Resellers are abandoning broad but shallow ‘all-in-one’ business software solutions in favour of a ‘best of breed’ policy. Rather than relying on a single jack-of-all-trades platform, they are adopting specialised tools that excel in specific areas like CRM, billing, accounting and service management.
This best of breed approach allows resellers to tailor their tech stack to meet the unique needs of their business. This often results in greater flexibility and more powerful features in each category. However, with this shift comes a new challenge: integrating these systems effectively. Without a clear integration strategy, companies risk creating a web of disconnected platforms that can hinder productivity rather than enhance it.
Supplier Integration vs Business System Integration
Where billing systems are concerned, integration usually falls into two camps. These are integration with third-party/supplier systems and integration with other internal business software.
For the former, the way we interact with wholesale supplier systems is clearly defined. For example, the most common form of integration here is with the import of CDR data. A good telecoms billing solution will collect these files automatically from the supplier as frequently as they are published (e.g. hourly or daily). There’s really only one way to do this and only one outcome.
The same can be said for more specialised integrations such as ZOEY’s ability to perform SIM swaps and apply Call Bars for mobile services. Once a user submits a request from ZOEY’s end-customer self-service portal, again, there’s really only one way to send these commands to the supplier networks. As such, these all form pre-built ‘native’ integrations included with the ZOEY solution as standard. Find out more in our Supplier API Integrations page.
While supplier integrations are typically more streamlined, internal business system integrations are rarely a one-size-fits-all. They require a more tailored approach. Knowing when to integrate, with which systems, and how to successfully implement is crucial for achieving the best results without unnecessary complexity.
Which Systems and Data to Integrate
It’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to integrate everything! But when integration becomes a tick-box exercise, the result can be convoluted and fragile systems that don’t necessarily drive the business forward.
For instance, if a process only takes a user a few minutes once per month, investing substantial time and resources upfront into automating it may not provide a meaningful return. Similarly, you will have a hard time synchronising your billing Rate Cards into a sales CRM system because most sales CRM systems lack the structure to support holding Rate Card data. You could build custom objects in the CRM system, but this starts down a long road of reinventing the wheel.
A more effective approach is to start by integrating data entities that both systems already understand and share, such as customer names and addresses. Even this basic integration can significantly improve productivity by reducing duplicate data entry and minimising human error. From this solid foundation, you can introduce additional integrations gradually, driven by real user needs and operational benefits rather than a desire to link everything at once.
Understand the Flow of Data
When it comes to integration, planning the flow of data is often more important than the technology that drives the integration itself. One common pitfall is diving into integration without a clear understanding of how information should move between systems. This can lead to duplication, conflicts and inefficiency. Mapping out these data journeys should be the first step. Here’s an example:
- Customer data starts life in the CRM system as a Lead created by the sales team.
- Once a deal is closed and the Lead is qualified into a Customer, only then should the data be sent to the billing system.
- Address data for live customers becomes read-only in the CRM.
- The billing system then becomes the system of record for in-life customer updates (e.g. changes to addresses).
- These updates are then synchronised back to the CRM system, ensuring that sales have the latest information.
It’s easy to see that without such planning, an “over-enthusiastic” integration could result in all Leads being mistakenly pushed into a live billing system or conflicts arising when multiple teams attempt to update the same data. Taking a structured approach to data flow ensures each system has clear responsibilities, and each team understands where to find accurate, up-to-date information.
Implementing the Right Technology
APIs are the gateway to integration, and most good OSS/BSS systems will include APIs as standard. However, these APIs remain dormant and passive until they are activated by an external call.
While you can extend some business applications with custom integration code, this requires advanced coding skills and ongoing maintenance as APIs in the target systems evolve.
Instead, for most users, we recommend using a third-party middleware solution. Middleware platforms such as Zapier or Power Automate allow you to build your planned workflows into practical integrations with little or no coding.
Consider the following factors when selecting a middleware solution:
- Ubiquity: Opt for middleware with a well-established catalogue of pre-built connectors. This not only saves time and effort in building your own connectors but also provides the flexibility to easily replace any individual system in the future. For instance, Tekton offers a variety of pre-built connectors for the ZOEY API. This allows you to add or update customers, connect services and retrieve product information. These are all available on the Zapier platform alongside over 3,000 other business software systems.
- Pricing: Many middleware systems are priced based on the number of actions (changes) that are processed through them. This underscores the importance of planning efficient and streamlined integrations! Be cautious of other pricing models that may be less favourable, such as those that charge based on the total size of your data estate, regardless of the frequency of updates.
- Ease of Use: Choose platforms with intuitive interfaces, allowing team members to create and modify workflows without extensive technical expertise. This empowers non-technical users – usually those ultimately benefitting from the automations – to engage in the integration development.
- Support and Community: A strong support system and an active user community can be invaluable resources when troubleshooting issues or seeking best practices.
Summary
In conclusion, integration is a powerful tool when wielded correctly. By connecting specialised applications – such as CRM, billing, service management and accounting – reseller organisations can reduce manual data entry, minimise errors and ensure that all teams have access to consistent and up-to-date information. Ultimately, with a well-planned integration strategy, companies can transform their tech stack into a robust, interconnected ecosystem that supports their unique business needs and drives growth.
To discuss how our award-winning billing system, ZOEY, integrates with your key business systems, simply get in touch.
