Integration is critical to every business. Whether accessing and sharing information through APIs, discovering what is happening in your business and responding quickly through streaming events, or securely and reliably updating systems of record, integration moves your critical business data from where it is created, to where it will be consumed, delivering new value.
IBM Cloud Pak for Integration offers a complete integration software solution with a single platform, optimized for Red Hat OpenShift to meet growing integration needs.
IBM has now announced the availability of IBM Cloud Pak for Integration 16.1.1. This modification release enhances the previous IBM Cloud Pak for Integration 16.1.0 version. It will be of interest to customers choosing to deploy Continuous Delivery updates rather than a Long-Term Support model.
Enhanced Integration Assistant powered by watsonx
IBM Cloud Pak for Integration 16.1.1 adds new features to the AI-powered assistant that assists users in creating and deploying integrations. Direct integration with Red Hat OpenShift enables the selection and deployment of integrations immediately into the OpenShift cluster and assists with the creation of additional integration features.
Quicker creation and easier deployment of integrations
There are many ways that IBM Cloud Pak for Integration helps to create and deploy integrations, reducing the complexity of the steps, and providing tools to assist with defining and deploying everything from individual tasks to complete end-to-end integrations.
Automation assets can be the starting point for many users to find existing integrations or to create new integrations. Now when editing an asset in the repository, the correct editor will be opened automatically to make changes faster and easier.
However you choose to build new integrations, the integration can now be saved as a draft to allow you to edit and finish the changes at your own pace.
The Integration Assemblies tool and the graphical canvas have been extended and enhanced with additional capabilities, including Kafka Topics and Kafka users, which can also be created, viewed, and deployed in the Platform UI.
Additional improvements to Kafka-based integrations
- Connectors that can be used with Event Streams are available as part of Kafka Connect, and are visible in the Platform UI, including showing the associated Kafka Connect instance.
- The Event Endpoint Management UI now uses Keycloak, improving consistency with other IBM Cloud Pak for Integration components
- IBM Cloud Pak for Integration customers wanting to use the Event Processing component previously only available in IBM Event Automation can now purchase the IBM Cloud Pak for Integration Event Processing Add-On, which comes with additional OpenShift entitlement to make it easier to deploy Event Processing alongside Event Streams and Event Endpoint Management as part of an IBM Cloud Pak for Integration deployment.
Additional features and added support
- Support for Red Hat OpenShift 4.17 enables the support for enforcing policies that allow the blocking of deployment of integrations that don’t meet business rules. This adds value to marking integrations as Approved in Automation Assets.
- IBM App Connect Runtimes are now visible in the Platform UI, simplifying the organization and management of these deployments.
- IBM App Connect 13 is now included in this most recent release of IBM Cloud Pak for Integration as the supplied container image
- IBM API Connect Portal, Manager, and Analytics components are now available for deployment on IBM Power systems.
Business Impact of IBM Cloud Pak for Integration 16.1.1
- Faster Time-to-Market: The new release of IBM Cloud Pak for Integration 16.1.1 significantly reduces the time required to create and deploy integrations. By significantly cutting API release times, businesses can accelerate the launch of new services and products, allowing companies to stay ahead of competitors, capture market opportunities swiftly, and drive higher revenue streams.
- Enhanced Customer Experience: With real-time data accessibility and processing capabilities enabled by Event Processing in conjunction with the integration features in this release, businesses can provide more timely and personalized experiences to their customers. Improved customer insights allow for better decision-making and tailored service offerings, which can lead to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately, higher sales and revenue.
- Optimized Operational Efficiency: The new features and enhancements in IBM Cloud Pak for Integration will help streamline and automate complex integration processes. This optimization leads to reduced operational costs and improved efficiency across departments. By freeing up resources and allowing teams to focus on innovation and value-added activities, businesses can drive growth and profitability, ultimately boosting revenue generation.
IBM Cloud Pak for Integration became generally available on December 13th 2024.
Contact an IBM representative to talk to us about how IBM Cloud Pak for Integration 16.1.1 can meet your business integration needs and help your business be built for change.