Secure connectivity to on-premises apps and systems
To realize the full benefit of SaaS and cloud applications, IBM App Connect provides secure connectivity with on-premises applications (and backend systems) such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and financial applications.
Connecting between common cloud-based SaaS applications is already a huge productivity improvement for business users, but in many midsize and large companies, crucial data exists in on-premises applications (and backend systems) such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and financial applications. To realize the full benefit of SaaS and cloud applications, those applications need secure connectivity with the on-premises applications. For example, imagine that as part of the superior customer experience you provide with Salesforce, you need to listen for new products added to an enterprise product catalogue, or perform updates to the inventory in the stock control system. With App Connect Designer, you can use the IBM Secure Gateway to connect SaaS and cloud applications to on premises applications that are available on a private network (for example, your company network or a private cloud, behind a firewall). This enables data to be exchanged securely between the SaaS and on cloud applications and on-premises applications like SAP or those connected through IBM Integration Bus. For more information, see the following resources:
- The FAQ item What should I know about connecting to applications that are on a private network?.
- The tutorial Configuring a private network.
For the extra connectivity provided by App Connect Professional, you can use a Secure Connector to secure transfer of data between App Connect Professional on Cloud and endpoints located behind a firewall. After you create a Secure Connector in the cloud, you configure a computer behind the firewall to facilitate communication between the Secure Connector and a specific endpoint behind the firewall. You can deploy Secure Connectors in Active-Passive pairs with automatic fail-over support, and manage and monitor the connectors using the web management console.
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