Do I Need a Workfront Fusion Architect or Developer? 5 Questions to Ask
It’s hard to believe it’s been almost five years since Workfront announced their newest product “Workfront Fusion.” Back then, the announcement was met with thunderous applause at their annual user conference in Nashville, as it meant that many manual processes could now be automated. Since Workfront was acquired by Adobe in 2021, the power of Fusion has grown even bigger.
If you’re not familiar, Workfront Fusion is an integration Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS) product that enables users to create automations between different SaaS applications, like Workfront and Salesforce. In recent years, the use of iPaaS products has increased dramatically and will likely continue in the foreseeable future.
Small business and large enterprise organizations alike are using Workfront Fusion and other iPaaS platforms that drive operational efficiencies and growth. As iPaaS platforms gain in popularity, organizations will need to ask, “do I need a Workfront Fusion Architect or Developer to support my efforts”?
What is an iPaaS Architect and Developer?
Before you can answer the question of if you need one, you need to understand what iPaaS Architects and Developers actually do, and the differences between the two roles.
An iPaaS Architect:
- Designs integration automations using a variety of SaaS applications and for a variety of teams/departments within an organization
- Defines business requirements for each team/department using the iPaaS product
- Reviews and provides feedback on the Developer’s configuration of each integration automation
- Oversees user acceptance testing
- Configures complex and advanced integration automations
- Trains and mentors other iPaaS developers to become iPaaS Architects
An iPaaS Developer, typically has less experience than the iPaaS Architect in terms of leading the discovery and design of large and complex enterprise-wide integrations. Their role is mostly focused on:
- Designing integration automations for SaaS specific use cases
- Configuring integration automations that connect a variety of SaaS applications
- Documenting user acceptance testing criteria
5 Key Questions to Ask
Now that you know what to expect from an iPaaS Architect and Developer, here are five key questions to consider when purchasing and using iPaaS products.
- Does my team/organization have a dedicated resource(s) to design, build, test, and deploy integration automations?
Using an iPaaS partner (like LeapPoint) is a great option for organizations that want to create a solid foundation of SaaS and iPaaS architecture in a shortened amount of time. However, not every organization has the ability to invest in a partner to build their SaaS and iPaaS foundation. If that’s the case, you need to ask yourself if you have a dedicated resource to design, build, test, and deploy integration automations. If the answer is no, or you can’t train a teammate internally, you’re better off hiring an iPaaS Architect.
- How many integration automations does my team/organization plan on developing and maintaining?
If you have a single use case, involving one to two integration automations, it is likely you won’t need a dedicated iPaaS Architect or Developer. However, if you begin building numerous integration automations—especially ones that are complex—an iPaaS Architect or Developer can help you design, build, test, and deploy those integration automations more quickly. The quicker you can deploy integration automations, the higher your ROI.
- Does my organization have a strategic roadmap for integrating our complex array of SaaS applications?
Strategic roadmaps are great for outlining how a team or department will utilize each of their SaaS applications. Oftentimes, SaaS subject matter experts don’t know how their SaaS application fits in with other SaaS products to increase operational efficiencies—but an iPaaS Architect can! In fact, developing integration automation strategic roadmaps are part of an iPaaS Architects job description (or should be).
- Has my organization used an iPaaS solution in the past?
If your organization has never used an iPaaS product and isn’t willing to work with an iPaaS partner, it is worth your time to consider hiring an iPaaS Architect or Developer. The iPaaS Architect can help you choose the best iPaaS product to meet the needs of your organization and can also help you design, develop, test, and deploy all of your integration automations.
- Does my organization have the budget to hire a Workfront Fusion Architect/Developer?
Last, and certainly not least, does your organization currently have the budget to hire an iPaaS Architect or Developer? If you don’t, that’s okay. You can always work with an iPaaS partner for any short (or longer-term) integration needs while you develop a use case for an internal resource.
Interested in learning more about the integration work LeapPoint has done for other organizations? View our recent case studies.
Andy Koprowski, Integrations Architect
