What is an Integration Platform and Why Do I Need One? 7 April, 2022. Table of Contents. What is an integration platform? Where do you start with this topic? It’s a massive … Agile integration guide Read about agile integration architectures and the merits of a container-based, microservices-aligned approach for integrating applications and services. Read the guide What is iPaaS? iPaaS, or Integration-Platform-as-a-Service, is a self-service cloud-based solution that standardizes how applications are integrated. Use a unified API platform for customer-facing integrations. When you’re providing product integrations, you’ll likely find your team facing dozens of integration requests. Meeting these demands in-house or with a tool like an embedded iPaaS is difficult, if not impossible; both approaches require significant technical expertise (an embedded iPaaS …The hybrid integration platform market is oversaturated, meaning that in addition to these four broad domains, it's also important to consider HIPs that possess the following core capabilities to help give you a competitive advantage: Accelerate ground-to-cloud and cloud-to-cloud integration workflows;Leverage SaaS Integration Platforms. Choose a platform designed for SaaS integration, like Torii SaaS Management Platform, that can simplify the process, reduce manual labor, and mitigate the risk of data loss. Choose Integration Strategy for SaaS. Implement both vertical (data-driven) and horizontal (process-driven) integration patterns.View Conferences. To empower digital transformation efforts, user organizations need to revise their approach to integration. To support these efforts, application leaders responsible for integration strategy and infrastructure should move to an integration platform that is hybrid in terms of four key dimensions.Analyst house Gartner, Inc. recently released the 2021 version of its Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Integration Platform as a Service. Enterprise Integration Platform as a Service (EiPaaS) solutions are standalone solutions used by subscribers directly, unlike integration features embedded in other offerings. According to the analyst, IT and ...ETL. By Alex Brooks. B2B (business-to-business) integration is the process of connecting businesses electronically to enable seamless data and information exchange. In today's fast-paced digital landscape, B2B integration is becoming increasingly important as a way to streamline business processes, improve communication, and drive revenue growth.Connect applications, data, and processes across your enterprise systems with Azure integration services. Explore tools for workflow automation, messaging, API management, event-driven computing, and data transformation.iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) is a suite of cloud services enabling the development, execution, and governance of application integration, API management, and data integration with the goal of integrating both on-premises and cloud-based systems, services, cloud applications, on-premises apps, and other data sources.These services are typically designed with low-code visual ...A cloud integration platform connects and shares data to enable file-based, EDI, and application integration. This allows for optimization of end-to-end integration processes within a dynamic network of trading partners, applications, suppliers, customers, and marketplaces. Links to related guides:Unito is a no-code integration platform with some of the deepest two-way integrations for the most popular tools on the market, including Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Airtable, Asana, Trello, Jira, and more. With a single Unito flow, you can build a two-way relationship between two data sources, syncing data back and forth between them.5 days ago · Application Integration overview. Application Integration is an Integration-Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS) solution in Google Cloud that offers a comprehensive set of core integration tools to connect and manage the multitude of applications (Google Cloud services and third-party SaaS) and data required to support various business operations. The hybrid integration platform market is oversaturated, meaning that in addition to these four broad domains, it's also important to consider HIPs that possess the following core capabilities to help give you a competitive advantage: Accelerate ground-to-cloud and cloud-to-cloud integration workflows;Your Integration Platform for the Future. As a market leader in Gartner's Enterprise iPaaS Magic Quadrant for 8 years, we've helped solve the needs of our customers with end-to-end capabilities - including data catalog and discovery, data quality governance, application and data integration, B2B integration, API management, and low code ...Integration platform as a service (iPaaS) is more than just a mouthful—software integration can change the way you work. There are too many apps. Most of them don't talk to each other. Fixing this yourself is time-consuming and expensive. That's the basic logic behind integration software, which makes it easy to connect all the software you use. This growing attention is a good sign for iPaaS vendors, but a few people may still be unclear about what iPaaS actually is or does. In simplest terms, iPaaS is a platform for building and deploying integrations within the cloud and between the cloud and enterprise. With iPaaS, users can develop integration flows that connect applications ... Integration platform as a service (iPaaS) is a cloud-based software model for integrating data from multiple applications into a single solution. Most organizations today have multiple applications that handle various aspects of their business processes and IT operations. They must integrate data from all their applications for analytics and ... Enterprise Integration Platforms (EIPs) are essential for businesses to manage and integrate various applications, data streams, and processes. Platform integration via EIPs helps businesses streamline their workflow and gain a competitive advantage by enabling seamless data sharing among various systems, departments, and partners, regardless ...1. Astera Software. via Astera Software. Astera Software is a leading data management company that provides no-code, easy-to-use platforms for data integration, warehousing, and API management, to empower data professionals and business users. It significantly accelerates API creation, reduces ownership costs, and enhances integration speed.Magic xpi Integration Platform is a total solution for integrating, automating and transforming the data of your business applications. The intuitive and easy-to-use interface, including 100+ pre-built connectors, makes it ideal for all types of users, from business users and citizen integrators to IT experts. ...The crucial metrics for evaluating the best integration platform for businesses are: The connectors and integrations offered by the platform. The platform's ease of use. The scalability and flexibility of the platform. The platform's data security and cybersecurity best practices. The cost and pricing model of the integration platform.Continuous integration servers. A continuous integration server is a software tool that centralizes all your continuous integration operations and provides a reliable, stable platform for you to build your projects. You can configure and adjust CI servers to build various projects for different platforms.Integration platform as a service, or iPaaS, is a set of automated tools that integrate software applications that are deployed in different environments. Large businesses that run enterprise-level systems often use iPaaS to integrate applications and data that live on premises and in both public and private clouds. In this guide, learn ...Cloud-Based Application Integration Platforms. 1. Dell Boomi. Customers can create and deploy Atoms, which are cloud-based integration processes that move data between on-premises and cloud applications, using this software. Boomi integrates all programs, information, and procedures to store all systems and programs in a single place.Boomi is a low code integration platform that caters to a wide variety of integrations, including B2B/EDI Integrations, API Integrations, SAP Integration, and is also an API management solution. Reviewers appreciate Boomi's ease of use, pre-built tools, cloud-native benefits, intelligent features, and its ability to integrate various applications and …So you want to integrate with the Sentry Integration Platform. Great! We're looking forward to it 🎉 That's why we built out this codebase; clone and fork away! This repository contains some starter code for interfacing with the Integration Platform that is meant to be a tool for your reference. It demos an example kanban application which ...So you want to integrate with the Sentry Integration Platform. Great! We're looking forward to it 🎉 That's why we built out this codebase; clone and fork away! This repository contains some starter code for interfacing with the Integration Platform that is meant to be a tool for your reference. It demos an example kanban application which ...What is CopilotKit? CopilotKit is an open-source framework designed to facilitate the integration of AI into applications. With 4.4k+💫Git Stars, it has received great appreciation …Digital Integration Platforms enable teams to work together to design, deploy, operate, monitor and change integration software services that connect business applications, data sources and other software platforms - wherever they may be hosted. Digital Integration Platforms are delivered as-a-service, licensed on a subscription basis and ...An API integration platform is a third-party service that provides ready-to-use solutions for integrating different software systems. These platforms are designed to handle the complexities of API integration, providing a streamlined, efficient, and scalable solution. Scalability: API integration platforms are built to handle growth.Dell Boomi. MuleSoft. Jitterbit. Open-source API integration platforms: Tyk. Zato. Huginn. At the end of the article, we'll compare API tools' functionality with what n8n can offer and discuss several cases where n8n automation tool can be used as an alternative to API integration platforms or together with them.Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS): iPaaS is a cloud-based platform that supports the creation and execution of integration workflows between cloud and on-premises systems. It provides a flexible and scalable environment for rapidly building and deploying integrations such that the advantages of cloud resource elasticity enable you reach ...You need to build a centralized utility function that you can access from other integration platform components, such as Azure Logic Apps. You have unique data transformation requirements. Provides an event driven, compute-on-demand experience for developers that need to extend the Azure application platform by implementing code triggered by ...Statelake is Flow Software's highly flexible, future-focused integration platform. Built with modern business and technology needs in mind, Statelake simplifies your digital environment by taking care of your integrations, so you can focus on growing and scaling your business sustainably.See More: Top 7 Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) Software Companies in 2021. Top 8 Middleware Software Platforms in 2021. Middleware is a crucial cog in your IT infrastructure as it enables interoperability, application development, and, eventually, digital transformation. Here are the top ten software platforms you need to consider in ...View Conferences. To empower digital transformation efforts, user organizations need to revise their approach to integration. To support these efforts, application leaders responsible for integration strategy and infrastructure should move to an integration platform that is hybrid in terms of four key dimensions.Compare 16 leading IPaaS solutions based on user sentiment, functionality, and deployment options. Learn how to connect cloud and on-prem applications, automate processes, and leverage AI for data integration.Oracle Cloud Infrastructure integration services connect any application and data source, including Salesforce, SAP, Shopify, Snowflake, and Workday, to automate end-to-end processes and centralize management. The broad array of integrations, with prebuilt adapters and low-code customization, simplify migration to the cloud while streamlining ...An integration platform is an intermediary layer between integration software and the target system, designed to make developers' efforts more efficient. Developers interact with the platform rather than the API directly. The coding is cut down to the minimum while achieving the same or better results. In short, a software integration ...As organizations increasingly adopt the cloud, directors of integration must enable integration across on-premises and cloud applications and data sources. This Magic Quadrant evaluates providers of cloud-based integration platforms designed primarily, but not exclusively, to tackle this challenge.What is CopilotKit? CopilotKit is an open-source framework designed to facilitate the integration of AI into applications. With 4.4k+💫Git Stars, it has received great appreciation …An integration platform is a middleware solution that lets you easily and securely network your in-house systems and applications with external applications and business partners' systems. Flexibility and agility are becoming key in the way companies set up and use their IT systems. They need to be able to meet customer expectations ever ...Merchant Integration Platform (MIP) User Guide. The eBay Merchant Integration Platform (MIP) is a powerful, easy-to-use application that eBay sellers can use to manage product listings and orders. See Basic description for additional information. To use MIP, you should already be familiar with selling on eBay. Purpose of this guide.It is a Platform-as-a-Service offering and provides many different services in 5 key areas: Application Development. Automation. Integration. Data and Analytics. Artificial Intelligence. Once you have access to SAP BTP, you can start testing services, including the SAP Integration Suite. The SAP Integration Suite service is a suite of different ...CloudHub: An integration platform as a service (iPaaS) that enables businesses to build and offer reusable integration applications without the hassle of custom code. CloudHub can work with Mule as an ESB to create an efficient ecosystem with connectivity between enterprise systems, custom apps, databases, partners, customers, and cloud or SaaS ...Integration platform as a service (iPaaS) is more than just a mouthful—software integration can change the way you work. There are too many apps. Most of them don't talk to each other. Fixing this yourself is time-consuming and expensive. That's the basic logic behind integration software, which makes it easy to connect all the …An enterprise application integration platform is a software solution designed to facilitate the uniting of databases and workflows associated with business applications. The main goal of these solutions is to allow different software applications to work cohesively together, sharing data and functionalities without creating data silos. ... Integration platform as a service, or iPaaS, is a set of automated tools that integrate software applications that are deployed in different environments. Large businesses that run enterprise-level systems often use iPaaS to integrate applications and data that live on premises and in both public and private clouds. IBM App Connect is an enterprise-level integration platform that allows businesses to connect data and applications across multiple systems. It offers a drag-and-drop interface for building integrations. There are also pre-built connectors for a wide range of systems and applications.Unleash the Potential of Your Data with Justransform: Simply Smart Integration — The Trusted iPaaS Platform for Every Business, from Startups to Fortune 500 Enterprises. Meet our Industry leading unified data-integration platform, all built from the ground up on a modern scalable, elastic, secure platform.SAP Integration Suite connects applications across complex landscapes to support end-to-end processes and increase data transparency. With this trusted solution, you can connect your distributed ecosystem of customers, partners, and employees faster, making the most of your existing systems while innovating in the cloud. Objectives.Security is a priority for organizations connecting their applications and accessing data through APIs. WSO2 built the Choreo cloud integration platform's data plane to protect APIs, manage tokens, and define security policies. Choreo provides you with an API gateway and developer portal to enable you to expose APIs securely.Single platform experience. Easily leverage additional platform services such as EDI and API Management with the same user experience as Boomi Integration. Self-managed. Automatic platform updates deploy synchronized changes to your integration processes to keep your focus on innovation. Regression-tested integrationsiPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) is a suite of cloud services enabling the development, execution, and governance of application integration, API management, and data integration with the goal of integrating both on-premises and cloud-based systems, services, cloud applications, on-premises apps, and other data sources.These services are typically designed with low-code visual ...Syndesis is the open source integration platform that can connect to any service you use. It provides a rich set of connectors out of the box, and if one doesn't exist - a friendly developer will be able to easily create one for you. No coding required. The Syndesis UI allows literally anyone to create integrations from the simplest to the most complex. …Striim's "intelligent integration platform," offered as both an on-premises system and a fully managed cloud service, uses change data capture to unify data across clouds, applications and ...The platform offers several unified API categories and hundreds of integrations, all but ensuring you can build the integrations your clients need; it provides comprehensive Integrations Management capabilities, including the ability to diagnose issues automatically and provide steps for remediating them; it uses comprehensive common models across …MuleSoft's Anypoint Platform is a leading integration platform that includes API management features. It allows businesses to design, build, manage, and secure APIs, as well as integrate applications, data, and devices. Anypoint Platform also provides capabilities for API analytics and monitoring. 4. IBM API Connect.A strong iPaaS integration platform offering is easy to use and navigate. This is commonly accomplished by an integrated development environment that provides programmers a visual interface for creating and managing integration flows. Particularly well-suited IDEs provide drag-and-drop features that empower non-technical resources to complete …Cloud-native Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) to automate business processes by connecting data across applications, systems, and services.Each platform that .NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI) supports offers unique operating system and platform APIs that you can access from C#. . NET MAUI provides cross-platform APIs to access much of this platform functionality, which includes access to sensors, accessing information about the device an app is running on, checking network ... Integration Services. Seamlessly integrate applications, data, and processes for your enterprise. Build new, integrated solutions that connect applications and services on-premises and in the cloud. Bring your business workflows together so they’re consistent and scalable. Expose your APIs for developers and create opportunities for new ... This is another data integration platform that claims to grab your data from any source and send it to any destination, including BI tools and dashboarding apps like Power BI, Tableau, etc. In addition to integrating data and building ETL pipelines, Dataddo supports reverse ETL and data replication.Integration platforms are powerful pieces of software that connect and exchange data between different applications, systems, and databases. They concentrate information flow, helping firms optimize operations, boost productivity, and discover new opportunities.iPaaS stands for “integration platform-as-a-service” and it consists of cloud services that unify otherwise fragmented applications, data, processes, services, and events across cloud and on-premise environments. Using prebuilt connectors and API management tools, an iPaaS can help companies build, manage, and monitor integration flows ...Zato's scalable, flexible integration software and expert guidance help Isavia rapidly build and implement a versatile, future-proof integration platform for Keflavík (KEF) and other airports in Iceland. How Isavia's scalable integration platform accelerates the execution of the Icelandic airports' master plan. Read the case study .Clearly, integration technology platforms vary by feature set, pricing models, and other differentiators. As you build your enterprise integration strategy, consider these universal benefits: Compatibility. Your integration platform software must be compatible with the systems and applications you use today, as well as new innovations you will ...Prequel. Prequel is an integration platform as a service that helps your brand launch data syncing as a feature for your customers. It enables you to sell data warehouse exporting as a service, thus improving your revenue and increasing offers for enterprise upselling. Type: native ETL solution.Grow your sales with an integration platform designed to power direct-to-consumer, omnichannel, and digital shopping experiences. Accelerate any eCommerce omnichannel or marketplace initiative. Create faster time-to-revenue through out-of-the-box connectors, pre-defined templates, and robust APIs to integrate any direct-to-consumer channel. ... Modern integration at a cost that meets your budget Your Integration Platform for the Future As a market leader in Gartner’s Enterprise iPaaS Magic Quadrant for 8 years, we’ve helped solve the needs of our customers with end-to-end capabilities – including data catalog and discovery, data quality governance, application and data ... The Unleash the Power of a Modern Integration Platform webinar offered a one-of-a-kind chance to engage in live conversations with Azure experts and network with fellow business leaders and peers who are embarking on the journey to app modernization. If you missed the opportunity to attend, don’t worry! You can now access the recorded …A SaaS integration platform connects one SaaS product with another through an application programming interface (API). Also known as an integrated platform as a service (iPaaS), a SaaS integration platform lets you build low-code or no-code workflows to exchange data between the various on-prem and cloud SaaS applications …Defining Integration Platforms: An Integration Platform (IP) is a constellation of unchanging elements that allows many applications, systems and sources of information to be brought together. It acts as a middleware among different applications and systems, making it easy for them to talk to each other without any trouble.A Hybrid Integration Platform (HIP) is a solution to connect applications, data, and workflows over multiple systems across on-premises (physical) and cloud-based (digital) environments. It can be deployed as a true multi-tenant cloud solution, a private cloud, or an on-premises data solution. A HIP framework is designed to support a diverse ...First, iPaaS is an acronym. iPaaS stands for Integration Platform as a Service. We can define iPaaS as a platform that automates integration tasks loads data between different data sources or automates workflows requiring actions in one applications to be triggered by events from other applications. By the *aaS definition, such systems are ...The Merchant Integration Platform (MIP) is an easy-to-use, feed-based selling platform for small businesses and enterprise merchants. It lets you easily and efficiently upload your inventory to eBay in bulk and then quickly and efficiently manage your orders. And, it's FAST. MIP can upload over 50,000 SKUs in just 30 minutes!Each platform that .NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI) supports offers unique operating system and platform APIs that you can access from C#. . NET MAUI provides cross-platform APIs to access much of this platform functionality, which includes access to sensors, accessing information about the device an app is running on, checking network ...Specific to Salesforce. In the contemporary technological landscape, the utilization of AI Integration Platforms as a Service (aiPaaS) is growing, with a robust market including players such as Mulesoft, Informatica, and Boomi. These products and services offer a variety of tools that simplify and accelerate the delivery of integrations.Use SAP Cloud Integration and SAP's on-premise integration Platform, SAP Process Orchestration, seamlessly integrated. Benefit from multitenancy support Use this service in tenant-aware (multitenant) applications. Run them on a shared compute unit that can be used by multiple consumers (tenants). Tools. The platform provides a comprehensive set of integration tools within a single, unified experience to connect applications and data across any cloud or on-premises environment. Cloud Pak for Integration’s integration software unlocks business data silos and assets as APIs, connects cloud and on-premise apps, and protects in-flight data ... The "hybrid integration platform" is emerging as the capability framework of choice for the design of modern integration infrastructure. Application leaders responsible for integration should strategically pursue a HIP-inspired vision, but tactically select the optimal technical building blocks.by piyush.gakhar, Head of Product Management & Strategy, Integration Platform at SAP, via this blog. Introduction "Edge Integration Cell" is the new flexible hybrid integration runtime , offered as an optional extension to SAP Integration Suite, enabling customers to manage APIs and run their integration scenarios within customer-managed ...The hybrid integration platform market is oversaturated, meaning that in addition to these four broad domains, it's also important to consider HIPs that possess the following core capabilities to help give you a competitive advantage: Accelerate ground-to-cloud and cloud-to-cloud integration workflows;Thanks to a uniform set of evaluation criteria, a Magic Quadrant provides a view of the four types of technology providers in any given field: Leaders execute well against their current vision and are well positioned for tomorrow. Visionaries understand where the market is going or have a vision for changing market rules but do not yet …
Enterprise Integration Platform as a service (EiPaaS) is commonly used to describe a suite of cloud-based tools and services that are designed to support enterprise-grade integration strategy and initiatives. The hallmarks of EiPaaS products are ease-of-use, standardization and pre-built modules such as connection endpoints (usually API …. How to call from unknown number
IoT integration to direct flows of data from networks of sensors and other devices to cloud platforms. Multi-cloud integration to connect multiple public cloud environments provided by different SaaS vendors. Big data integration to enable the extract-transform-load (ETL) pipeline, which transfers data from selected sources to data warehouses ...SAP Help Portal is your online resource for learning and using SAP cloud integration solutions. You can find documentation, tutorials, best practices, and guides for various integration scenarios and challenges. Whether you want to integrate SAP and third-party applications, leverage event-driven architecture, or use AI-assisted capabilities, SAP …7 ways enterprises can do more with low-code. Develop LLMs with low-code RAG. Customize integrated business processes. Modernize user experiences without …A data integration platform is necessary to explore, transfer, and consolidate data from diverse sources, enabling insights, machine learning, and advanced analytics tailored to your business goals. In this blog, we'll explore what this platform is and how expert enterprise software development services can help you build it. So, let's get ...This guide overviews the five best embedded integration platforms available today. Each platform offers unique strengths and features that enable seamless data synchronization and integration. Syncari stands out as an all-inclusive data automation solution. With its no-code data pipelines, customizable interface, and powerful analytics …An enterprise integration platform as a service (eiPaaS) is a suite of cloud services that addresses a variety of scenarios, including application and data integration, as well as some combination of process, ecosystems, mobile, AI-enabled systems and IoT integration, as well as API management and digital integration hub capabilities. 2Sugar CRM, Dynamics 365, Capsule CRM, Zendesk, Streak, Agile CRM, Nimble, etc. Starts at $15/month. Free forever plan also available. Dataddo. No-code data integration and can connect to any …Thanks to a uniform set of evaluation criteria, a Magic Quadrant provides a view of the four types of technology providers in any given field: Leaders execute well against their current vision and are well positioned for tomorrow. Visionaries understand where the market is going or have a vision for changing market rules but do not yet …A list of the best integration platforms and software tools for data integration, data management, and data delivery. The list includes features, benefits, and links to each solution's website and tutorials. The list is based on online materials, reports, conversations, and product demos.Tray.io is a low-code, cloud-first approach to automation delivered on a scalable, resilient, and secure API integration platform. If you are looking for a great and easy to use low code platform then Tray.io is a great tool for your business, but there are much more flexible options available. 10. Coefficient.io.Jan 29, 2021 · SnapLogic Intelligent Integration Platform is a data integration tool that focuses on robust and flexible self-service functionality. It’s designed to help organizations achieve their digital transformation goals by connecting data from everywhere. One way that it stands out is that it offers integration with Internet of Things devices, which ... A Hybrid Integration Platform (HIP) is a solution to connect applications, data, and workflows over multiple systems across on-premises (physical) and cloud-based (digital) environments. It can be deployed as a true multi-tenant cloud solution, a private cloud, or an on-premises data solution. A HIP framework is designed to support a diverse ...SaaS integration platforms, commonly referred to as iPaaS (integration platform as a service), are not used to build productized integrations. Rather, these platforms tackle the integration challenge by providing end-users of SaaS platforms the tools to build their own automations between the various apps that they use. Oracle Data Integration Platform Cloud is a part of the platform service offerings in Oracle Cloud. Get a trial or subscription. The benefits of integrating through iPaaS. Integration platforms are a valuable tool for businesses looking to expand their operations, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. Businesses can leverage iPaaS to gain competitive edge over their competitors. Benefits can be categorised as either internal or external. Agile integration guide Read about agile integration architectures and the merits of a container-based, microservices-aligned approach for integrating applications and services. Read the guide What is iPaaS? iPaaS, or Integration-Platform-as-a-Service, is a self-service cloud-based solution that standardizes how applications are integrated. Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Integration Platform as a Service, by K, Keith Guttridge, Andrew Comes, Shrey Pasricha, Max van den Berk, and Andrew Humphreys, 19, February, 2024. Explore . Let us know what you think of Azure and what you would like to see in the future. Provide feedback.ETL. By Alex Brooks. B2B (business-to-business) integration is the process of connecting businesses electronically to enable seamless data and information exchange. In today's fast-paced digital landscape, B2B integration is becoming increasingly important as a way to streamline business processes, improve communication, and drive revenue growth.Analyst house Gartner, Inc. recently released the 2020 version of its Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Integration Platform as a Service. The market is "highly fragmented, fast-evolving and overcrowded" according to the researcher, making vendor evaluation a difficult process. Larger Enterprise Integration Platform as a Service (EiPaaS ...Unito is a no-code integration platform with some of the deepest two-way integrations for the most popular tools on the market, including Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Airtable, Asana, Trello, Jira, and more. With a single Unito flow, you can build a two-way relationship between two data sources, syncing data back and forth between them..