Ovum Decision Matrix: Selecting an Integration PaaS (iPaaS) Solution, 2015-2016

Written in 2015

The rise of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and the increasing heterogeneity of enterprise applications portfolios and data sources have necessitated a shift to suitable alternatives to traditional integration approaches. Integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS), a sub-segment of PaaS, continues to evolve as an integration approach capable of meeting a wide range of integration needs, including onpremise, cloud, B2B, and mobile application integration. Enterprises should consider iPaaS as a means to ease the complexity of hybrid integration as they continue to focus on managing the complex interplay of business needs and persistent budget constraints, and still achieve faster time to integration. This Ovum Decision Matrix (ODM) is a comprehensive evaluation to help enterprise/solution/integration architects, integration competency center (ICC)/integration center of excellence (COE) directors/managers, and line-of-business (LOB) leaders select an iPaaS solution best suited to their specific requirements
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Publication Date: 15 Apr 2015    |    Product code: IT0022-000339 
Saurabh Sharma 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ovum Decision Matrix: Selecting 
an Integration PaaS (iPaaS) 
Solution, 2015-2016 
Tackling cloud and hybrid integration challenges 
 
 
 
Ovum Decision Matrix: Selecting an Integration PaaS (iPaaS) Solution, 2015-2016    
 
 
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Summary 
Catalyst 
The rise of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and the increasing heterogeneity of enterprise applications 
portfolios and data sources have necessitated a shift to suitable alternatives to traditional integration 
approaches. Integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS), a sub-segment of PaaS, continues to evolve 
as an integration approach capable of meeting a wide range of integration needs, including on-
premise, cloud, B2B, and mobile application integration. Enterprises should consider iPaaS as a 
means to ease the complexity of hybrid integration as they continue to focus on managing the 
complex interplay of business needs and persistent budget constraints, and still achieve faster time to 
integration. This Ovum Decision Matrix (ODM) is a comprehensive evaluation to help 
enterprise/solution/integration architects, integration competency center (ICC)/integration center of 
excellence (COE) directors/managers, and line-of-business (LOB) leaders select an iPaaS solution 
best suited to their specific requirements. 
Ovum view 
IT is swamped with initiatives focused on enabling new business models, customer engagement 
channels, sales and marketing strategies, and service delivery capabilities. However, there is little 
respite from persistent time and budget constraints. The role of an ICC is undergoing a significant 
change, with LOBs more aggressive in moving ahead with the adoption of agile approaches to 
integration to cater for the requirements of business-critical initiatives. iPaaS has benefited from this 
change, which signifies a strategic shift in enterprises’ integration strategy. 
Integration is often messy and complex and beyond the core competencies of IT. In the case of small 
and midsize enterprises (SMEs), the proposition of maintaining dedicated and skilled resources to 
support integration requirements is not attractive, and is at times beyond the IT budgets. These issues 
and constraints have led to the emergence of iPaaS.  
Ovum’s analysis reveals that six out of the nine vendors included in the ODM have already supported 
enterprise-scale integration initiatives, which involve three or more use cases, including those 
extending beyond SaaS and on-premise integrations, such as, for example, B2B/mobile 
application/social application integration. This signifies the acceptance of iPaaS as a “many-to-one” 
integration approach, while also indicating the higher maturity of key iPaaS provisions.  
The evolving iPaaS vendor landscape comprises both established and specialized integration 
vendors, and some of these vendors have evolved from a “data integration” lineage, while for others 
iPaaS was a natural extension to their middleware portfolio. Nevertheless, most iPaaS vendors have 
expanded the capabilities of their solutions beyond core competency to improve positioning as a 
cloud-based application and data integration platform. This includes delivery of API management and 
data quality and management services on top of iPaaS. 
A growing number of iPaaS vendors have not made the transition into a fragmented market. In fact, 
the top four vendors in this ODM account for over 45% of the global iPaaS market size. While this 
figure might reduce in future, it is highly unlikely that this market will follow a normal distribution. 
Nevertheless, a lower barrier to entry will continue to motivate the incubation of smaller iPaaS 
 
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vendors, while major vendors strengthen their market position. Ovum forecasts rapid growth for global 
iPaaS market, which is expected to cross the $900m mark in 2019. 
Ovum envisages the future of iPaaS as a much broader “Enterprise Integration-as-a-Service” 
phenomenon. This implies an evolution toward delivery of cohesive and flexible integration 
capabilities via the cloud for meeting application, B2B, and data integration, mobile enablement, API 
management, Internet of Things (IoT) integration, and process orchestration requirements of large 
enterprises.  
Key findings 
 
iPaaS continues to expand beyond cloud service integration, and is increasingly being used 
for hybrid integration scenarios involving a mix of on-premise, SaaS, B2B, and/or mobile 
application integration.  
 
Integration vendors with a rich “integration-as-a-service” heritage have evolved into leading 
iPaaS vendors.  
 With the increasing need to “do more with less”, ICCs/integration COEs are embracing agile 
approaches to integration. LOB-led iPaaS adoption is quite common.  
 The role of iPaaS in enterprise integration continues to expand, as evidenced by the increase 
in average subscription/deal size for relatively mature iPaaS solutions.  
 The competition in the iPaaS vendor landscape continues to increase, with several major 
middleware vendors introducing/announcing their iPaaS solutions over the last six to nine 
months.  
 Major iPaaS vendors have enhanced the overall value proposition of their solutions by 
offering low-latency processing, data management, and API management capabilities on top 
of iPaaS.  
 2015 will see major iPaaS vendors using more aggressive sales and marketing strategies and 
operations to expand their reach and increase market share.  
 The highly competitive and rapidly evolving nature of this market has led to the disappearance 
of some smaller iPaaS vendors. Despite the hype, it takes several years, as well as well-
planned and careful execution of product and commercial strategies to develop a profitable 
and sustainable iPaaS business of substantial size.  
 Agility and not just total cost of ownership (TCO) reduction is a key factor driving a shift 
toward iPaaS.  
 
iPaaS adoption could still stall as a result of inertia from enterprise integration practitioners 
having qualms about “reskilling”, and the potential redundancy of integration skills developed 
over several years.  
Vendor solution selection 
Inclusion criteria 
The criteria for inclusion of an iPaaS solution in this ODM are as follows: 
 
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 The iPaaS solution should be available as a “standalone” cloud-based integration platform 
providing necessary tools, integration components, and resources for faster development of 
integration flows connecting SaaS and on-premise/other SaaS applications (or cloud-based 
data stores).  
 Prebuilt connectors and integration templates offered with the iPaaS solution should not be 
confined to a specific SaaS ecosystem or available for only a very limited number of SaaS 
applications.  
 From the perspective of core platform services, the iPaaS solution should have essential 
cloud characteristics, such as multi-tenancy, resource sharing, and rapid scalability, as well as 
allowing usage tracking and metering and supporting enforcement of service-level 
agreements (SLAs).  
 The iPaaS solution should provide a centralized console for scheduling, monitoring, and 
managing integrations.  
 The iPaaS solution should provide enterprise-grade security and governance features and 
capabilities, such as transport layer and application and network-level security and support for 
implementation and administration of governance policies.  
 The iPaaS solution should have been generally available as of September 30, 2014. The 
vendor must have at least 30 enterprise (paid) customers using its iPaaS solution as of 
December 31, 2014.  
Exclusion criteria 
An iPaaS solution is not included in the ODM if: 
 
Integration capabilities/services are limited to cloud services brokerage (CSB)/integration 
brokerage arrangements.  
 
Integration capabilities/services are limited to B2B integration delivered via the cloud under 
self-managed or managed services models.  
 
Its usage is limited to the delivery of packaged integration for vendor’s own SaaS applications 
or those provided by a specific set of independent software vendors (ISVs).  
 The customer base is confined to only a few specific vertical industries.  
 The vendor has no direct contact with end users (enterprise customers), and customer 
support and interaction is taken care of by ISV/SaaS/platform/channel partners. While some 
vendors may have a channel-sales-only approach or predominantly focus on a “packaged 
integration” business model, there should be some process for direct customer interaction.  
 
Its usage is limited to loading and replication of data to, from, and between cloud 
environments.  
 
It caters mainly for the requirements of citizen integrators.  
Ovum ratings 
Market leader 
This category represents a leading iPaaS solution that Ovum believes is worthy of a place on most 
technology selection shortlists. The vendor has established a commanding market position with its 
 
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iPaaS solution demonstrating relatively high maturity, good innovation and enterprise fit, and the 
capability of effectively meeting the requirements of a wider range of integration use cases, as well as 
executing an aggressive product roadmap and commercial strategy to drive enterprise adoption and 
business growth. 
Market challenger 
An iPaaS solution in this category has a good market position and offers competitive functionality and 
good price-performance proposition, and should be considered as part of the technology selection. 
The vendor has established a significant customer base with its iPaaS solution demonstrating 
substantial maturity and catering for the requirements of a range of integration use cases, as well as 
continuing to execute a progressive product and commercial strategy.  
Market follower 
An iPaaS solution in this category is typically aimed at specific integration use cases and/or customer 
segment(s), and can be explored as part of the technology selection. It can deliver the requisite 
integration capabilities at reasonable subscription charges for specific integration requirements. 
Market and solution analysis 
What exactly is an iPaaS solution? 
Multi-tenancy, rapid scalability, a user-friendly development interface, and a rich set of prebuilt 
connectors and integration templates are the basic features of any iPaaS solution. Only multi-tenant, 
scalable cloud-based integration platforms providing the necessary tools and dedicated resources for 
faster development of integration flows connecting different applications and data sources, as well as 
offering enterprise-grade data security and governance for such interactions, can be termed as iPaaS 
solutions.  
Merely delivering application and/or data integration capabilities via the cloud on subscription basis 
does not amount to iPaaS provision. In addition, Ovum does not consider an integration service 
confined to B2B integration delivered via the cloud to be an iPaaS solution. 
Global iPaaS market size forecast 
Ovum expects the global spend on iPaaS solutions to grow at a compound annual growth rate 
(CAGR) of 40% over the next four years, reaching $940m by the end of 2019 (see Figure 1). For 
2015, Americas (North, Central, and Latin America) will account for about 67% of the global iPaaS 
market, followed by Europe, the Middle-East, and Africa (EMEA) region with a 22% share. Asia-
Pacific’s share in the global iPaaS market size is expected to increase from about 11% in 2015 to 
15% by the end of 2019. 
 
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Figure 1: Global iPaaS market size forecast, 2015-2019  
  
Source: Ovum  
Because integration practitioners and enterprise architects are now more open to integration 
approaches that improve developer productivity and allow them to “do more with less”, the next wave 
of iPaaS adoption will be driven by enterprise ICCs/integration COEs.  
Of course, there will be some qualms about “reskilling” and potential redundancy of integration skills 
developed over several years, but then IT leaders are not inclined to defend legacy at a strategic 
level. Indeed, 46% of the respondents to a recent survey conducted by Ovum agreed that existing 
enterprise service bus (ESB)/service-oriented architecture (SOA) infrastructure offers less flexibility 
and is difficult to maintain. In addition, 88% of respondents indicated an inclination to adopt cloud-
based integration platforms for appropriate integration scenarios. 
Emerging iPaaS use cases 
Ovum has closely tracked the emergence of iPaaS in the enterprise integration landscape and it is 
clear that both midsize and large enterprises realize the value iPaaS solutions deliver in terms of 
faster time to value and TCO savings. The first generation of iPaaS, which could be termed as a more 
robust and comprehensive version of integration-as-a-service solutions, was mainly used for on-
premise-to-SaaS and SaaS-to-SaaS integration. However, over the last 12 to 18 months, there have 
been several implementations extending the use of iPaaS to on-premise-to-premise, B2B, and mobile 
application integration.  
 
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There are two facets to this trend. First, iPaaS adoption in several enterprises was driven by LOBs 
and once IT became conversant with the features and functionality of the solution, the use of iPaaS 
was extended to other integration scenarios. Second, several iPaaS vendors have expanded the 
features and capabilities of their solutions to cater for the needs of less-complex on-premise and B2B 
integration, and API management. For example, while key iPaaS vendors such as IBM, Dell Boomi, 
and MuleSoft are already offering API management capabilities along with their iPaaS solutions, other 
iPaaS vendors such as SnapLogic, Cloud Elements, and Flowgear have introduced an initial version 
of API management capabilities. In addition, SAP has partnered with Apigee to offer API management 
capabilities (using Apigee Edge) with SAP HANA Cloud Integration. 
In the context of mobile application integration, iPaaS solutions enable users to expose data 
associated with on-premise and SaaS applications as representational state transfer (REST) APIs for 
consumption by mobile applications. iPaaS vendors are also working on supporting “near realtime” 
integration for data-intensive integration scenarios. In addition, some iPaaS solutions allow on-
premise deployment of runtime engines enabling on-premise-to-on-premise integration. This is 
particularly important for mitigating data security and privacy concerns regarding the use of iPaaS for 
enterprise application integration (EAI)-type scenarios 
Ovum Decision Matrix: iPaaS, 2015-2016 
The ODM bubble charts in Figures 2 and 3 represent the results of a comprehensive evaluation of 
nine iPaaS solutions meeting the inclusion criteria. Table 1 includes “Leaders”, “Challengers”, and a 
“Follower” as per the results and specifications of ODM evaluation and ratings framework.  
As shown in Figure 2, there are a couple of distinct clusters, representing vendors having a relatively 
small difference in overall scrores across technology and execution dimensions. Market impact scores 
determining the bubble size were calculated based on the revenues and revenue growth achieved by 
various iPaaS vendors in 2014.  
 
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Figure 2: Ovum Decision Matrix: iPaaS, 2015-2016  
  
Source: Ovum  
 
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Figure 3: Expanded view of Ovum Decision Matrix: iPaaS, 2015-2016  
  
Source: Ovum  
Table 1: Ovum Decision Matrix: iPaaS 2015-16 
Market leaders 
Market challengers 
Market follower 
Dell Boomi 
SAP 
Flowgear 
IBM 
Scribe Software 
  
MuleSoft 
Jitterbit 
  
SnapLogic 
Cloud Elements 
  
Source: Ovum 
Market leaders: Dell Boomi, IBM, MuleSoft, and SnapLogic 
The four Leaders: Dell Boomi, IBM, MuleSoft, and SnapLogic achieved high scores across evaluation 
criteria under technology and market impact dimensions. As shown in Figure 3, there is stiff 
competition between the three leaders constituting this cluster. Meanwhile, SnapLogic has executed 
an aggressive product roadmap and strategy to evolve into a leading iPaaS vendor.  
The combination of Dell Boomi AtomSphere iPaaS and Dell Boomi master data management (MDM) 
offers a unified platform for data integration, MDM, and data quality services. Dell Boomi has 
gradually expanded API management capabilities of AtomSphere iPaaS, including the provision for 
monitoring key metrics related to low-latency integration processes, to cater for the requirements of 
midsize-to-large enterprises. Dell Boomi AtomSphere was introduced as a "first generation" 
 
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integration-as-a-service solution in 2008 and since then has evolved into a leading iPaaS solution with 
a significant foothold in the medium-to-large enterprise segment.  
IBM WebSphere Cast Iron Cloud Integration is a relatively mature solution capable of supporting a 
range of integration needs, including cloud-to-cloud, on-premise-to-cloud, and mobile application 
integration. It offers easy connectivity to several other WebSphere middleware platforms to cater for 
key integration requirements, including B2B integration (via IBM Sterling Commerce suite) and API 
management. It can be used with IBM Mobile Foundation bundle to achieve connectivity between 
mobile applications developed on IBM Worklight and other on-premise and SaaS applications. 
MuleSoft CloudHub has matured significantly since its introduction in February 2011, and is widely 
used by midsize-to-large enterprises for achieving cloud service integration. MuleSoft has executed 
an aggressive product roadmap and strategy to achieve impressive subscription growth over the last 
two-to-three-year period. MuleSoft CloudHub offers easy federation with Mule ESB, a lightweight and 
scalable ESB, to effectively support hybrid integration needs. In addition, MuleSoft Anypoint Platform 
for mobile enables API-led connectivity with backend applications and data sources, such as 
Salesforce.com, ServiceNow, SAP, and Siebel applications/platforms. 
SnapLogic has developed momentum by achieving rapid growth in terms of revenue and customer 
base. SnapLogic has demonstrated good product innovation, both in terms of core architectural 
attributes and integration capabilities, and continues to execute an aggressive product strategy. 
Despite not having an early-mover advantage, it has emerged as a key competitor to Dell Boomi, IBM, 
and MuleSoft.Its REST-based modular architecture provides support for the scalability required to 
meet complex integration requirements. Other key features include support for low-latency 
processing, big data integration capabilities, and integration flow monitoring and management via the 
SnapLogic mobile app. 
Market challengers: SAP, Scribe Software, Jitterbit, and Cloud 
Elements 
SAP HANA Cloud Integration (HCI) is a strategic offering aimed at midsize-to-large enterprises, in 
particular, existing SAP application and middleware customers. It is worth noting that not many iPaaS 
solutions have evolved at a rate comparable to that of SAP HCI, and there is little doubt that SAP will 
be able to execute the current, aggressive product roadmap at a similar rate. SAP HCI runs on SAP 
HANA Cloud Platform, SAP’s in-memory platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and is a complementary 
offering to SAP Process Orchestration (PO) and SAP Data Services. It has rapidly evolved into an 
enterprise-grade open iPaaS solution, which can be used in combination with SAP’s on-premise 
middleware to meet hybrid integration requirements. 
Scribe Software’s iPaaS offers several key features and capabilities, including a connector 
development kit (CDK), comprehensive integration lifecycle management, dedicated security 
mediator, “drag and drop” mapping, and prebuilt integration templates. Scribe Software has achieved 
significant growth since the introduction of its iPaaS solution, which continues to build on a rich 
heritage in customer data integration. Scribe Software has the right foundation, both in terms of 
product roadmap and sales strategy, and can effectively compete with major iPaaS vendors for 
customer data integration requirements. 
 
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Jitterbit Harmony was made generally available in April 2014, and the company claims that by the end 
of October 2014 it had over 50,000 users for its iPaaS solution. It builds on the capabilities of Jitterbit 
Enterprise Cloud Edition, an integration-as-a-service solution introduced in 2010. Jitterbit is targeting 
midsize-to-large enterprises with a mix of cloud-based application, data, and process-integration 
capabilities offered at reasonable subscription charges. The Harmony Winter 2014 release introduced 
a new messaging system to help ensure guaranteed delivery, as well as adding new failover and 
scaling capabilities. 
Cloud Elements offers a developer-centric iPaaS, marketed as an “API aggregation and management 
platform” that helps reduce development effort and achieve faster time to value in integration projects. 
The platform supports multi-tenant integrations, extending the benefits of the underlying "one-to-
many" approach to a large number of customers/accounts.In the two year of its existence, Cloud 
Elements has made good progress, both in terms of the adoption and evolution of its iPaaS solution. 
The subscription growth achieved over the last couple of years and the Series A funding secured last 
year have provided Cloud Elements with the financial muscle required for executing an aggressive 
product roadmap. 
Market followers: Flowgear 
Flowgear iPaaS is relatively limited in scope and execution, and this is also reflected in its limited 
market presence (see bubble size in Figures 2 and 3). Flowgear, a subsidiary of Global Micro 
Solutions, is the only iPaaS vendor based in South Africa. Its iPaaS solution caters for the 
requirements of on-premise-to-on-premise, on-premise-to- SaaS, and SaaS-to-SaaS integration. The 
integration platform supports multi-API workflow development and governance, while also offering 
specific capabilities of a mobile backend-as-a-service (MBaaS) provision. Flowgear had about 30 
SME customers in the EMEA region as of the end of 2014. 
Emerging iPaaS vendors 
Table 2 includes vendors that have introduced/announced/previewed their iPaaS offerings over the 
last 6 to 9 months. While these iPaaS solutions did not meet the inclusion criteria, and consequently, 
were not evaluated in this ODM, Ovum is keeping an eye on their evolution and uptake. 
Table 2: Emerging vendors: iPaaS, 2015-16 
Software AG 
Oracle 
Red Hat 
Source: Ovum 
 
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Market leaders 
Market leaders: technology 
Figure 4: Ovum Decision Matrix: iPaaS, 2015-2016 market leaders: technology  
  
Source: Ovum  
Figure 4 shows vendors with top-three scores within the range of 8-10 (on a scale of 1-10, including 
those having the same scores) for each category of the ODM technology dimension. Integration 
features and capabilities and developer productivity are two critical criteria for technical evaluation of 
iPaaS solutions. Dell Boomi, IBM, and MuleSoft are top three vendors in terms of integration features 
and capabilities, while all four leaders, including SnapLogic, have high scores against the parameters 
covered under the “developer productivity” criteria. 
In the context of data security and governance, IBM, MuleSoft, Scribe Software, and Jitterbit have top-
three scores, followed by Dell Boomi and SnapLogic. IBM, MuleSoft, SAP, SnapLogic, and Cloud 
Elements scored well in terms of monitoring and administration capabilities. IBM, MuleSoft, Dell 
Boomi, and SAP offer greater deployment flexibility.  
The “methodology” section of this ODM provides details on specific features and capabilities 
assessed across various categories of technology, execution, and market impact dimensions. 
 
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Market leaders: market impact 
Figure 6: Ovum Decision Matrix: iPaaS, 2015-2016 market leaders: market impact  
  
Source: Ovum  
Figure 6 shows vendors having the top three scores within the range of 5-10 (on a scale of 1-10, 
including those having same scores) for each category of the ODM market impact dimension. The 
overall market impact score is predominantly based on corresponding vendor score for “revenue and 
growth” criteria group. The corresponding evaluation criteria were quite stringent and therefore, only 
Dell Boomi and MuleSoft achieved a score above 5. Dell Boomi, IBM, and MuleSoft have top-three 
scores for “customer base” criteria group. 
IBM, Jitterbit, SAP, SnapLogic, MuleSoft, and Cloud Elements score well against the evaluation 
criteria covered under “size-band coverage”, which also indicates the diversity of the existing 
customer base. All vendors, except for Flowgear, have a score above 5 for the “geographical 
penetration” criteria group. 
 
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Vendor analysis 
Dell Boomi (Ovum recommendation: Leader) 
Figure 8: Dell Boomi radar diagrams  
  
Source: Ovum  
Ovum SWOT Assessment 
Strengths 
Platform maturity and developer-centric features and capabilities 
Ovum’s analysis indicates that the average number of integration processes per user for AtomSphere 
is substantially higher than that for other major competing platforms, signifying the higher level of 
maturity of AtomSphere iPaaS. The platform offers a range of developer productivity features and 
capabilities, including a data-mapping suggestion engine, automated suggestions for faster error 
resolution, a real-time dashboard, native message queuing, and JSON support. Some of these are 
key differentiators for AtomSphere iPaaS. 
Extensive customer base and solid renewal rate 
 
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According to the latest update, Dell Boomi has more than 2,800 customers and a solid renewal rate of 
96%. There has been a significant increase in renewal rate over the last 12 to 18 months, and this 
coupled with new business wins in the large enterprise segment has resulted in rapid subscription 
revenue growth. These figures also indicate the success of AtomSphere product strategy that 
continues to focus on expanding customer support and engagement features. 
Weaknesses 
Limited presence and reach in Europe and Asia-Pacific regions 
Given that Dell Boomi is a major vendor in this market with over six years’ experience, the percentage 
of revenue that could be attributed to customers in Europe and Asia-Pacific is small. Dell Boomi has 
limited presence and reach (direct and via partners) in these rapidly growing iPaaS markets. This 
hinders its ability to compete head on with other major iPaaS vendors outside the Americas. 
Opportunities 
Under-penetrated large enterprise customer segment 
In the past, iPaaS adoption in large enterprises was mainly driven by LOBs, and ICCs played a limited 
role in the selection and subsequent use of iPaaS across different integration initiatives. However, 
with enterprise IT leaders showing greater inclination to adopt agile approaches to integration, iPaaS 
adoption is expected to increase in the large enterprise segment. This trend is also expected to result 
in a significant increase in average subscription revenue/deal size. Dell Boomi is well placed to take 
advantage of this opportunity. 
API management on top of iPaaS 
Dell Boomi has gradually expanded the API management capabilities of AtomSphere iPaaS, and 
several additional enhancements are expected to be introduced over the next three to four months. 
API management on top of iPaaS is emerging as a key use case, particularly for exposing integrations 
connecting on-premise and SaaS applications as REST APIs for consumption by mobile applications. 
Dell Boomi should focus on exploiting the opportunity presented by this emerging use case. 
Threats 
Major vendors offering iPaaS solutions 
In addition to IBM, several other major middleware vendors, including SAP, Software AG, and 
Microsoft, are offering iPaaS solutions that continue to gain traction in large enterprises. With time, 
Dell Boomi is expected to face significant competition from these vendors, especially because they 
have a well-established customer base using on-premise/traditional middleware platforms. 
AtomSphere’s credentials are largely unproven in complex B2B and on-premise integration 
scenarios 
While some customers are using AtomSphere iPaaS for less complex B2B integration (B2B e-
commerce via AS2 connections), its credentials in supporting complex B2B integration needs, 
including rapid partner onboarding and management, managed file transfer (MFT), and support for 
industry-specific communication standards, are largely unproven. Likewise, AtomSphere is not widely 
used for data-intensive integration and/or low-latency messaging. This is an area that needs to be 
addressed to strengthen competitive positioning (for example, against IBM) and secure business 
beyond primary iPaaS use cases. 
 
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 CDK or template development kit  
 unit testing and regression testing tools  
 provision for modification of exiting connectors/integration templates or components  
 availability of sample code, documentation, best practices, and collaboration venue as part of 
developer support  
 self-service to end users  
 error handlers  
 version control for integration processes (for example, rollback to a previous state/version)  
 support for cloning of configurations (for example, running an existing orchestration with a 
different set of endpoints)  
 support for monetization of new connectors developed by third-party developers and partners  
 automated suggestions for error resolution  
 availability of a free trial version  
Data security and governance (weighting assigned = 10%) 
 dedicated security mediator or security gateway for SaaS integration  
 provision for providing granular access privileges to individual resources  
 provision for storing and retrieving access credentials across different environments  
 support for lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) integration  
 provision for isolation between different tenants  
 support for HTTPS (HTTP over SSL), Secure FTP (FTP over SSH) and FTPS (FTP over SSL 
), OAuth, secure database connectivity, and Kerberos  
 support for logging and resolving security errors (for example, authentication failures)  
 provision for encryption of password/credentials during the development of integration flows  
 support for compliance of regulations, such as SSAE 16, PCI, and HIPAA  
 support for implementation and administration of security and governance policies, including 
exception handling  
Monitoring and administration (weighting assigned =10%) 
 configuration of error/failure alerts and notifications  
 command line interface (CLI) for administration functions  
 a web console for 
 Monitoring resource utilization/system health/runtime performance  
 Monitoring production integrations  
 Changing, stopping, and disabling/deleting configurations/integration processes  
 Network monitoring  
 support for monitoring via mobile devices  
 web API for development of client applications for management (creating, changing, stopping 
or deleting configurations) of integration processes  
 built-in fault-tolerance and recovery mechanisms  
 
Ovum Decision Matrix: Selecting an Integration PaaS (iPaaS) Solution, 2015-2016    
 
 
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 a load balancer or other such suitable provision for management of workloads spread across 
different runtime engines  
Deployment flexibility (weighting assigned =15%) 
 deployment options: appliance and public cloud, private cloud/On-premise, hybrid deployment 
(including the scenario when only runtime engine is deployed on-premise)  
 provision for switching (includes reuse of integration processes/configurations) between 
different deployment models  
 easy federation with traditional integration platforms (for example, ESB)  
 professional services for supporting large-scale implementations  
 delivery of integration services via a regional/nearby data center  
 customer training: online and classroom/onsite training  
 cloud deployment of various architectural components  
 
flexibility to switch between different infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) providers  
Execution assessment 
In this dimension, Ovum assessed the capability of an iPaaS solution across the following key areas: 
Maturity (weighting assigned =36%): identifying the current state of the solution with reference to the 
overall maturity of iPaaS as an integration approach. 
Innovation (weighting assigned =20%): identifying innovation in key areas, such as product strategy, 
architecture, and commercial model and assessing the value delivered to enterprise users. 
Deployment (weighting assigned =20%): assessment criteria and points of information related to 
various deployment issues, including time taken for development of custom integrations, partner 
network, SLA compliance, customer support, and migration tools. 
Scalability and enterprise fit (weighting assigned =24%): assessing the scalability of an iPaaS 
solution across different scenarios and its alignment with mainstream IT architectures and roadmaps. 
Market impact assessment 
Market impact was assessed on the basis of revenues and revenue growth achieved by different 
iPaaS vendors in 2014. While other evaluation criteria (customer base, geographical penetration, and 
size-band coverage) were assigned minimal weighting (1% each), the corresponding figures offer 
useful insight via market impact radar diagrams. 
Appendix 
Further reading  
2015 Trends to Watch: Integration and Middleware, IT0022-000217 (November 2014) 
Easing Hybrid Integration Complexity with the SOA and iPaaS Combination, IT016-001503 (July 
2013) 
 
Ovum Decision Matrix: Selecting an Integration PaaS (iPaaS) Solution, 2015-2016    
 
 
© Ovum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. 
Page 18 
 
 
 CDK or template development kit  
 unit testing and regression testing tools  
 provision for modification of exiting connectors/integration templates or components  
 availability of sample code, documentation, best practices, and collaboration venue as part of 
developer support  
 self-service to end users  
 error handlers  
 version control for integration processes (for example, rollback to a previous state/version)  
 support for cloning of configurations (for example, running an existing orchestration with a 
different set of endpoints)  
 support for monetization of new connectors developed by third-party developers and partners  
 automated suggestions for error resolution  
 availability of a free trial version  
Data security and governance (weighting assigned = 10%) 
 dedicated security mediator or security gateway for SaaS integration  
 provision for providing granular access privileges to individual resources  
 provision for storing and retrieving access credentials across different environments  
 support for lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) integration  
 provision for isolation between different tenants  
 support for HTTPS (HTTP over SSL), Secure FTP (FTP over SSH) and FTPS (FTP over SSL 
), OAuth, secure database connectivity, and Kerberos  
 support for logging and resolving security errors (for example, authentication failures)  
 provision for encryption of password/credentials during the development of integration flows  
 support for compliance of regulations, such as SSAE 16, PCI, and HIPAA  
 support for implementation and administration of security and governance policies, including 
exception handling  
Monitoring and administration (weighting assigned =10%) 
 configuration of error/failure alerts and notifications  
 command line interface (CLI) for administration functions  
 a web console for 
 Monitoring resource utilization/system health/runtime performance  
 Monitoring production integrations  
 Changing, stopping, and disabling/deleting configurations/integration processes  
 Network monitoring  
 support for monitoring via mobile devices  
 web API for development of client applications for management (creating, changing, stopping 
or deleting configurations) of integration processes  
 built-in fault-tolerance and recovery mechanisms  
 
Ovum Decision Matrix: Selecting an Integration PaaS (iPaaS) Solution, 2015-2016    
 
 
© Ovum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. 
Page 19 
 
 
 a load balancer or other such suitable provision for management of workloads spread across 
different runtime engines  
Deployment flexibility (weighting assigned =15%) 
 deployment options: appliance and public cloud, private cloud/On-premise, hybrid deployment 
(including the scenario when only runtime engine is deployed on-premise)  
 provision for switching (includes reuse of integration processes/configurations) between 
different deployment models  
 easy federation with traditional integration platforms (for example, ESB)  
 professional services for supporting large-scale implementations  
 delivery of integration services via a regional/nearby data center  
 customer training: online and classroom/onsite training  
 cloud deployment of various architectural components  
 
flexibility to switch between different infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) providers  
Execution assessment 
In this dimension, Ovum assessed the capability of an iPaaS solution across the following key areas: 
Maturity (weighting assigned =36%): identifying the current state of the solution with reference to the 
overall maturity of iPaaS as an integration approach. 
Innovation (weighting assigned =20%): identifying innovation in key areas, such as product strategy, 
architecture, and commercial model and assessing the value delivered to enterprise users. 
Deployment (weighting assigned =20%): assessment criteria and points of information related to 
various deployment issues, including time taken for development of custom integrations, partner 
network, SLA compliance, customer support, and migration tools. 
Scalability and enterprise fit (weighting assigned =24%): assessing the scalability of an iPaaS 
solution across different scenarios and its alignment with mainstream IT architectures and roadmaps. 
Market impact assessment 
Market impact was assessed on the basis of revenues and revenue growth achieved by different 
iPaaS vendors in 2014. While other evaluation criteria (customer base, geographical penetration, and 
size-band coverage) were assigned minimal weighting (1% each), the corresponding figures offer 
useful insight via market impact radar diagrams. 
Appendix 
Further reading  
2015 Trends to Watch: Integration and Middleware, IT0022-000217 (November 2014) 
Easing Hybrid Integration Complexity with the SOA and iPaaS Combination, IT016-001503 (July 
2013) 
 
Ovum Decision Matrix: Selecting an Integration PaaS (iPaaS) Solution, 2015-2016    
 
 
© Ovum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. 
Page 20 
 
 
Integration PaaS: A Unified and Pragmatic Approach to Cloud, On-premise, and B2B Integration, 
IT016-001484 (May 2013) 
Framework: Ovum Integration PaaS (iPaaS) Reference Architecture, IT016-001547 (December 2013) 
Author 
Saurabh Sharma, Senior Analyst, Software – Infrastructure Solutions 
saurabh.sharma@ovum.com 
Ovum Consulting 
We hope that this analysis will help you make informed and imaginative business decisions. If you 
have further requirements, Ovum’s consulting team may be able to help you. For more information 
about Ovum’s consulting capabilities, please contact us directly at consulting@ovum.com. 
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