two systems cleanly is a small fixed-price job; untangling a landscape of a dozen systems into a hub-and-spoke design is a larger programme delivered in stages. Avaib's model is senior integration expertise at a cost-effective rate, typically around USD 25 per hour, which is why businesses in Australia, the US, Canada and the Middle East work with us instead of paying big-firm prices.
The real cost is the one you are already paying: double data entry, numbers that never agree, and staff working around systems that will not talk. After a short scoping conversation we will send you a free, no-obligation written estimate with a clear scope and a ballpark price.
What is the difference between point-to-point integration and hub-and-spoke?
Point-to-point means wiring each system directly to every other one it needs to talk to. The first link is easy, but as you add systems the connections multiply into a tangle — ten systems can mean dozens of fragile one-off links, and nobody dares change anything because they do not know what will break.
Hub-and-spoke means every system connects once to a central integration layer instead of directly to each other. Adding or replacing a system is one connection, not a dozen. It costs a little more to set up and pays for itself the moment your landscape grows, which is why we design for it.
How do you integrate a CRM and an ERP?
A CRM and an ERP rarely fit together out of the box, because they are built around different things — a CRM around customers and conversations, an ERP around transactions and the ledger. The work is mapping the data so a "customer", an "order" or a "product" means the same thing in both, then deciding which system owns each record so there is one right answer.
We then sync between them through their proper interfaces, with clear rules for what happens when both change the same record, so sales and finance finally stay in step instead of quietly drifting apart.
Will integrating our systems break the ones we rely on every day?
No — we are careful precisely because you depend on them. We never rip and replace. We map how everything works first, connect through the systems' proper interfaces, and test every flow against a copy before it touches anything live.
We roll out one integration at a time with a clear way back, so the business keeps running while we join things up. Flows are built to queue and retry rather than lose data if a system is briefly down.
Should data sync in real time or in batches?
It depends on the flow, and choosing deliberately matters. Some things should sync the instant they change — a new order, a stock level, a customer a support agent is about to open. Others are better batched overnight, like large finance postings or reporting feeds, because they do not need to be instant and batching is cheaper and gentler on your systems.
We decide per flow rather than forcing everything one way, so you get freshness where it counts without hammering systems that charge per call or throttle heavy traffic.
What is a single source of truth, and why does it matter?
A single source of truth means one system is the agreed owner of each kind of record — one owns the customer, one owns stock, one owns the invoice — and everything else follows it. Without one, the same customer or number lives differently in several systems, and you end up with two versions of the truth and reports that never reconcile.
Setting a single source of truth is one of the first things we do in an integration, because it is what turns a set of connected systems into a business whose data actually agrees.
What is the difference between enterprise application integration and API integration?
API integration usually means connecting your software to one outside tool through its API — a payment gateway, a shipping service, a single CRM. Enterprise application integration is the bigger picture: joining up the whole set of core systems a business runs on into one connected landscape, with a central design, a single source of truth and rules for how they all stay in step.
They use many of the same techniques, and they often go together. Avaib does both under one team, so a single integration and a whole-landscape programme are built to fit each other.