Ensemble from global company InterSystems (headquartered in Massachusetts) is a middleware and application infrastructure offering.
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Zapier
Score 8.9 out of 10
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The Zapier Automation Platform designed to integrate data between web apps. It is scaled for small to mid-sized businesses, with a functional but limited free version of the program.
Zapier is perfect for simple integrations and setting up generally low-volume accounts that require very little configuration and maintenance. For a distributed structure where a client/outside party is responsible for billing, it’s easy to create an account, put them on a low-cost plan, configure a simple integration and teach them how to alter the setup. Its webhook-based setup is perfect for many simple use cases and there’s no reason to use a more complex or expensive solution.
However, if you have integrations that are increasingly complex (involve parsing, multiple non-linear steps, the integration of non-native APIs), significant in overall volume/data or require additional features (time delays for API limits), Zapier likely isn’t your best choice. Other integration platforms offer higher levels of customization and capability, though they’re typically significantly more complex and expensive.
Easy to use: The simplicity of its programming language allows fast learning. Visual environment to generate complex code.
Robust: A fall of the system will not be a problem. Never again will information of the transactions in progress be lost. Never more messages lost.
Connect to the world: The most popular connection is possible to implement quickly. FTP, File folder, TCP, SMPT, REST.... all method are ready to use. Only define "where" and "how"
Ease of use - multiple people in the organization can set up and run Zaps per their specific use cases without much training.
Connectivity - Zapier is able to connect to multiple applications we use on a regular basis.
Functionality - Zapier provides embedded functionality within the app itself (email, data conversion), but also appropriate triggers and actions for apps it connects to.
Versatile - Zapier can execute complicated and simple tasks and thus has many use cases.
Given that Ensemble and Cache are one of if not the only true fully object orientated database/development technologies for massive transactional data systems its customizability is extensive and it just comes down to the creativity of the developer to get the products to pretty much do whatever they want to do with it. However, this is not necessarily obvious to newcomers to the technology.
The developer community could do with greater participation from the software developers/application specialists and engineers within InterSystems.
More extensive documentation and greater access to proven working solutions particularly in the realm of some of the lesser known or new and upcoming technologies.
Zapier is very user-friendly. They walk you through each step of the zap-building process in an orderly and easy to understand way. Each step of the zap is tested before moving onto the next step. For simple zaps, you can have them up and running within minutes. For more complicated zaps, it may take some experimentation, but Zapier is there to help you troubleshoot.
I have yet to raise an issue with InterSystems WRC that they have been unable to resolve to my satisfaction in the 20+ years that I have worked with their products.
Before we purchased Zapier, I contacted support and asked them if Zapier could support my intended workflow (this is actually a selection on their support form - awesome). Within 2 hours, I was contacted by a support team member who seemed sure it would work, but granted me premium access for 2 weeks to try it out for myself. Sure enough, it did! Ever since then, support has replied rapidly to any problems I have experienced and answered my questions within a few sentences.
Mirth is another integration platform that we have used but its development, in Java, made us always create new methods every time a new product was integrated. Every connection process had to be developed from the beginning and it was not easy to reuse code. Nor did it allow us to have an extensive catalog of HL7 messaging, having to perform the validation of each and every one of its fields manually.
We have integrated 5 laboratories in a treatment monitoring system in less than a month of development. Being able to integrate the following in a period no longer than a week.
