Overview

The Frends Integration Service (previously called Efecte Integration Service (EIS)) offers Integration-as-a-Service (IaaS) for our clients, enabling seamless integration between nearly any application, vendor system, or technology and Efecte. This ensures your operations run smoothly.

• Collaboration: We collaborate with you to tailor an integration that fulfills your business requirements.
• Development & Testing: We construct the integration and conduct technical testing on your behalf.
• Maintenance & Support: Our service includes ongoing monitoring, operation, and support of the integration.*

*For detailed information regarding scope, please refer to chapter “EIS Continuous service description”

EIS integrations are executed as projects, with the duration varying based on the project's scope and complexity. Our delivery process outlines the typical elements of an integration project, which can influence the project's timeframe. Leveraging our experience from hundreds of integrations, we apply best practices and proven solutions wherever possible.

Delivery process

Our delivery process includes several milestones, typical of integration projects. Note that not all projects will encompass every step, and the sequence of steps might vary.

In the picture below are some typical milestones that are part of project delivery:

Specifications and Design

• Customer Tasks: Detail your integration requirements as thoroughly as possible, including use case scenarios, process flows, and the benefits expected from the integration. 
  • Inform Efecte of any deadlines and provide relevant project contacts.
• Technical Discussions: These cover destination system versions, the existence of test environments, Efecte system location, data handling, integration direction, formats, transfer methods, authentication, data mappings, schedules, security requirements, and error handling:
  • Destination system versions (supported API features and documentation)​.
  • Do test environments exist for destination systems​?
  • Where Efecte system is located (private cloud or Efecte Cloud)?
  • Is there test environment​ of all systems?
    • How well test system data and configurations correlate with production?
  • One way or two-way integration?
  • Message formats (xml, json, csv/txt)​?
  • Transfer type (https or sftp)​?
    • Authentication?
  • Data mappings​?
  • Triggers and schedule?
  • Do we require firewall openings or VPN?
  • Error handling?
    • Allowed data formats?
    • Possible retries and error code handling?
  • Amount of data to be handled?
  • Criticality of the integration?
  • Identify possible changes to ESM configuration?

Following these discussions, we finalize the integration's scope, drawing on our previous experiences for efficiency.

Initial Setup

In the initial setup we will install required components for the integration and ensure required connections work.  

• Confirm on the agreed architecture and ensure there is an Agent for the integration.
  • The Agent is responsible executing the integrations.
• Request Firewall openings, if required.
• Setup VPN tunnel, if required.
• Test connections between the systems to be integrated and the Agent running the integration.
• Test credentials to all required end points/applications.

Configuration Implementation

Customer Responsibilities: Provision of test materials, systems, and documentation. Coordination with third parties, if necessary:

• Provide test material for implementation​.
• Provide test systems (source and destination, when applicable)​.
• Provide interface documentation (if applicable)​.
• Configurations to 3rd party systems​.
• If a third party consultation is needed, customer has the responsibility for getting them involved.

Efecte Responsibilities: Implementation of the integration, creation of detailed specifications, and regular progress updates:

• Integration implementation​.
• Create detailed integration specification and documentation.​
• Identify possible changes to the original scope.
• Keeps customer informed about the progress of the project.

User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and Go-Live

Customer Tasks: Conduct UAT, make the go-live decision, and monitor post-launch performance:

• UAT​: Create test cases and test them.
• Go live decision​.
• Monitoring the system after go live​.
• If third party consultation is needed, has the responsibility for getting them involved.

Efecte Tasks: Handle the technical aspects of going live and post-launch monitoring.

• Technical Go-Live implementation​.
• Technical monitoring of the system, after Go-Live.

Post-Launch

• Customer: Manage data and configurations for source/target systems.
• Efecte: Ensure the integration platform's functionality and execution.

The Benefits of Choosing EIS

EIS provides end-to-end integration services by experts, ensuring data security within the Efecte Cloud (in Finland or Germany), offering high availability, requiring no maintenance on your part, and eliminating the need for dedicated staff. Our flexible deployment models and extensive integration experience make EIS an optimal choice.

Efecte offers:

• Integration from start to finish by integration experts​.
• Data stays in Efecte Cloud (currently Finland or Germany)​.
• HA for test and production integrations​.
• No need for own integration platform upkeep​.
• No need for dedicated integration personnel​.
• You get experts who know integrations and ESM APIs​.
• Flexible deployment models (cloud, hybrid)​.
• Expertise of creating hundreds of integrations.

Ideal Use Cases for EIS

1. When in-house integration expertise is lacking or resources are stretched thin.
2. To achieve benefits beyond what native connectors offer.
   1. Either target is not supported or missing functionality.
3. Customer wants integration easily.

Example Integrations

Here are some examples of integrations we have implemented:

Ticket Integrations

Fresh Service, HP SM9, Jira, and ServiceNow​

Example: Efecte IGA related access right requests creates tickets to Jira. When a request is handled in Jira (ticket is closed) integration updates the request status back to Efecte.​

Asset, Inventory, and Software Management Systems

3StepIT, Applixure, Miradore, MS Intune, MS SCCM, Red Hat Satellite, Snow​

Example: Synchronization of data from system X to Efecte (ESM). Transfer data, such as workstations, applications and users, who have logged on the device etc.​

Event Management and Monitoring

Nagios, Solarwinds N-central, and Zabbix​

Example: Real time incident/alert synchronization between system X and Efecte. ​

Invoicing

D365, and SAP Business by Design ​

Example:  The invoicing is managed in Efecte and the related data is synchronized to and from system X.

HR Integrations

Sympa, Mepco, Populus

Example: HR solution delivers employee data for Efecte IGA to process and automate employee's life cycle.

Technical Information

EIS leverages the modern Frends Integration Platform, supporting low-code development, automated version control, and detailed audit trails. We offer both Efecte Cloud and hybrid deployment options, with Efecte Cloud deployment recommended for its simplicity and efficiency.

Deployment Options

There are two different deployment options for EIS:

• Cloud deployment (recommended).
  • Integrations are run in Efecte's hosted environment.
• Hybrid deployment.
  • Integrations are run at customer's hosted environment.

The Benefits of Choosing Hybrid

This ensures that data is processed in the customer's own environment.

Hybrid environment requirements:

• Customer has to provide windows server.
• Customer installs Agent(s) by themselves to the provided Windows server.
  • At least test and production.
• Customer is responsible creating possible HA-setup for the Agent(s).
• Usually we VPN-tunnel between Frends core in Efecte Cloud and Frends Agent in customer environment.
• Customer is responsible upgrading the Agent(s).
  • Efecte's help/work regarding this is invoiceable.

Hybrid implementation is much more complex than recommended Cloud deployment and therefore the work for Hybrid environment will be significantly larger.

EIS Continuous Service Description 

After go-live continuous services, i.e, service operation and monitoring start. 

Prerequisites for the continuous services are:

• Customer has at least one trained and certified Efecte Administrator
• Efecte has remote access to the customer environment
• During the delivery project EIS alert and error types are identified and corresponding alert and error messages are created. 

Basic terms of Efecte continuous services are described in the Efecte Appendix 2 Continuous Services Service Description.  

EIS alerts and errors are categorized into two main categories as shown in the picture below: 

• Alerts and errors related to Efecte solution platform and basic integration infrastructure managed by Efecte. These are called Basic infrastructure alerts and errors. 
• All other alerts and errors, eg related to data handled by the integration, integration configuration or 3rd party system. These are called Process alerts and errors.  

As part of EIS service Efecte monitors all alerts. Alerts  and errors related to Basic infrastructure are fixed by Efecte. ​This is included in the monthly service fee. Alerts and errors follow the Incident response and resolution times as described in Efecte Appendix 2 Continuous Services Service Description.  

Alerts and errors related to Processes are analyzed by Efecte and necessary action is determined. Actions to investigate, communicate instructions and conduct possible changes to improve the integration are billable work. For most cases fixing is the responsibility of the customer, for example errors in source data input. Work is conducted up to 2 hours / alert or error without asking separately billing permission, however, customer will be informed and consulted of the needed actions. Work exceeding this amount will be asked from and approved by the customer. Breakdown of the work conducted will be provided in the monthly invoice. 

The response and resolution times are described as below:

Resolution time is not measured for Process related issues. 

All service request and queries follow the terms described in Efecte Appendix 2 Continuous Services Service Description.  

The responsibilities of Efecte and customer are shown in below RACI table. 

R = Responsible (works on), A = Accountable, C = Consulted, I = Informed

Efecte consultants are available for further development and fixing of root causes behind data issues, for example according to Efecte Appendix 2 Continuous Services Service Description.  Reporting and periodic reviews are subject to separate agreement. 

Terminology

• Agent – Integration agent responsible for running integration processes​.
• Core / UI – Development and monitoring instance​.

FAQ

Can customer modify EIS integrations?
Customer cannot modify EIS integrations themselves. All the changes will be done by Efecte.