• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, February 7, 2022

Email teams may have even more work dumped on them, judging by the 2022 Connectivity Benchmark Report, a study released Monday by MuleSoft. 

Of the IT specialists polled, 55% have a mature strategy for “empowering” non-technical users to integrate apps and data sources — up from 36% last year. 

According to this scenario, these workers would harness low-code tools to drive their own automation and digital transformation projects.

But this may be the least of the challenges: 70% of all firms are struggling to connect user experiences across all channels, this at a time when 72% of customer interactions are now digital. 

Moreover, 55% find it difficult to integrate user experiences — up from 48% a year ago. 

Companies are using 976 individual applications, compared to 843 last year. But only 28% of these applications are integrated.

The biggest challenges to integrating user experiences are: 

• Security and governance — 54%
• Outdated IT infrastructure — 46%
• Inability to keep up with ever-changing processes, tools, and systems — 42%.

On average, organizations spent $3.65 million on custom integration labor in the last 12 months, a 4% hike over last year. And they paid $9,491,188 on IT staff salaries and outside contractors (both on employee salaries.)

Of those surveyed, 90% have a clear integration and API strategy. And 26% demand that all projects abide by that plan — up from 15% last year.

What’s the point? Integration provides these benefits, the respondents say:

• Enhanced visibility into operations — 54%
• Increased customer engagement — 54% 
• Innovation — 50%
• Improved ROI — 48% 
• Increased automation adoption — 45%

In addition, 40% of firms have experienced revenue growth as a direct result of leveraging APIs, compared to 28% in the previous year. 

On the down side, firms could lose on average of $7 million by failing to complete digital transformation initiatives, the study claims. 

Meanwhile, IT staffs are also working hard. The number of projects they have had to deliver has increased by 40%, on top of 30% in the prior year. But 52% have delivered their work on time. 

Siloed applications and data “continue to hinder customer experience and digital transformation — and it is now costing businesses millions of dollars per year,” says Brent Hayward, CEO, MuleSoft. “Companies need to be able to easily integrate a growing number of apps and data sources to automate their business, create seamless digital experiences, and drive growth.” 

Working with Vanson Bourne, MuleSoft surveyed 1,050 CIOs and IT decision makers worldwide in October and November 2021 across the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan.