Select the Right ERP Integration Solution  

Manufacturers and distributors are increasingly embarking on digital transformation projects, implementing advanced solutions to drive business growth. But in their efforts, these organizations are coming across a common roadblock: Integration challenges. A report found that integration challenges slowed down digital transformation efforts for 84% of businesses. Data silos resulting from disjointed applications and spreadsheets hinder enterprise visibility and efficiency. Traditionally, integrating these systems has required several months of coding and often resulted in bugs and errors.  

Fortunately, this traditional method isn’t the only way. Modern integration solutions seamlessly connect enterprise software platforms without painstaking coding, allowing manufacturers and distributors to move forward in their digital transformation journey. For Epicor ERP customers, there are two solutions that serve as alternatives to custom connectors: Unity and Jitterbit. Which solution is the best at integrating Epicor with your CRM, eCommerce or Marketing Automation software? We aim to find out in this comparison of Unity and Jitterbit.  

Streamlined Solution 

Chances are, you don’t have internal personnel with extensive experience in ERP integration. Even if you do, would you rather your IT team dedicate months to crafting a connector or receive a simple installation that works in no time? Since Unity is a pre-built application, it can be installed rapidly and fully deployed within a month. The solution is developed to support common bidirectional sync points between Epicor and your front-office software—without creating a single line of code. Once Unity is live, users can utilize their familiar software tools while enjoying an end-to-end view of the enterprise.  

Integrating Epicor through Jitterbit, however, requires several extra steps. Jitterbit facilitates integration between systems without developing custom application APIs, making it easier to implement than a custom connector. But that doesn’t make Jitterbit instantly deployable. There are no recipes to shortcut integration build time. Instead, Jitterbit requires you to start from the ground up, building your own workflows and maps using JavaScript. Jitterbit also includes a vast assortment of tools and layers, which add flexibility but create a steep learning curve. All these options add complexity and confusion to the project, especially for inexperienced integrators. Unity has all the mapping built, so you can avoid these challenges and gain a fast, stress-free integration.  

Error Handling  

After your solution is live, the last thing you want is a bug to crop up and hurt your system functionality. A Jitterbit integration leaves error handling and debugging to the customer. Jitterbit includes a support portal and an active community that collaborates to solve problems, but ultimately, the customer is responsible for detecting and fixing issues. If the IT team doesn’t find a bug in time, your software performance will suffer. 

What sets Unity apart from any other integration solution is our comprehensive error handling. We have an entire ISS department to manage Unity so you don’t have to. Our certified consultants and developers monitor Unity closely, capturing all errors and resolving them immediately. We also prevent errors from stopping the flow of data throughout your organization. At Datix, our experts are committed to protecting your business from costly integration problems.  

Proven Success 

Though Jitterbit is a well-known API integration platform, Unity has set the standard for Epicor integration. Unity has been successfully implemented for a wide range of businesses and processed over 100 million records. It’s also fully scalable, allowing clients to extend software functionality and add users and locations. As your business changes, we take care of any customizations to tailor your solution to your needs without hassle.  

Since Jitterbit isn’t pre-built, the initial investment is much higher. Jitterbit projects are more prone to errors and often require multiple test cycles. That translates to a longer project duration and slower ROI. Unity is pre-built and battle-tested, resulting in a rapid, painless installation. Its maintenance and installation costs are about 300% less than home-grown solutions. After deployment, Unity reliably syncs your enterprise data to help you maintain a single source of truth. Unity’s superior performance and simplicity contribute to substantial ROI and business improvements.  

Wrap Up  

Jitterbit is a tool that helps different platforms communicate with each other, but Unity goes above and beyond to serve as a simple, powerful solution for end-to-end enterprise connectivity. Unity integrates Epicor ERP with Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, HubSpot or Magento to optimize productivity from the top floor to the shop floor.  

An Epicor Gold Partner, Datix is committed to creating and optimizing our solutions and services to fix real business issues. We’re experts who understand Epicor integrations, the complexity of ERP automation and the importance of making data instantly accessible. Additionally, Datix is the only Epicor partner that is also a certified partner of both Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. That makes us the only firm that can implement, service and work with all three platforms. We leveraged our extensive experience to design an integration application that’s scalable and fully managed and enables all your users to operate out of one system. Our certified consultants will stick with you from start to finish to ensure you’re enjoying the full value of Unity.  

Transform your business by uniting your software platforms. Contact Datix today to learn more about Unity, and make sure to check out our Unity demo videos!   

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This post was created on August 21, 2019.