Does this IT scenario sound familiar? Your business has added new organizational systems and software on an as-needed basis over the years, but then a hard look at your platform shows you a mess of disconnected systems and information silos. Many businesses face this problem, leading to inefficiencies, expensive maintenance, and major headaches. If this sounds like you, don’t worry. Infor Intelligent Open Network (ION) is here to help improve how your enterprise systems work.
The Infor ION platform is a middleware solution that allows customers to seamlessly integrate back-office systems to both Infor and third-party applications, whether on-premises, in the cloud, or both. It also enables you to create workflows and alerts, making you and your organization more efficient and maximizing your technology investments.
Let’s take a closer look at what it is, what makes it different from any other integration platform, and some of the business benefits.
What is Infor ION?
A cloud-native application built using HTML5 and open-source technologies, Infor ION is an example of an integration platform as a service (iPaaS). Because it sits on its own cloud platform, which sets up the configurations for you, all you have to do is run the application inside it—no plug-ins required and can even provide a platform on mobile-devices. (That being said, some plug-ins can be useful. You just need to know which ones.)
How it’s Different from Other Integration Platforms
Infor Intelligent Open Network allows you to add to your existing IT environment without having to rip out and replace technologies you’ve already purchased. One of its big differentiators is its lightweight approach, allowing you to loosely couple applications together without breaking your integrations or change business processes. As a bonus, you also get event management and workflow capabilities as part of the package to optimize return on investment.
What You Get With the Platform
When you purchase Infor ION, it comes with several different components:
Infor ION Connect
This component is the heart of everything—an entire network that integrates Infor and other third-party software applications to exchange information correctly. Even better, Infor applications operate with a standard business language, which means you won’t need to translate your data and map it, saving you time, increasing efficiency, and reducing the chance of errors.
Infor ION Process
The next step is getting into that shared data and analyzing it, which is where the Infor ION Process comes in. ION Process helps you stay connected and manage what’s happening through the automation of alerts, notifications, approvals, and more across the entire business.
Infor ION Workflow and Events
Infor ION Workflow and Events allows you to empower business users to make changes without involving IT. Using Infor ION Workflow and Events, end users can automatically detect exceptions and alert specific users based on predefined rules, create workflows, and automate approvals.
Connecting Your Business Data
Now that you understand the platform, it’s time to look at how the magic happens. Once you connect your applications to Infor ION, business data moves between systems through business object documents (BODs), which are XML files. Using Infor Process Automation, BODs can be created and sent to Infor ION using the ION Outbox node.
Typically, an Infor process automation process is initiated from an Infor applications trigger, and a work unit is created with many variables that the process can access. In the end, the Infor ION Outbox node sends the XML documents to ION, routing them to Infor or third-party applications.
Business Benefits
In addition to its open architecture design, there are a number of benefits, including:
Quicker Integration
Infor ION can create and manage application integrations and upgrades faster because each app uses a single connection point, allowing it to exchange data between various applications without using point-to-point modeling. And like we explained earlier, the most significant advantage of coupling applications this way is that a single failed application (or change/upgrade) doesn’t take down your entire enterprise systems.
Real-time Data
Information and communication are everything in today’s fast-paced world. That’s why it’s so useful that Infor ION allows messages to travel in real time, ensuring you can get the information you need right when you need it.
Better Business Process Management
Thanks to the simplicity of its open architecture, users can easily be trained to adapt to a new business process on ION (no complex coding required). Take implementing a new business process as an example. Creating something like a PO workflow will take much less time. Saving you even more time, many workflows in ION can be used right out of the box.
Less Strain On IT Resources
Piggy-backing off the last benefit, because business process changes are simplified, the solution results in less work for the IT department. On top of that, integrations and upgrades will be much easier to manage, freeing up IT’s time to focus on more strategic projects and services.
Comprehensive View of Business Processes
The platform can monitor the execution of workflows and alert you to incidents or exceptions that require attention. This means ION can route tasks and information to you instead of going out and finding it yourself. The platform handles the tedious work, you get to apply your brainpower, and everybody wins.
Future-proof Your Organization
ION also provides a platform for mobile devices and cloud technologies, allowing you to add new technologies on your timeframe, knowing that the information between those new applications will flow seamlessly. You can also use it with Infor Ming.le to improve business processes and provide enterprise reporting and analytics capabilities across the entire network.
Partner With Experts
Infor ION is a powerful platform that can help simplify your integration problems, but that power also makes it tricky to set up correctly. Whether you’re getting started or simply need assistance addressing connectivity and management issues, our senior-level Infor Lawson experts are here to help. We’ve included an example profile of one of our top-notch Infor consultants to give you a better idea of how we can benefit your team.
Surety Senior Infor Consultant
- 25+ years of Lawson experience
- Experience with the full suite of Lawson (including GHR/TM)
- Extensive ProcessFlow/IPA experience
- Extensive System Administrator Experience
- Lawson ION and BODs experience
- Cloud implementation experience
- PM, Analyst, and Developer Experience
Put our integration expertise to work for you today—contact us to get started.
