Event-driven architecture is an essential approach for real-time integration. App4API easily enables event-driven architectures, making it possible to utilize a variety of event-driven architectural patterns and increase your orgs efficiency.
What is Event-driven Architecture?
Event-driven architectures enable the production of and response to events–which is to say, any change in a system or service. In contrast to a static data focused approach, event-driven architecture is inherently flexible. As a result, events and their responses become the key focus. Various patterns control such responses which are applicable to different scenarios and use cases. Most importantly, event-driven architectures facilitate connections between various systems and the efficient implementation of real-time integration.
Real-time Integration with Event-driven Architecture
In today’s fast-paced world, real-time data delivery and processing is more and more important. Event-driven architectures are a key element to a successful real-time integration between various systems. For example, with an event-driven approach, closed transactions are unnecessary. It is no longer necessary to wait for the connected system to confirm that an event has been processed.
Instead, event-driven architectures facilitate the ongoing communication of what happens in a system. Events occur and trigger various responses, all of which are recorded in an ongoing transaction log. This makes it possible to enable bi-directional synchronization across different systems and ensure near real-time data integration.
Integration with App4API and Event-driven Architecture
So how does App4API make it easier to perform a Salesforce integration with event-driven architecture? When you typically perform a Salesforce integration, it is necessary to decide on an event-driven architectural pattern in advance. This is because each distinct pattern influences what tools are necessary to build the integration, a method that requires writing code.
Salesforce integration with App4API does not require the user to choose an event-driven architectural pattern prior to creating the integration. This consequently opens up a variety of potential use-cases and increases flexibility. Furthermore, App4API is a no-code integration solution and functions as a kind of native Salesforce middleware.
Use Cases: App4API and Event-driven Architecture
Let’s set up a possible scenario and show some relevant use cases to give you a better idea about App4API’s functionality. In this instance, we would use Salesforce as the CRM, an ERP, a contract management tool and of course, App4API as the native middleware.
- After Sales wins a new customer, a ‘new customer’ event is published. As a result, a message goes to the ERP and contract management tool which then creates a new customer record that includes all necessary information.
- A contract is prepared and finalized in the contract management tool. Once a draft is created, a ‘new contract draft’ event is published. Consequently, Salesforce and the ERP are notified and a contract draft record is created in Salesforce.
- The contract is finalized and signed in the contract management tool. As a result, a ‘contract signed’ event is published and received by Salesforce and the ERP. Salesforce may request a signed copy as a response, which is then stored with the contract record.
- When a customer places their first order, an order with order positions (products) is created in Salesforce. This triggers the publication of a ‘new order’ event which is received by the ERP. Relevant changes take place in the ERP (e.g. logistics, conditions based on the contract), and then a new ‘order updated’ event is published by the ERP and received by Salesforce.
Events Trigger Responses
Furthermore, if an order changes its state in the ERP, a new event is published. Likewise, if changes are made in Salesforce, another event is published. You can think of these events as an alert system that notifies other systems when something relevant happens. The receiving systems are also able to perform callouts to get the necessary information about what happened and consequently process these details.
Webhooks are also an event-driven pattern, but they typically already contain all the necessary information in the webhook message itself. However, sometimes important information is not contained in the webhook message. In this instance, it is also requested by a callout to the webhook sending system.