Organizations often describe various aspects of their platforms as “enterprise-grade” when, in reality, they aren’t.
And while these mischaracterizations can apply to different products and services in a variety of ways, they’re perhaps most consequential to an integration platform as a service (and, by extension, an embedded integration platform as a service). In particular, an integration platform as a service’s governance and security features.
In the absence of enterprise-grade governance and security capabilities, an integration platform as a service (iPaaS) solution leaves its clients exposed to all kinds of risk. For example, the iPaaS solution might not provide granular user permissions, leading employees to access customers’ and colleagues’ personal information. Moreover, users might be able to modify or pause critical automations (e.g. lead routing), which can cause lasting damage to your business’ bottom line and reputation.
So, what kinds of features does an iPaaS need to have in order to protect sensitive data, keep applications and processes running smoothly, and pass and comply with various security audits and data protection/privacy regulations? We’ll review 3 features that are absolutely essential.
Ready to adopt an enterprise-grade iPaaS solution?
Workato, the leader in enterprise automation, offers all of the governance and security features highlighted above, among others.
Offers robust role-based access controls
As your organization’s automation program matures, you’ll likely have hundreds, if not thousands, of integrations and automations to oversee. To keep them secure, along with their associated applications and data, you’ll need the iPaaS solution to offer role-based access controls that let you follow the principle of least privilege.
More specifically, the iPaaS solution should offer granular, pre-defined system roles. Each grants users certain privileges when it comes to viewing, editing, creating, and deleting different assets—such as existing automations or connections—in a given account or workspace. For example, an “Admin” should be able to perform any set of actions while, say, an “Operator” can only view your assets and test specific automations.
The platform should also allow you to modify user permissions at the environment level (production, testing, production); and, in case you have specific permission requirements in mind, allow you to set up custom roles.
Related: Tips for evaluating API integration platforms
Provides enterprise key management
If your organization has—or plans to adopt—mature security practices in place, or operates in industries that have more stringent data privacy and protection measures, like financial services or healthcare, than your organization likely needs an iPaaS provider to offer enterprise key management (or EKM).
Using EKM, you can use encryption keys from your preferred service, like AWS Key Management Service, and have full control over a key’s lifecycle. In the context of a modern iPaaS like Workato, this means you’re able to encrypt your connections and jobs data with your own keys—instead of the iPaaS vendor’s.
Jayesh Shah, our SVP of Global Ops and Security, explains why EKM is critical, the organizations that should adopt it, and how it works in more detail:
Grants flexibility in storing and processing data
As your organization looks to expand, you’ll need to consider the regulatory requirements of each country. This includes anything related to storing, processing, and retaining data that’s collected from a given country.
With this in mind, you should look to adopt an iPaaS solution that has data centers located across the globe, from North America to Europe to Asia.
In addition, the iPaaS provider’s data centers shouldn’t differ in performance. For example, the iPaaS solution should be able to deploy updates to all of its data centers simultaneously, all but ensuring that the experiences you’re able to provide to clients, prospects, employees, and partners are consistently kept to a high standard.
Ready to adopt an enterprise-grade iPaaS solution?
Workato, the leader in enterprise automation, offers all of the governance and security features highlighted above, among others.
