Cloud Elements (discontinued) vs. Ellucian Ethos

Cloud Elements shines when you want to offer multiple options to the user on a type of system, such as supporting integration to CRM and wanting to offer Dynamics, Salesforce, and HubSpot on equal footing. If you only have a single integration with a single system, using Cloud Elements adds an unnecessary layer of abstraction.

Incentivized

Ethos Integration is a work in progress. Some API's are still not available under this framework. However, it has the advantage of being an abstraction layer on top of the database, supports the publish-subscribe model. Since some Banner 9 modules still do not support the direct SAML2 connection, Ethos Identity (EIS Server) is a necessity for SSO.

Incentivized

• The API itself is very robust and easy to use, being a standard REST interface, standard HTTP response codes, well-packaged error messages, etc.
• Their uptime is great! I think I've seen one (short) 5-minute' blip' the entire time we've been connected for any type of primary function.
• Their support is top notch, they respond quickly, and the team that works with you is communicative and knowledgable.

Incentivized

• It allows connection between systems that are completely different
• It allows you to use workflows in terms of if one thing happens in one system you can "notify" multiple subscribers to take actions
• It has analytics to provide you insights into your applications

Incentivized

• The only thing I can think of that they could improve is the quality of the assets they produce in the go-to-market process. This is a huge value add service, but the quality of what was produced was lower than what we would have produced internally. We spent more time going back and forth on the assets than it would have taken us to build them from scratch.

Incentivized

• Operational reporting: This does not replace or provide an easy platform for operational reports or warehousing. It would be nice if they provided a full stack.
• Learning curve: Training and documentation are minimal.

Incentivized

Part of our issues could be from the original set up, but also because the system does not allow flexibility.

Incentivized

Support from Ellucian for Ethos Integration was generally good. The help in building Ethos was adequate, and resolving issues were handled professionally. However, for Ethos Identity module, the support in building the cluster failover architecture was lacking. After over a month of open engagement, the issue still has not been resolved.

Incentivized

At the time we found Cloud Elements we found no other option that had a Unified API for cloud storage providers.

Incentivized

We have not used any other product similar to this, but for us, it made sense that the first product we tried was made by the company who developed our ERP system because they know the system inside/out. Solutions made by other companies that only look into documentation does not mean they would be able to create a product that could do such integration well.

Incentivized

• Not my area of expertise, but it made my job as an implementer much easier, especially after finishing the first integration.

Incentivized

• Our ROI is nonexistent at this time as we are still implementing. However, the minimal cost signifies that it will be a significant help.

Incentivized