Enterprises use iPaaS to integrate apps and data on-premises and in public and private clouds. An iPaaS ("Integration Platform as a Service") includes pre-built connectors, business rules, maps, and transformations for building applications and orchestrating integration flows. This article discusses the various pricing models available for iPaaS.
The cost of running an iPaaS platform (e.g., MuleSoft Anypoint Platform) for clients depends on many factors, and vendors will have pricing structures to match their target markets. Here is a list of some factors that go into pricing:
There are two popular pricing approaches for the implementation effort: (1) fixed or upfront implementation pricing and (2) variable implementation pricing.
How it works: iPaaS vendors estimate the complexity and effort required to integrate all the apps and quote a fixed price.
Who it’s for: This model works better for companies that are unclear about their exact requirements and want a predictable cost.
Who does this?: Workato, Boomi, MuleSoft, and Informatica have significant upfront setup fees, whereas Zapier doesn’t. Tray.io has a base platform fee and an alternative pricing model suitable for SMBs.
How it works: iPaaS vendor quotes you an hourly rate for any implementation labor involved.
Who it’s for: This model works best for companies that clearly understand their requirements and are more confident of their estimate for implementation hours.
For the platform, there are four standard components to pricing: (1) computing power, (2) bandwidth, (3) storage/memory, and (4) tasks.
For example, a team might require ten processors, a 50GB monthly data transfer limit, and 1 TB of storage to enable seamless communication among their apps after the integration seamlessly. If forecasting computing, bandwidth, and storage needs is too challenging, a team may be better served paying “per task”.
“Computing power” refers to units like vCore or the number of processors. Some apps and systems require additional computing resources to run fast calculations. For example, a simple Excel sheet requires much less computing than a gaming application.
iPaaS vendors allow you to choose the amount of computing power (the number of vCore or processors) based on how fast you’d like your apps to run. Some mission-critical use cases may require lots of computing power and vice versa. It’s worth mentioning that computing power varies depending on network load. For example, if you are a payments company processing settlements once daily, then your peak computing requirements will vary from the average.
iPaaS vendors will consider the peak and/or average computing requirements when pricing their products.
Some vendor examples:
Bandwidth refers to the available data transfer limits for moving data between apps. Like computing power, your needs may vary significantly based on the use case. For example, a video streaming app will consume much bandwidth compared to a regular text-based app.
iPaaS vendors offer bandwidth brackets in their pricing. Typically, vendors only block requests once the bandwidth limit gets breached. So instead, they have separate (and more expensive) pricing for your usage going over bracket limits.
Some vendor examples:
Storage refers to the memory available for storing your data. iPaaS vendors offer various pricing brackets here too. For example, you'll have higher storage requirements if:
Consider your future storage requirements before choosing the proper storage for your apps. Storage needs tend to compound very quickly!
Some vendor examples:
Tasks are sets of instructions that get executed to achieve an objective. They consume a combination of vCore, bandwidth, and memory. It's a suitable pricing model if you can't estimate the vCore, bandwidth, or storage requirements. You could forecast overall system usage and still be unsure of how much vCore, bandwidth, and storage is required. Estimate how many tasks will run daily to get an idea of your likely costs.
Some vendor examples: