Enterprises run on stacks of systems: ERP, e-commerce, finance, CRM, marketing, supply chain, and more. Among all these, the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is the heartbeat that keeps your core processes alive.
Now, the catch is that your ERP can’t survive in isolation. After all, a CRM with a thousand leads means less without an ERP for billing or order processing. Similarly, your marketing platform can’t optimize campaigns without ERP inventory data.
That’s why ERP integrations are important. They keep your whole enterprise in sync.
The challenge? Choosing exactly how to integrate.
Do you move fast with a no-code approach like SyncApps, so you can set up dozens of integrations in mere hours instead of months? Or do you hire ERP developers to handle enterprise-scale demands without breaking?
That’s what we’ll discuss in this playbook.
In the past, enterprises relied on code-heavy projects for ERP integrations. Often, every new connection (ERP to marketing, ERP to CRM, etc.) required months of work.
No-code platforms like Cazoomi quickly changed the landscape. Leveraging prebuilt connectors and easy configurations, businesses can now expect:
So no-code became the obvious first move. But sometimes speed isn’t the same as staying power, which is where businesses eventually hit walls, necessitating custom ERP development as a solution.
According to the ERP development experts at DevTeam.Space, while no-code integrations can be the perfect launchpad, there are certain cases that would stretch the limits of a drag-and-drop approach.
These include the following.
What is seamless at 1,000 records may snag at 1,000,000. As a result, you might see crawling sync times, more errors, and performance lags.
Straightforward integrations are fine. But if you have multi-step processes, such as region-specific tax rules, conditional logic, or compliance checks, prebuilt templates might not be able to keep up.
In highly-regulated industries like healthcare and finance, you need code-level precision to deliver secure and compliant connections. And out of the box, no-code integrations may not be able to enforce HIPAA rules or manage complex approval chains as easily.
Innovations such as expanding into new regions, adding product lines, or exploring new channels might also require custom ERP software development.
Now, these conditions do not mean that no-code stops being useful; in essence, they just signal that you might need to refine your approach.
Fortunately, enterprises don’t need to choose between no-code integrations and custom ERP development services. In fact, leveraging both is often the best strategy..
How? With a hybrid approach that allows you to use no-code platforms to ensure fast and standardized ERP integrations, while also adopting custom solutions when complexity demands.
To find the sweet spot between no-code and custom ERP integrations, here are five steps to follow.
The first thing you need to do is assess the complexity of your workflows.
Start with an inventory of your current integration workflows and define the systems they touch and the types of data they exchange. Also, look into how often they run and what happens when they fail.
Then, evaluate each workflow for complexity by assessing its:
Once you have all these data points, you can then categorize your workflows according to these types:
From there, you can decide which integrations to keep at no-code and which are best scaled with a custom ERP development company.
Real-life simulation:
Suppose a mid-sized retailer uses no-code integrations to sync ERP with Shopify, which has worked perfectly for managing orders and invoices. If this company decides to expand into Europe, it will need to contend with VAT rules and multi-currency settlements.
At that point, deciding to hire ERP developers would be valuable, who can then extend the integration while retaining Cazoomi for the simpler, repeatable connections.
You don’t need to implement all of your ERP integrations at once. Once you’ve mapped out workflow complexity, you can use your data to prioritize which integrations to tackle first.
To do that, there are four factors you can consider. First is business impact: which among your integrations directly affect revenue, efficiency, or customer satisfaction? Another factor is urgency, such as looming regulatory changes, project deadlines, or system migrations.
Also, consider dependency, or whether a workflow acts as a foundation for broader automation. And lastly, consider its maintenance burden; do you find that your teams spend considerable effort re-running or patching a specific process?
From there, you can categorize your integrations into:
Armed with this, you can objectively see which integrations require more partnerships and which can stand on their own with simple connectors.
Real-life simulation:
If a manufacturing company has 15 potential integrations to work on, categorizing them into business impact might look like starting with ERP – procurement (which can be mission-critical for their niche). Then, the company can follow it up with ERP – logistics (a high-value integration).
Once those are set up and running well, ERP – HR or other similar nice-to-have but not essential automations can ensue.
At this point, you’ve seen that not every integration needs custom code, but no-code platforms also don’t suit everything. So the challenge is to match the right tool or approach to your needs.
Here’s what that could look like:
No-code platforms like Cazoomi work best for standardized and repeatable ERP integrations like syncing your invoices with your accounting systems. We work quickly, deliver fast results, and have little to no overhead.
For high-volume data syncs, workflows that require more than prebuilt connectors, or compliance-heavy industries, choosing to hire ERP developers is recommended.
And for the hybrid approach, you can blend no-code integrations with Cazoomi for everyday syncs, then extend that functionality for business-critical cases with ERP developers for hire.
In practice, this makes it clear that layering one approach over the other is how things get done.
Real-life simulation:
A typical SaaS company can use Cazoomi to connect its ERP or eCommerce like NetSuite to its marketing systems. But if they decide that they need a custom-built customer portal and integrate that with their ERP, they’ll probably need a more specialized connector.
So then, they can hire remote ERP developers to build that portal and then keep the rest running through Cazoomi.
ERP integrations should be built with growth in mind. After all, what may work for 1,000 users may fail when you reach 10,000 users.
When planning your strategy, consider the following:
When implementing a hybrid model, the key is to relegate the repeatable tasks to Cazoomi and then delegate custom logic and robust infrastructure to custom developers.
Real-life simulation:
Let’s say a healthcare provider uses no-code to integrate its ERP with scheduling and billing. At first, everything was seamless, but when the number of its patients tripled, the sync times slowed down. The company’s compliance risks also grew.
To navigate that, this provider can bring in developers to retool its system and accommodate the increased complexity of its workflows, while keeping Cazoomi for lighter integrations.
Even with the best hybrid strategy, working with the wrong team can still derail your success.
That’s why, when choosing partners, look for:
Most importantly, look for partners who not only understand the technology but also appreciate the value of the hybrid mindset. This way, you won’t be forced into adopting a one-size-fits-all solution that may not be right for your specific business needs.
Getting ready to launch your hybrid approach? Here are some common mistakes to avoid to make sure that you make the most out of balancing no-code and custom ERP integrations:
Whether you’re launching no-code or custom integrations, you need to define and set clear rules around who can build, approve, and maintain them.
Without governance, even the most strategic approaches can spiral out of control. And when it starts to get messy, it may become challenging to rein in the issues and address them effectively later.
Closely tied to governance, fragmented ownership occurs when integration efforts are done in isolation. For example, marketing might launch no-code connectors; meanwhile, finance might commission custom scripts.
If these integrations somehow need to work together, it might get tricky to determine who owns what. And without centralized oversight, that can lead to duplication, conflicts, and fragile dependencies.
Using a sophisticated approach is not going to yield fruitful results if the underlying data isn’t consistent. If your no-code CRM sync uses different naming conventions for the same customer, for instance, it won’t be of much help to your sales and finance efforts.
You need a standardized data foundation to ensure that integration will reduce unnecessary complexities in your operations.
Many enterprises forget that adopting a new approach, like a hybrid strategy for integrations, not only impacts their systems but also affects their people. Teams need training, documentation, and clear communication to understand not only the technology but also the mindset.
Without dedicating resources to change management, you run the risk of poor user adoption. Workarounds might also proliferate, which will defeat the purpose, waste your investment, and detract from the potential rewards of the innovation.
Finally, remember that even the most well-designed integrations need ongoing monitoring. Compliance regulations, APIs, and systems change.
The smartest enterprises know that integrations, whether no-code or custom, cannot be treated as a one-and-done project. So when using connectors to sync ERPs and other software, commit to proactive maintenance.
Platforms like Cazoomi make it easy to launch integrations quickly, which gives enterprises leverage to compete in today’s markets. But as workflow gets more complex, you can opt to bring in custom development teams from trusted agencies like DevTeam.Space to extend what a no-code platform can do and ensure enterprise-scale agility. Don’t take our word for it, hear our customers rave about us.
When adopting this hybrid approach, just remember to establish governance and ownership and commit to ongoing monitoring to optimize its full benefits.
