AWS has launched AppFabric, a fully-managed service that allows users to connect several cloud-based applications across their organizations.
Think of it as a "cross-SaaS domain service", which requires no development, enables tighter software integrations, and surfaces new opportunities for automation.
But that’s not all. As Adam Selipsky, CEO at AWS, notes on LinkedIn:
In just a few clicks, IT and security teams can connect, secure, and manage applications in one unified location.
Currently, AWS AppFabric connects 12 third-party SaaS applications. These include:
- Asana
- Atlassian Jira suite
- Dropbox
- Google Workspace
- Microsoft 365
- Miro
- Okta
- Slack
- Smartsheet
- Webex by Cisco
- Zendesk
- Zoom
These apps cover content management, customer relationships, enterprise communications, finance, and other arenas critical to CX.
However, expect this list to expand rapidly – as AWS has suggested it will – and cover many more business software classes.
The Enterprise Problem AWS Fabric Solves
In 2022, the average number of SaaS apps used per organization stood at 80.
Unfortunately, these applications rarely work well with one another. After all, various vendors develop apps that have unique interfaces, controls, and logs.
As such, data cannot easily funnel through these apps, and silos emerge. Such silos make data security and management a significant headache for most businesses.
Moreover, they restrict employee productivity, as team members must constantly switch between platforms to uncover information and perform tasks.
Thankfully, point-to-point integrations have helped to lighten the load. Nonetheless, these can take weeks, sometimes even months, to develop due to the difficulties in creating a unified data format and standardized programming interface.
Even when the integration is enterprise-ready, it takes money to maintain them.
AWS has designed AppFabric to make these challenges problems of the past. Here’s how.
How Does AWS AppFabric Work?
AppFabric aggregates and normalizes data into a single repository. From there, enterprises can set standard policies and alerts, creating cross-platform automations.
As Dilip Kumar, VP at AWS, summarizes:
