It’s already been a big year for Integration Manager, having released version 2.0 in June, and now we’re excited to share some additional updates to our integration platform for banks and credit unions. The latest release has innovative features designed to make your API development and management experience smoother and more efficient. Here’s what’s new and a sneak peek at what’s coming!
What’s New in Integration Manager?
The management console – everything you need in one place
We’re introducing a single view for all the tasks involved in the lifecycle of an API. This console provides role-based access for all users in your organization to discover, develop, secure, deploy, monitor, manage, and adopt APIs.
Before version 2.0, accessing integration tools required navigating through a series of tabs, which, while effective, did not provide an optimal user experience. The latest update centralizes all tools in a single web-based interface, enhancing accessibility and organization in alignment with the API lifecycle.
Business outcome:
Now, users have a unified access point where they can manage accounts in a modular and flexible environment, allowing for the integration of custom UI elements and the direct addition of third-party partners into the console.
Payment Manager included in the management console
We’ve seamlessly integrated Payment Manager into the management console, simplifying the process of switching between tools. With this integration, users can effortlessly connect and manage various payment methods such as wires, ACH, and FedNow. Payment Manager is PortX’s comprehensive transaction management platform, specifically designed for handling any payment channel.
Direct third-party vendor integration
The PortX platform has been enhanced to directly incorporate third-party vendors, providing financial institutions convenient access to essential tools in a single location. This feature goes beyond our Connect Marketplace, which facilitates system-to-system integrations.
Business outcome:
Now, you can access vendor tools directly through the platform, ensuring a more streamlined, efficient, and seamless experience.
Observability Portal – your system performance dashboard
Introduced for the first time in version 2.0, the Observability Portal is a game-changer, offering comprehensive monitoring capabilities including logs, traces, metrics, and alerts. In this update, we’ve bolstered the features that provide real-time insights into your API performance with enhanced dashboard creation capabilities, log analysis, and distributed tracing.
This powerful dashboard empowers FIs with unparalleled visibility into the interactions between systems, enabling them to pinpoint issues quickly and reduce downtime. This enhanced level of oversight eliminates guesswork and blame-shifting by clearly indicating the source of any problems.
Business outcome:
Serving as the initial touchpoint for system failures, it instantly reveals where disruptions occur. Financial institutions can confidently inform their vendors about specific issues within their systems. Additionally, the tool provides insights into system capacity and utilization, facilitating more proactive resource management. Additionally, FIs can establish alerts and rules that provide real-time notifications of system anomalies, often before they become apparent to users.
No-code API development – for developers AND IT admins
Our new no-code tool allows you to develop APIs in Integration Manager’s UI using configuration, not code. This user-friendly interface is perfect for quickly setting up and deploying your APIs without leaving the platform.
Business outcome:
Empowerment through enablement is at the heart of our mission to assist financial institutions in building superior integrations and fostering innovation. We’ve developed a tool that allows our customers to fully utilize all available components without writing any code. Whether it’s integrating connectors for file movement, establishing data flows, mapping columns between your CRM and the core, or adding custom fields to the core and pushing updates to fintechs, this tool is designed for easy use by both developers and IT administrators. Its key strength lies in its powerful capability for reuse and innovation, making complex tasks simpler and more accessible.
Identity and Access Management – end-to-end security control
The new Identity and Access Management (IAM) screen now offers self-service control over the security for user access to the PortX platform and for securing the APIs and Web apps you build and host in the platform. It provides seamless role-based access for developers, administrators, and business users to code repositories, deployment and monitoring tools, and exception portals to the precise level of required permissions. Traditionally, requesting and receiving permissions was a time-consuming task. However, this entire procedure has been transformed into a fully automated system, significantly reducing wait times and streamlining access for developers.
For securing APIs, this tool enables the assignment of specific permissions to distinct API endpoints, tailoring access control to suit your needs. You can create service principals with assigned roles tailored for each client application connecting to your APIs.
Business outcome:
This upgrade not only offers precise control over user access but also significantly boosts overall security by enabling granular management of access points and data. The outcome is the blend of enhanced usability and strengthened security, providing efficiency in operations and peace of mind.
API Catalog – discover and reuse APIs with ease
We have introduced the API Catalog, Integration Manager’s new hub for discovering existing APIs, promoting reuse, and avoiding unnecessary duplication of work. This extensive library will include APIs from PortX, our partners, and will house those created by your financial institution.
Business outcome:
This feature now allows your team to save and catalog various integrations, encompassing business processes, workflows, templates, and more. With just one click, users can add these elements to their data stream or workflow, facilitating rapid connections between systems. The core strength of this feature lies in its reusability, offering a comprehensive library of pre-built assets. Future upgrades to the API Catalog are set to enhance organization and accelerate the pace at which teams can leverage these resources.
Moreover, this update enables PortX to deliver prebuilt APIs and Connectors to customers directly, bypassing the need for direct interaction or requests. This advancement is a testament to our commitment to reusability, making it a tangible benefit for our users.
Data Transformation Playground – data mapping made simple
We’re excited to offer a brand new data transformation tool in Integration Manager. This tool gives a simple browser-based experience to our open source data mapping language, DataSonnet. The code uses a JSON-friendly format where the output columns are specified from the payload message that will be delivered, providing a user-friendly interface for manipulating and transforming data from the API.
Business outcome:
Data mapping is a crucial process for system interoperability. However, it often presents significant challenges due to its demand for in-depth system understanding and business context. Recognizing this, we’ve developed capabilities that enable our customers to participate in and even manage the mapping process actively.
Our goal is to streamline this task further, focusing on low latency and enhanced usability to ensure seamless communication between systems. This advancement significantly reduces the time required to establish new connections and simplifies the integration of edge-case scenarios with existing systems. Looking ahead, we’re committed to further enhancing this feature by making the data mapping process even more intuitive and visual.
Revamped API Docs (Developer Portal) – share your APIs (and the development work) with partners
The API Docs feature (Integration Manager’s developer portal) has always been a part of our product. However, we’ve enhanced its visibility within the Integration Manager portal with the new “Adopt” screen, so you can quickly navigate from an API you find in the API Catalog to the API Docs for that API. We are planning future tooling enhancements, making it more accessible and user-friendly to create API Docs.
Business outcome:
A key requirement in API development is showcasing APIs in a standardized, well-documented, and user-friendly portal. Our enhancements enable you to leverage PortX templates to securely share your FI’s APIs and easily provide access keys to fintech and other vendor partners. This approach significantly streamlines the process, enabling vendors to access necessary information rapidly and efficiently. With the ability to set up this portal in just a few hours, financial institutions can simplify and expedite the previously time-consuming process. Everything your partners need to utilize the APIs you’ve developed effectively is now consolidated in one accessible location.
What’s on the roadmap?
As we continue to innovate and enhance Integration Manager’s user experience, here’s a sneak peek at the exciting developments our team is working on today.
Expanding observability dashboards
Get ready for more in-depth dashboards in our Unified Observability Portal, providing richer insights into your API ecosystem’s health and performance.
Improving user experience between integration workflows and UOP
We’re enhancing Integration Manager to smoothly integrate the development and management processes smoothly, ensuring a seamless and intuitive transition from coding to deployment. Our emphasis is on developing more visual tools that collaborate effectively, such as an advanced data mapper and AI-driven utilities.
Augmenting the API Catalog
The API Catalog is set to become more robust, with ongoing efforts to include a wider range of APIs, ensuring you have a comprehensive library at your fingertips.
Data Warehouse Light: A Sneak Peek
We’re making significant advancements in data warehousing, including developing Data Warehouse Light, a tool designed for the efficient and effective management of large datasets. This innovation addresses common challenges in data warehousing, enabling FIs to harness the power of data warehousing technology within the PortX ecosystem.
Integration with Third-Party Partner APIs
Stay tuned for the introduction of third-party partner APIs integrated directly into Integration Manager’s UI, expanding your range and proficiency in API utilization.
We’re excited about these updates and can’t wait for you to experience them. Integration Manager continues to evolve as a result of feedback from our financial institution customers. If you would like to learn more about Integration Manager or schedule a demo, contact our team today.
