CRM ERP Integration Architecture: How to Operate Out of One System

When it comes to CRM ERP integration architecture, there are a lot of approaches you can take, but not all of them are viable. Many are not truly scalable. Some break whenever a platform has an upgrade; others allow users to bypass business rules for data entry, which undermine your business processes.

After 25 years of experience implementing software solutions, we firmly believe that the flow of data from system to system should match a company’s individual business processes. If the integration architecture is designed to transfer data without considering the business processes of different departments, then it is always going to be a battle to operate out of one system.

Rather than having your teams fighting against your integration, you can bring your organization together with Unity: Integration by Datix. Unity was designed with integration architecture to seamlessly transfer data in a way that works with your business processes and allows all your teams to gain a single source of truth.

Intuitive User Experiences

When you align integration architecture with business processes for each department, your integration runs so much better. Some integrations weren’t designed to consider where users should live, but for Datix, this was one of our primary considerations.

For instance, a salesperson shouldn’t have to enter sale data in a CRM and then open and create follow-up tasks for the same client within the ERP. Forcing staff to jump from one system to another is confusing and defeats the entire purpose of the integration. With Unity, our goal was to allow employees to work out of their one preferred platform. Using the platform interface as a starting point, we then will add the appropriate minimum logic to allow the user to have any additional functionality they need. In the case of our salesperson, they should be able to log into the CRM and do everything they need from there, including tasks that incorporate ERP tools. Using the software should seem totally natural, so that staff members don’t even notice that the configuration took place until they see the new modules available to them.

For the sake of the user experience and for simplicity, Unity uses as much of the out-of-the-box (OOB) platform setup as possible before we incorporate minimal configurations and adjustments that make it possible to operate out of one system. As with all of our software solutions, this involves a business-first approach and taking the time to understand each client’s individual needs. Talk to our experts about your integration goals.

Single Source of Truth Through Standard Processing

Just about every integration claims to give you a single source of truth. With Unity, you actually get one that aligns with what your business processes define as a source of truth. This means every platform utilizes your business terminology to keep everyone on the same page.

Using secure communication between the two (or more) platforms you are connecting, Unity processes data regularly so everything is synced. Our standard processing schedule for Unity is:

Every Five Minutes:

  • Accounts and Contacts
  • CRM Calls
  • Opportunities and Orders
  • Cases and RMAs

Every 30 Minutes:

  • Parts and Inventory
  • Shipments
  • Invoices

Every Week:

Setup Data

However, this process can be tailored to whatever schedule is ideal for your particular organization.

Compound ROI

With Unity, you can compound your return on investment (ROI) because of our integration architecture. Unity is built on top of API and your existing business layers. This is important because modern extensible systems (like enterprise level systems) provide a valuable way for administrators to modify the behavior of a system.

To put it more simply: The business layer allows for your team to put business rules in place to ensure that everyone is inputting data consistently. These rules allow you to trust that your data is complete and reliable, but other major integrations often bypass that logic and go straight to the database. When you bypass the business layer and your business rules, you are undermining your own business processes and allowing errors to flood your data.

With Unity, your business rules remain intact at your organization. Our integration applies updates and changes on top of the business layer, meaning that you can change your business rules as your company grows and our system will still align with them. This is just one way we made Unity scalable for growing organizations. Discover what Unity can do for you.

Wrap Up

An ERP integration, or really any software integration, requires a sound integration architecture if you want to operate out of one system. If your company feels disconnected because of information silos, talk to our team about uniting your organization with Unity.

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About Datix

With over two decades in the industry, Datix is the integration consultant of choice for manufacturers and distributors. We believe in “being the best with the best” and look for partners who match our commitment to solving real issues and doing what it takes. Our in-depth analysis of our clients and their business needs allows us to maximize their software investments to the fullest.

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