Point-to-point integrations don't scale past three or four systems
Connecting every system directly to every other system creates a web of dependencies that becomes unmaintainable as you add tools. Beyond a handful of systems, a central integration layer or middleware is usually worth the upfront investment.
Design for the failure case, not just the happy path
APIs go down, rate limits get hit, and payloads arrive malformed. Integrations that don't plan for retries, idempotency and failure alerts silently lose data instead of failing loudly where someone will notice.
Version and document every integration
An undocumented integration becomes a black box the moment the person who built it moves on. Treat integration contracts as seriously as public APIs, with versioning and change logs.
Frequently asked questions
When do we need middleware instead of direct API integrations?
Once you're connecting more than three or four core systems, or the same data needs to flow to multiple destinations, a middleware or integration platform layer typically reduces long-term maintenance cost versus direct point-to-point connections.
How do we handle an integration when a third-party API changes without notice?
Monitoring and alerting on integration failures is essential, alongside contract or schema validation tests that catch breaking changes early. Treat third-party APIs as unstable dependencies, not guarantees.