Let’s start at the beginning....
What is SaaS integration?
SaaS integrations are native, user-facing integrations that allow your users to connect your platform with any third-party software platform they use, allowing them to either push or pull data between the platform.
While there are several solutions that offer integrations for Enterpise platforms including on-premise, legacy connection etc., Pathfix's integration solutions is built for SaaS platforms that want to add native, user-facing integrations on their platform. This includes Startups, SMBs and Enterprise.
But... why should you add integrations to your SaaS?
We have spoken with thousands of developers, makers and founders over the years who decided to add integrations on their platform. The top reasons, and the subsequent benefits, always remain the same:
Scalability
Adding integrations to SaaS allowed them to add more value to their product. By giving their users the ability to connect to other softwares, their users got new ways of using/extending their product. This helped them scale their product significantly vs. if they had simply not added any integrations
Usability
By being a part of their users existing software stack, they increase the odds of their software being used. Offering integrations to other platforms also means that their users got to do much more with the data collected from your software AND data received from the other software platforms.
User Ease of Use
Not having to switch between apps, logins (think about those retention emails), they simplified how their users end up using the data collected by their app. They did not just build dependency on their app but you have also eased the users ability to use the platform.
Let's get down to implementation
Building integrations in your SaaS generally means that you are allocating a significant portion of your developer resources. There are many moving parts - framework, infrastructure, oauth, API understanding, API builds, code management, additional servers... you get it.
For any SaaS, developer resources are precious. This is time you would rather have them spend on building out your core product instead of have them spend time building features that are not core to your product.
There are 2 primary elements of integrations - OAuth and API Integration
Here is how you can solve both these elements, without building a team and spending resources on it:
OAuth Platform
The Pathfix OAuth Platform handles the entire OAuth infrastructure you need for your integrations. All you need is the provider ClientID, Client Secret and the Scopes you wish to access (this would help define the data you wish to access from the platform).
Once you have added the provider you want to add the integration for, copy the Pathfix script and add it to the integration page of your SaaS.
Thats it. Your SaaS will now have integrations enabled and your users will be able to click and connect their accounts.
Once the connection has been setup, you can make API calls to the provider and fetch the data in real-time. You can choose to call these APIs from your backend system directly, or chain multiple APIs and pull the mapped data directly in your database for the user. This is done with the Pathfix Automation Platform.
API Integrations (Automation Platform)
The Pathfix Automation Platform is a powerful API integration platform that runs API calls in your connected user’s context and fetches the data from the provider, maps the data to your database and send the information back to you - all without you needing a transformation engine, API management or integration servers.
Pathfix Automation is a powerful API integration platform, with a visual builder, that enables SaaS integrations by calling APIs and fetching data for all your connected users. The platform handles API chaining to multiple providers, data mapping and transformation, webhooks and much more.
This allows you to go from zero to integrated, in just a few days!
Conclusion
Integrations are critical for the growth of any SaaS platform and we at Pathfix have built integration solutions specifically for the SaaS creators.
With thousands of customers from Startup all the way to Enterprise, we have solved native integrations to hundreds of 3rd party apps.
If you are ready to build out your integrations, check out the Pathfix platforms for your specific needs:
- OAuth platform: solve your oauth connectivity
- Automation platform: API integration and webhooks
Need help with your integrations? Reach out to us and we will be happy to set this up for you.
