At Exalate, the path to using AI in integrations has been anything but just for the hype.
While many see AI as a passing trend, we view it as a powerful tool to simplify complex integrations, making them more accessible and efficient for businesses of all sizes.
Since the launch of AI Assist, we’ve seen a 70% improvement in acceptance rates, meaning companies can now get integrations up and running faster and with fewer hiccups along the way. As our CEO, Francis, puts it, “What we’re seeing isn’t just a technical improvement—it’s fundamentally changing who can build complex integrations and how quickly teams benefit from connected systems.”
This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication and expertise of our team. Their ongoing effort to refine AI Assist and make it even more user-friendly has played a huge role in its success. But, as Francis also mentioned, “This is just the beginning—we’re on a mission to solve the integration challenge once and for all.”
Want to learn more about what we’ve accomplished and what’s next?
Script-based solutions like Exalate provide the flexibility to set up integrations for complex scenarios and intricate workflows.
However, with this flexibility, there’s also a need to maintain precision.
Building scripts from scratch, or sifting through documentation to look for the correct scripts isn’t always the most efficient approach. It can be time-consuming, especially when things don’t go as planned.
To address these issues, Exalate introduced AI Assist in October 2024 as a means to improve the script-based integration experience.
AI Assist and the Shift in Integration Success
AI Assist is embedded directly into Exalate’s Script mode interface to automate the script generation process and make it more efficient. It analyzes user input based on prompts and suggests scripts based on existing configurations and Exalate’s scripting API.
Since its launch, the goal was simple: to give users the power of scripting without the steep learning curve.
As more users began adopting AI Assist, we kept a close eye on feedback and performance. The more scripts it generated, the better we understood what worked and what didn’t.
What began as an integration enabler quickly evolved into a tool that learns and improves with every interaction.
As more and more users began trusting AI Assist to get their scripts right on the first try, acceptance rates climbed, confirming that AI Assist was making meaningful contributions.
Key Factors Behind AI Assist’s Success
Diving into user feedback revealed two major updates that made a noticeable difference.
The Snippet Database: A collection of predefined code snippets that AI Assist uses to generate sync scripts. This database is carefully curated and constantly refined, ensuring scripts are accurate and up-to-date.
Retrieval Algorithm: The rework of the retrieval algorithm reduced the time to generate code (or sync scripts) by nearly 50%. Now, users spend less time waiting and more time getting things done.
But we learned more than just how to improve the tool. Some users, for example, asked AI Assist questions meant for Aida, Exalate’s AI-powered documentation assistant.
This unexpected behavior gave us insight into how users interact with Exalate’s AI tools and where we could bridge the gap.
Tracking user actions like “Insert” or “Discard” allowed us to fine-tune AI Assist further, ensuring it aligned with user needs and expectations.
The Importance of Acceptance and Accuracy Rate in Integration Tech
When it comes to evaluating the success of AI Assist, two key metrics stand out: acceptance rate and accuracy rate.
Acceptance Rate: Measures how often users accept AI-generated scripts. In short, did AI Assist help users achieve what they set out to do?
Accuracy Rate: Measures how closely the generated script aligns with the user’s prompt. A script can be technically correct, but it is still declined if the prompt isn’t clear enough.
For example, if AI Assist produces a correct script but the user’s prompt lacks clarity, the acceptance rate might drop. However, the accuracy rate might still be high because the script itself was accurate.
Tracking these metrics revealed a crucial insight: about 30% of initially rejected answers were actually correct.
Each iteration of AI Assist used these insights to refine its output and improve performance.
Behind the AI: How we Build, Test, and Improve AI Assist
Every version of AI Assist addressed a new challenge, steadily enhancing the experience for users. Here’s a quick look at its evolution:
Version 1.4.0
Overhauled the retrieval system, cutting script generation time in half. Faster scripts meant users could move quicker, spending less time troubleshooting.
Version 1.5.0
Improved AI Assist’s ability to understand the context of the entire user conversation instead of isolated prompts.
Introduced better safeguard against malicious prompting.
Version 1.6.0
New reranking functionality: Added reranking functionality, which prioritizes the most relevant snippets from the snippet database, reducing the need for users to sift through suggestions.
Version 1.7.0 (Coming March 2025)
AI Assist will become more proactive, asking for clarification when prompts are unclear rather than generating scripts directly. This ensures users get scripts that align more closely with their needs.
Each step was a learning experience and brought us closer to a tool that not only generates scripts but understands user context.
The AI Assist Impact on Script-based Integrations and What’s Next
From the moment we introduced AI Assist, our goal was clear: make script-based integrations smoother, faster, and more accessible.
Early user feedback shows we’re on the right track. AI Assist is helping even non-technical users who aren’t familiar with scripting to implement integrations successfully.
So, what’s next?
The future of AI Assist is about more than just scripts. We’re building the AI Orchestrator: a unified interface that brings together all our AI tools into one powerful interface. Imagine having AI Assist and Aida in one place, ready to handle scripting questions, troubleshoot errors, or guide you through integrations without switching between assistants.
And that’s not all. We’re always exploring the latest advancements from OpenAI, Anthropic, and others to ensure AI Assist stays ahead of the curve.
Data and Privacy: How We Process and Use Data
Leveraging the power of AI always comes with the responsibility to protect and respect user privacy.
That’s why AI Assist is built with privacy at its core. It never accesses user data directly. The only information AI Assist uses is what you provide in your prompts or configuration.
To ensure compliance with industry standards, we:
Track overall usage (e.g., prompt count, platform) without collecting personal data.
Follow ISO 27001 rules for data storage.
Anonymize logs, making them inaccessible to anyone who doesn’t need access.
Final Thoughts: The Journey Continues
Since its launch, AI Assist has transformed script-based integrations, making them smoother and more accessible for everyone.
With the AI Orchestrator and continuous improvements in the works, we can’t wait to see how AI Assist continues to evolve.
One thing is certain: we’ll keep listening, learning, and building so that Exalate users always have the best tools at their fingertips.
Ideagen is a global leader in governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) software, providing organizations with solutions to manage quality, safety, and regulatory requirements. With a strong presence across industries like aviation, healthcare, life sciences, and financial services, it helps businesses ensure compliance, mitigate risks, and drive operational excellence.
Since the start of 2023, Ideagen has grown its capabilities and geographic footprint with the acquisition of 11 innovative tech companies across Asia-Pacific, North America, and Europe. Ideagen software is used widely to keep people and processes safe and protected.
We spoke to Kyle who works as an Operations and Analytics Specialist at Ideagen. His role is heavily data-focused, particularly when there’s a new company acquisition. He manages the technical side such as creating API scripts and migrating data between systems.
He looks after Zendesk and other third-party tools like Exalate. He manages the connection between Zendesk and Jira and ensures everything works as expected, maintaining the sync rules, and resolving any issues that arise. Additionally, he supports the customer division by keeping everyone’s tools aligned and reporting reliable and up-to-date.
His major responsibility is to ensure everything is operationally efficient and meets the needs of Ideagen’s customers and internal stakeholders. Every stakeholder should have access to the required data to help them make informed decisions.
Ideagen currently manages three Zendesk instances, one being their central Zendesk instance. They acquire, on average, six to eight businesses annually, for which migrations and integrations become essential. They wanted a way to connect multiple Jira instances used by engineering teams to their main Zendesk instance.
The Search for the Right Fit: Solutions Ideagen Evaluated
Ideagen looked at different integration tools but there weren’t any that fit their requirements. The native Zendesk support for Jira integration did not allow multiple Jira instances to be connected to Zendesk.
Exalate’s ability to manage multiple Zendesk and Jira connections has been invaluable, so it was an obvious choice.
Use Case: How Exalate Powers a Custom Inhouse Ideagen App to Integrate Jira and Zendesk
In their Zendesk domain, they have several connections between Jira cloud instances with Exalate. Such a setup allows the support staff to raise tickets with the development team and access information from Jira without needing direct interaction with Jira itself.
Exalate powers a custom-built interface, called Jira Link, which pulls data from Zendesk fields and presents them to the engineers working in Jira.
The idea is to reduce the need and dependency on another platform. Such an integration doesn’t require any kind of intervention from an engineer.
Exalate does all the background work and the Jira Link is essentially the front-end.
It shows what the engineers need to see, so there’s no need to access Jira directly. The Jira link app shows the current Jira ticket priority, the reference to the created date, and the latest comment along with the subject.
It basically displays everything the support engineers need to understand where a development ticket is at any time.
For Ideagen, the customizable sync rules that Exalate provides make their Jira Zendesk integration shine. For instance, when they connect a Zendesk ticket to a Jira ticket, Exalate adds a comment to the Jira ticket specifying the details like: ticket ID, the organization, etc.
So, the development team has a quick note of the ticket priorities.
It also provides additional information like the customers affected by the ticket and how many Zendesk tickets are attached to a Jira ticket. This helps their development team build a complete picture and understand where they need to prioritize resources.
Such a setup enhances the engineer’s experience, and streamlines escalation workflows.
They also use custom sync rules for every connection to automate processes across their instances. For example, when a Jira ticket moves to a specific status, that update is automatically pushed to Zendesk. If a developer marks a ticket as “More information required”, Exalate also syncs this status with Zendesk, displaying the latest comments, ticket status, and other relevant Jira details.
Ideagen also uses Exalate alongside Zendesk triggers. When there’s an update from Jira, Exalate notifies triggers in Zendesk to automatically reopen the ticket, and place it back in the support queue.
Ideagen Use Case Overview
• When a Zendesk ticket is created, Jira Link appears in the app sidebar, offering engineers different Jira issue types to choose from.
• Selecting an issue type pre-populates the project ID, task ID, and relevant parameters in Jira, ensuring the ticket follows the correct workflow.
• Support engineers then create the Jira ticket and input the defect reference into Ideagen’s custom Jira Link app.
• This action notifies Exalate to initiate a sync, pulling data from Jira back into custom fields in Zendesk—visible to engineers through Jira Link.
• Any status changes in Jira (e.g., a request for more information or ticket closure) are synced back into Zendesk via Exalate. This triggers workflows such as reopening tickets, adding internal notes, and ensuring engineers receive timely updates.
Why Exalate?
Exalate was an obvious choice because of its scripting capabilities, which allowed it to connect with Jira Link, a custom-built in-house solution.
They chose Exalate because it could enable them to connect multiple Jira instances with Ideagen’s Zendesk domain.
They could also enable custom sync rules for every Jira to Zendesk connection, all isolated from each other. This made the entire setup scalable.
It’s easy to set up new acquisitions since they update their triggers by specifying to Exalate what new information it should look for. All they need to do is create a new connection, set up new sync rules for that, add new features if required, and update the Jira Link app. Everything else just works!
Once this is done, they let the acquired staff know that they can start using their Jira instances like they used to before.
All of this makes it easier to add new products or acquisitions, making the process more scalable and efficient.
It’s also easy to troubleshoot Exalate if things go wrong. So, when they have sync errors, for instance, a required field is missing, Exalate notifies them both on the Zendesk and the Jira side.
Additionally, unlike simpler one-to-one Jira Zendesk integrations that work well for smaller companies, Ideagen’s complex environments require maintaining multiple Jira instances due to Ideagen frequently bringing in new acquisitions, making the onboarding process for the newly acquired customers seamless and efficient.
Why Exalate?
• Scripting capabilities that help power a custom in-house app called Jira Link.
• Connecting multiple Jira and Zendesk instances, each with an isolated connection and distinct sync rules and triggers.
• Easily add new Jira instances during acquisition to the existing tech stack, making the process scalable.
• Troubleshooting is easier since they are notified on both Zendesk and Jira instances.
• A complex Ideagen environment can be handled easily via Exalate, making it a fair and cost-effective solution.
• Decentralized integration helps isolate external instances, leading to better security.
Results
Some key benefits Ideagen observed:
Isolated and distinct Jira instances ensure a seamless and consistent experience for engineers who get a consolidated overview of all issues.
Efficient and automated ticket management process.
Increased efficiency by automating the handover process between support and development.
Seamless onboarding experience for newly acquired customers.
License optimization.
What’s Next?
Kyle thinks there are still additional capabilities in Exalate that are yet to be leveraged. Every acquisition comes with new or different requirements and it’s worth assessing if Exalate can provide solutions beyond what they’re currently using.
They are also willing to explore AI Assist, Exalate’s AI-powered integration solution to help them generate their sync scripts faster and more efficiently.
Workflows are the routines and systems you use to get things done. They define what you do and when you do it. They include individuals and technology and flow through and between organizations.
Refining and improving them is key to growing your business and a great way to do that is through automation. After all, things that happen automatically are cheap and quick. Automating your workflows can therefore massively improve business outcomes, giving you an edge over the competition.
Today, with constantly evolving AI and tools dedicated to coordinating different software platforms, there are more opportunities than ever to give your team a boost. In this article, you’ll learn why you should use workflow automation, what you can achieve with it, and how you can do it.
What is Workflow Automation?
Workflow automation is the process of setting up an automated system to perform tasks that you would otherwise do manually. You need to set up a system that can carry out every required task, in the right order, at the correct time. That could be done with software or a code script. Dedicated workflow automation software can integrate with other software, initializing all kinds of action.
Benefits of Workflow Automation
Automating workflows requires investment, but once done, automation can drastically increase your productivity. Once a workflow is automated, it then functions with little intervention required.
That reduces costs, as automating work reduces the required labor. You no longer have to pay staff to do repetitive jobs or take time considering simple, binary decisions.
Workflow automation is also fast. Many automations carry out tasks near instantly, achieving things that would take humans considerable time. That can be especially useful when you need to act quickly, such as when responding to a client.
Workflow automation can also be more accurate. Particularly with repetitive jobs or tasks that humans find challenging, automating things can be more reliable. That means better outcomes for your customers and staff.
Key Components of Workflow Automation
There are many ways to automate workflows. It can be done using dedicated software, or by writing your own scripts. It can also be done by setting up specific tools to run at specific times if they include their own scheduling capabilities. However, all these tools have elements in common. Conceptually, automation tools consist of the following components.
Triggers
Triggers define when things happen. A trigger may be the receipt of an email, or the changed status of a ticket. You can also schedule triggers for particular times, or at regular intervals.
Actions
Actions are the things your system does. They could involve copying something from A to B, running a software script, or sending someone a message. Pretty much anything a computer can do can be an action.
Logic and Rules
Workflow automation involves making decisions, and then taking action accordingly. Decisions are based on rules, defined by logical steps. Code scripts are one way to implement these, and are perfect for advanced workflow automation. No-code systems can also be useful, performing well for simple workflows.
For example, a synchronization system may decide to send an alert to staff for urgent issues, but not for others.
Monitoring and Analysis
Many workflow automation systems track what they do using metrics. Systems can log the actions they take and report them to administrators. That helps you confirm they are working properly, and spot errors and problems. Careful use of analytics can help you refine your automated workflows and squeeze more performance out of them.
Workflow Automation Examples
Here are some examples of how you can automate your workflows. These are just some of the many possibilities. Hopefully, these workflow automation examples will show you what you can achieve, and inspire you to come up with your own ideas.
Automating the Software Development Workflow
Many teams use ticketing systems to track work, and log incidents. Often you’ll have different teams using different systems. For example, a customer support team may log issues on ServiceNow. A software development team may use Jira for development tasks. Often these teams will store or need information about the same issues.
A workflow automation can synchronize customer bugs to the programming team’s work tracking system. They wouldn’t have to use all the data, but just provide each team with the specific attributes it needed. Once the development team finishes working on the ticket status updates are passed to the customer support team. Everyone is kept in the loop with the right kind of information.
Case Study: Gartner shifted to Exalate to synchronize issues 45 times faster than their previous system.
You can use an automation to triage tickets, piping them to the correct tier of support, especially if your support teams prefer to work on different platforms. Suppose an issue isn’t dealt with or is flagged as challenging at the lower tiers. In that case, your automation can notify senior team members and copy the issue to their systems automatically, in real time. You can route tickets to the correct destination based on certain field values. For instance, sync Jira issues whose reporter is “George” to ServiceNow as an incident. Share only the required fields during different escalation scenarios. You can also re-route tickets to the correct support portal in case of any errors.
With this kind of IT service management automation, team members at each level of your support system get the information they need quickly, without waiting for someone to filter it manually, or for lower support tiers to escalate it. This can help you proactively avoid SLA breaches, improve support quality, and reduce churn.
Consolidating Multiple Customer Tickets to a Single Development Instance
Sometimes, multiple customers raise the same type of bug. Creating a separate issue in the development team’s task management system isn’t always the best issue.
Consolidate multiple Zendesk tickets into a single Jira issue to streamline development service operations.
Use Case: Learn how to connect multiple Zendesk tickets to a single Jira issue.
Customer onboarding often involves many steps, such as getting user’s data into your system, setting up passwords, and providing information. An AI-powered automation system can manage this process, triggering emails at each stage, checking that users have completed onboarding tasks, and providing them with reminders or information when needed. They can also alert a friendly human if there’s an issue.
Centralizing Software Development Project Management
If you have multiple projects stored on a platform like GitHub but want to manage work on those projects using a central system, then connecting everything together involves a lot of work. An automation can handle it automatically, synchronizing issues on all the GitHub repos on a single system.
Case Study: Read why seL4 foundation connected all its GitHub projects to its single Jira management platform.
There’s a lot of good automation software out there, so how do you pick the best? Here are some qualities you should look for when picking a tool.
Security: Since workflows span departments and companies, you need to ensure your data always remains safe and secure. Workflow automation software must have the required security measures in place, like limiting data exchange at the integrating endpoints independently. This ensures you have full control over what you send and receive on your side without any external system stepping in the way. Encryption protocols, RBAC, ISO certification, etc. are all a must.
Reliability – The automation should work without human intervention, and should fail as little as possible. The less you need to get involved the better. The point is to save time!
Flexibility – You’ll generally need to modify your workflow automation as data sources change and your tools and your use of them evolve. If you can make changes in your automation software easily, that’s a big plus. It’s also a bonus if the automations can be reused and reapplied to different workflows. That can really be a force multiplier throughout a large organization.
Scalability: As businesses scale up, your workflow automation software must be able to catch up. Adding new tools and technologies or adding new partners within your integration setup should not take a lot of effort.
Accessibility – Programmers can achieve great things with workflow automation, but coders are expensive to deploy, and they need time to understand the workflows of other team members. Al-assisted automation can make things much easier, enabling a broader spectrum of people to get involved. That way you can save time and take advantage of everyone’s organizational knowledge.
Getting Started with Workflow Automation Using Exalate
One key area where automation can help is syncing different systems. This could be two systems used in your company, or an internal system syncing with a client or contractor. Managing the relationship between these allows for complex workflow orchestration.
Exalate is an integration solution that lets you easily create advanced workflow automations. Tickets, issues, or items used by your systems can be automatically copied from place to place. You can copy everything, or set filters that pick items that match. You can also choose which fields to synchronize, ensuring everyone gets the data they need while maintaining autonomy and security.
With Exalate you can do the following::
Create granular-level triggers that define the conditions for data exchange. They are native to the integrating platforms
Pick which fields are shared between synchronized items. Set custom logic or data mapping and automate workflows end-to-end using the Groovy-based Script mode.
After a thorough evaluation, we realized other solutions couldn’t match Exalate’s precision and flexibility. The results speak for themselves: with over 20,000 synced entries and nearly 10,000 synced comments, Exalate has become vital to our cross-company collaboration.
– VODAFONE
You can use Exalate with Jira, Azure DevOps, ServiceNow, Github, and Salesforce. There are guides for all of them. Here’s a guide to integrating Jira with Salesforce.
Once you create a synchronization, it can be adjusted easily, or recreated for different teams or purposes. It’s very easy to do.
Workflow Automation Best Practices
To get the most out of your workflow automation software, take a look at these workflow automation best practices.
Gather Information Carefully – Changing workflows can have a big effect on your team. Involving everyone in the process can help you ensure the switch goes smoothly. It also lets you gather information that can prove critical when setting up the automation. Managers, administrators, and anyone that works with the data can offer insight on what information they need, and how they use it. Collecting this knowledge can help you build workflows that help the whole team work better.
Improvement and Iteration – You can achieve big things with workflow automation, but it is an ongoing process. Monitor the performance of your automations and see how they can be improved. You should also be on the lookout for ways to recreate automations in other areas of your business.
Start Slowly and Have a Backup Plan – Automations can go wrong. Systems have outages and the internet can go down. You should be able to deal with these issues. That means having a way to get work done when the automation is out. It also means the automatic systems should be robust enough to restart automatically without any help. Automatic alerts to managers when problems happen are another good idea.
Conclusion
Automated workflows boost your productivity and enable faster, more efficient collaboration with others. They minimize staff costs, performing tasks quickly and reliably. There’s so much potential, but it’s imperative you make the right choices when setting things up.
Fortunately, there’s never been a better selection of software to help you, and much of it is accessible enough for anyone to use. By applying modern tools, you can connect your platforms together, moving and manipulating information seamlessly.
Exalate delivers an easy, but powerful solution for workflow automation. With it, you can build automated workflows that are reliable, versatile, and powerful. Check it out, and see how it can turbocharge your productivity.
Sunburned noses, muddy shoes, and some edge-of-your-seat action—exactly what we signed up for. Add in the pura vida vibe, and it was the perfect team-building escape.
With team members converging from Bolivia, Argentina, Belgium, and Costa Rica, we chose the perfect destination: Manuel Antonio, a coastal gem three hours from San José.
Our November getaway was a mix of adrenaline-pumping activities, teamwork, and a touch of chaos.
Jet Skis, ATVs, and Tropical Mishaps
The day started bright and early with a 5 a.m. departure, setting the tone for a day packed with action. First up: jet skiing. The rush of the sea spray and the stunning coastal views made it an unforgettable ride.
Next, we switched gears—literally—with an ATV tour. We tackled jungle trails, crossed waterfalls, and climbed scenic viewpoints. The highlights weren’t just the stunning views but the moments in between. The rain joined the party, turning dirt tracks into muddy playgrounds. Complaints? None. We enjoyed every slip and splatter.
Sunburns, Fruit Fights, and Team Spirit
No trip is complete without its quirks. A few of us (rookie mistake!) underestimated Costa Rica’s sun and learned the hard way. By evening, the search for aloe vera became a team mission.
The fun continued during lunch, where a casual chat turned into an all-out fruit debate. Bananas, mangoes, pineapples—everyone had an opinion on what belonged in the “Fruit Hall of Fame.” It might sound silly, but these moments created bonds that spreadsheets and Zoom meetings never could.
After a whirlwind of activities, we returned to the hotel to wrap up our trip with a delicious meal and some quiet reflection.
Saying Goodbye with Full Hearts
This trip wasn’t just about activities; it was about togetherness. It reminded us that whether we’re making integrations work or exploring jungles, teamwork, and trust are at the heart of what we do.
Stay tuned for more stories from our global team as we continue to explore and grow together.
When you think of Barcelona, you think of Gaudí’s masterpieces, sunny beaches, and delicious tapas. But at Exalate, our trip to Barcelona wasn’t just about sightseeing—it was about syncing as a team, with a few twists and turns along the way.
With the goal of organizing a special time for our people, we found the perfect venue: Mas Redorta, a charming country house just outside Barcelona. The plan? Activities that balanced fun, collaboration, and a little wine.
An Unforgettable Line-Up
The team voted on activities, landing on two crowd favorites: horseback riding and wine tasting. However, Mother Nature had other plans.
Good teams make good plans, but the best teams are the ones that can pivot smoothly when plans change. When rain swept away our equestrian dreams, we didn’t miss a beat. We swapped it out at the last minute for an on-site escape room—improv worthy of an Exalate integration!
Here’s how it all unfolded…
Clues, Collaboration, and Cabernet
Friday morning started with a scenic one-hour drive from Barcelona to Mas Redorta. Greeted by rolling hills and crisp air, we took in the serene surroundings and explored our lodgings. The guys bunked in two houses, while the ladies cozied up in a smaller one.
After a quick breakfast of coffee and pastries, we kicked things off with the Escape Room hosted by Roomboescape.
The mission? Save the world from a virus by solving riddles, scanning QR codes, and hunting down clues scattered across the estate. Watching everyone divide into teams, brainstorm, and race to finish was a masterclass in teamwork—with a side of friendly competition.
Next came lunchtime to relax and recharge. But the real treat of the day? A wine-tasting session led by LoCatamos. We sipped our way through Spain’s finest vintages while learning about the subtle differences between cava and champagne. Even non-drinkers were captivated by the sommelier’s storytelling.
Dinner was the cherry on top—a delicious Argentinian-inspired feast featuring flame-grilled ribs, fish for pescatarians, and, of course, empanadas.
Kevin, our Support Team Lead, especially appreciated these little pockets of joy, so much so that the caterers sent him an extra batch the following day.
The Night: Storms and Serenades
As the night rolled in, we gathered for a cozy night of card games and live piano and guitar music. The perfect way to unwind.
But Catalonia wasn’t done surprising us. A storm knocked out the estate’s electricity overnight. By morning, we found ourselves in the dark, with the electric gates locked shut. We were stuck—like a real-life escape room.
We made the best of it, sharing breakfast in the dark, and as the sun started to rise, we found a manual key that unlocked one side of the gate. Finally, we were able to open it and head back to Barcelona.
The Takeaway: Laughter in the Rain
This trip wasn’t without its challenges—but that’s what made it memorable. From solving puzzles to overcoming a literal lockdown, we proved once again that our strength lies in how we work together.
We know that our best moments don’t just come from following the plan but from adapting, supporting each other, and finding opportunities in every situation. It’s this dynamic that makes Exalate special, both in and out of the office.
Stay tuned for more stories from our team as we continue our journey around the world.
The need for real-time data synchronization has never been greater. As teams rely on multiple tools, ensuring data flows smoothly and accurately between them becomes critical.
Without proper data synchronization, businesses face the risk of fragmented workflows, manual errors, and decision-making delays.
This blog delves into the concept of real-time data synchronization, its importance, practical use cases, and how tools like Exalate make this process efficient and reliable.
The Need for Data Synchronization
Today, in businesses, the pace of decision-making is faster. These decisions rely on accurate, timely data alongwith its integrity.
Teams use a variety of applications to generate this data. Your development team uses Jira to manage their development data, your sales team relies on CRMs like Salesforce, or your customer support team might swear by Zendesk or ServiceNow. What happens to all this data lying around as islands in these different applications? It’s siloed.
When the development team needs data from the customer support team, they reach out to them via emails or phone calls. Data is passed around manually. Or even worse, they share their credentials or buy more seats in their existing applications for the other team’s access.
In such a situation, how do you ensure the accuracy, timeliness, and integrity of the data you exchange? You simply can’t. The solution? Data Synchronization!
So what’s data synchronization?
What is Data Synchronization?
Data synchronization is the process of exchanging data between different systems and ensuring the data is accurate and accessible to the required stakeholders. It is a continuous process to ensure the synced data remains identical at all times.
By synchronizing data between two or more systems, you can maintain data integrity whenever something is deleted or updated.
Data synchronization can occur between multiple data sources like mobile devices, data warehouses, data lakes, ERPs, legacy systems, or standalone applications.
In this blog, we will focus on data synchronization between multiple business applications like CRMs, ITSM, project management tools, etc.
Picture this: your customer raises a high-priority ticket in Zendesk. With data synchronization, you can automatically create a Bug in the development team’s Jira instance. All the updates, statuses, comments, and more are exchanged based on predefined sync rules. With every change in one system (source), changes are reflected in the other system (destination) and vice versa.
Data synchronization sits well in its place but there are a few more aspects to it, like real-time data synchronization.
What is Real-time Data Synchronization?
Real-time data Synchronization Definition
Real-time data synchronization, or real-time data sync is the uninterrupted (or continuous) exchange of data between systems, ensuring the changes in one system are immediately reflected in others.
The word “immediate” here is the key. It means instantaneous, real-time, or near-real-time data replication between multiple systems. This ensures users will always have access to the most up-to-date information.
For some use cases, batch synchronization might work better. A retail company syncs sales data stored in CRMs from multiple store locations to its central database every night. It ensures the central system has updated data without overloading networks during business hours.
However, for certain other use cases, like the one we discussed above, real-time synchronization can be a deal breaker. Also, real-time data synchronization is essential for time-sensitive data sync services like financial data transactions or video conferencing tools.
Having understood the meaning of syncing data in real-time, let’s look at the types of data syncs teams usually opt for.
Real-time data sync: Read why teams both inside and outside Vodafone operate on the most up-to-date info, eliminating delays & miscommunication.
One-way data synchronization means that data is transferred only in one direction, from the source system to the destination system. The other way around is not possible.
While doing this, you can set your sync rules in any way you want. For instance, only transfer the issue summary, issue key, status, description, comments, and attachments from Jira to ServiceNow; no information flows from ServiceNow to Jira. All updates made in Jira are instantly reflected in ServiceNow.
Sometimes, you want to perform a live migration between systems like Jira and Azure DevOps. In such cases, one-way real-time syncs are the best option.
Two-way Real-time Data Sync
Setting up a two-way real-time sync means data is transferred and kept updated in both systems simultaneously. Any insertions, deletions, or updates in the fields under sync are instantly reflected in the connected system.
For instance, you can open a Bug in Azure DevOps when a ServiceNow incident is created. You can keep the sync statuses, priorities, urgencies, comments, and more under sync. Any sync events triggered in any one of the systems will immediately update the other system based on the rules you’ve set.
There’s no more like, “Oh, you created a ticket at your end, but we didn’t see the ticket at our end.”.
– CARLOS ALMEIDA, VP OF ENGINEERING SPK AND ASSOCIATES
It’s important to note that real-time data synchronization will always allow you to keep your workflows intact and yet receive the data you require within your platform, without even having to refresh your screen.
Practical Real-time Data Synchronization Use Cases
Data Consolidation and Reporting
Sometimes, task-level data from multiple ITSM and project management systems needs to be consolidated in a single platform. Or you might need to collaborate across systems after M&As.
All this data can be useful to management for reporting or creating dashboards. This information must be the most updated for real-time business insights and informed decision-making.
This is a very common use case, where customer tickets arriving in one system need to be escalated to another platform to be worked on. For instance, you can escalate tickets to L2, development, IT, or external providers (MSPs) based on custom data sync logic.
Real-time data synchronization will ensure all tickets get the required urgency and visibility.
Case Study:
Discover how Qualco used real-time data synchronization by syncing change requests, incidents, and other entites related to the support development workflow.
If the customer raises a change request in Jira Service Management, it is escalated to the development team working in Azure DevOps.
A few scenarios that fit under this category are:
Imagine, your incidents come into a single ITSM system like ServiceNow. You can then set up real-time synchronizations to automate the escalation process. The incidents are routed to multiple destinations like Jira, Azure DevOps, or another ServiceNow instance based on certain conditions. You can also control which fields are shared in different escalation scenarios.
Connect multiple service desks or portals, such as JSM, Zendesk, Freshdesk, etc., to orchestrate an end-to-end support workflow. Tickets are routed from L1 > L2 > L3 automatically and in real time. This helps you avoid adding costly seats for more support agents in a single system.
A classic customer support to development team workflow automation. When the customer raises a bug in Jira Service Management (JSM), it gets passed over to the dev team in Jira software. The dev team updates the status in Jira. The JSM status is updated automatically. Internal comments are passed to ensure the dev team has all the information they need. The support agents will always have real-time visibility of customer tickets.
Often, you can use real-time data synchronization to connect multiple Zendesk instances to a single Jira instance. This is useful when multiple customers report the same issue. When this happens, only a single Jira issue is sufficient to handle all of them with links to the respective Zendesk tickets for status updates.
MSP Environments
Imagine an MSP environment. The MSP provides helpdesk outsourcing for its clients. As such, they have a binding contract with SLAs, along with a monetary obligation. Suppose a high-priority incident is now raised in the customer’s ServiceNow instance that needs to be escalated to the MSP’s Jira instance. The response time set for the incident acknowledgment by under 15 minutes.
With a real-time data sync in place, the incident will be acknowledged on time, and the MSP can immediately start working on it, providing status updates and visibility to the customers all along.
The incident is caught promptly, SLAs are adhered to, and the MSP might never have to face angry customers again.
Case Study:
Learn how MSPs like SPK leverage real-time data sync to keep their customers’ instances connected and aligned, resulting in better onboarding and stronger relationships.
Why is Real-time Data Synchronization So Important?
There are some reasons why companies prefer real-time data synchronization over batch-based syncs.
Modern customers expect immediacy. For incident management scenarios, order tracking, or financial account updates, real-time data sync ensures customers always have up-to-date information. This in turn improves their trust and service satisfaction.
Businesses survive on accurate and timely data. Real-time data updates allow leaders to make informed decisions based on the latest metrics, be it customer feedback or market trends.
As we saw, manual data transfer is not the best option. It is error-prone and takes your resources away from strategic tasks. Automated real-time data synchronization helps increase your operational efficiency, saves time, and reduces the cost of manual errors.
However, as easy as it sounds, it often comes with its fair share of challenges.
Challenges to Syncing Data in Real-time
Scalability: As businesses grow, data grows. Your data synchronization must scale without compromising speed or reliability.
Latency: Real-time data synchronization demands low latency. Any delay can lead to monetary losses or disrupt operations, especially, in time-sensitive industries like finance.
Network outages or system downtimes: System unavailability or downtimes are inevitable. This remains a primary challenge for real-time data sync.
Security: Syncing sensitive data in real time requires strong security mechanisms, encryptions, and regulatory compliance like GDPR, etc.
Real-time data synchronization in hybrid systems: Syncing data between cloud apps, legacy systems, and on-premise platforms can become complex. Plus, connecting public (internet-facing) – and private (behind firewalls) systems can be a headache since it involves creating additional security measures to fetch the required data.
So, how do you sync your data in real-time? We’ll explore that in the coming section.
How to Sync Data in Real-time
Build Your Own Sync Solution
Companies who want to go ahead with real-time data sync start by thinking about building their own integration.
While this may sound tempting at the beginning, it is often riddled with maintenance headaches, cost overheads, and a waste of useful resources.
It is not scalable. You also have to build the security posture yourself, which can be time-consuming and costly. In short, you always need an in-house team to maintain the synchronization.
We didn’t go down the road of developing a solution ourselves purely due to resource limitation because if we developed it, we’d have to maintain it and make regular improvements.
– MICHAEL FOWLER, ENGINEERING LEAD QUORUM CYBER
Native Data Sync Options
There are also native ways of synchronizing data. Modern SaaS applications often support native integration options with popular tools. However, these options are often limited in scope and might not support the application you want to integrate with. They might work if you have a simple use case but do not work well for advanced workflow syncs.
Third-Party Data Sync Tools
Third-party data synchronization tools are a good choice if you know exactly what you need. There are a lot of options to choose from. From no-code, template-based solutions to script-based advanced solutions, there’s a lot on the plate.
So, how do you decide?
How to Choose the Correct Real-time Data Synchronization Tool?
With the kind of options you have in the market, I know it can get tough.
But here’s a simple checklist you can follow.
Security: Prioritize tools that are secure by design. Look for encryptions, RBAC, single tenancy, and other security measures. Security becomes extremely important in cross-company real-time syncs.
Distributed Sync: Keeping the real-time synchronization distributed is a purposeful attempt to reduce the risk of unwanted or accidental data access. This way you can control what you want to sync and not sync independently in every connected system.
Flexibility: Choose tools that give you a gamut of use cases to implement. Script-based solutions are a good option since scripting gives you the freedom to sync any fields with advanced data mapping or logic.
Real-time data sync: This is kind of obvious. Prefer tools that offer real-time data syncs. Not all tools available in the market offer real-time syncs, so be careful while choosing.
We will discuss a tool called Exalate that recognizes the challenges and opportunities that real-time data synchronization could bring to companies and works towards making it a reality.
Let’s understand how.
Case Study:
Michael, from Quorum Cyber points out that the team chose Exalate because of the following reasons:
It supports near real-time synchronization
The synchronized data doesn’t exist outside the environment
The solution supports platform flexibility and autonomy (segregation)
Exalate: a Real-time Data Synchronization Tool
Exalate is a script-based integration solution that has the features we just discussed. It offers real-time data synchronization between systems like Jira, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Zendesk, Azure DevOps, and more.
It also has the capacity to embed the sync status within the platforms you use. With Exalate, data synchronization does not require a screen refresh every time a new update arrives.
It has developed its own transport layer, which is a core part of what makes the tool so versatile and reliable for cross-platform real-time synchronizations.
This custom-built layer allows Exalate to operate independently of the underlying systems, enabling decentralized syncs. Each side of the sync operates autonomously, with data exchanged asynchronously via the transport layer.
It also supports advanced features like conflict resolution, error handling, and customizable sync rules, all while ensuring that sensitive data is transmitted securely.
The Exalate managed service offering just sat nicely with us because it takes the burden of setting up, managing, and owning the infrastructure away from us and effectively does it on our behalf.
– MICHAEL FOWLER, ENGINEERING LEAD QUORUM CYBER
How Exalate’s Transport Layer Enables Real-time Sync
Let’s dig a little deeper into how this transport layer works for real-time data synchronization.
With its own transport layer, Exalate can optimize real-time syncs for low latencies and high responsiveness. This custom layer ensures data is sent and received as quickly as possible.
A custom transport layer handles asynchronous communication efficiently, so systems don’t wait for each other to process data. This minimizes delays and ensures all sync updates are propagated promptly.
Real-time data synchronization often faces challenges like network interruptions or failures. With its own transport layer, Exalate has a robust, integrated retry mechanism to minimize data sync delays, making the system real-time even under imperfect conditions.
Its transport layer is tailored to work with event-driven architectures, where changes in one system trigger immediate updates in another. This enables near-instant synchronization across platforms.
A custom transport layer lets you choose or build efficient serialization formats (e.g., JSON) that reduce the size of transmitted data, speeding up data transfer and enhancing real-time sync.
A custom transport layer allows encryption protocols, token-based authentication, or other measures to be integrated directly into the communication process without depending on external solutions that might add latency.
Case study: Learn why 60% of Quorum Cyber’s customers want to use Exalate for service desk integration.
There’s a reason why companies opt for real-time data synchronization and we saw ample data pointing to that.
Real-time data synchronization between tools can no longer be put on the back burner. It needs to be at the forefront of your business strategy.
By maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the one thing that means the most for your business – data, you can ensure your teams never have to worry about what they view in their systems.
Want to explore what’s possible with real-time data syncs? Discuss your use case with us and take the lead!
At Exalate, we are committed to continuously evolving our solutions to meet your needs. To sustain this progress and ensure the delivery of the high-quality services you rely on, we will implement a price adjustment in 2025.
Effective February 14, 2025, we will be adjusting the prices for both Exalate’s integration platform and Table Grid Apps. This adjustment reflects our ongoing commitment to providing the most reliable, innovative, and effective solutions for your integration needs while keeping pace with rising costs
What’s Changing
Prices will increase by an average of 5-20%, depending on your specific subscription and use case.
We’ll reach out to every impacted customer with detailed information about how these changes will affect their subscriptions. Our goal is to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Why Are We Making This Change
We understand that price changes can be impactful, and we’ve carefully weighed this decision. Here’s why this adjustment is necessary:
Inflation and Economic Factors: Like many businesses, we are navigating rising costs due to global economic pressures. This adjustment allows us to continue delivering reliable services without compromising quality.
Rising Operational Costs: To provide a scalable and reliable infrastructure that supports your integration needs, we face increasing costs. This adjustment helps us maintain and improve this critical backbone.
Investment in Our People: Our team’s expertise drives Exalate’s success. This adjustment ensures we can continue to fairly compensate them for their work.
Innovation, Security, and Product Evolution: We are dedicated to driving continuous advancement in our products with the latest technologies, including AI capabilities, improved security measures, and new features. These strategic investments allow us to anticipate your needs, adapt to industry shifts, and provide solutions that truly make a difference for your business.
For a closer look at the innovations and advancements we have in store, be sure to check out our Year in Review article, where we go into more detail about the developments planned.
Opportunity to Renew at Current Pricing
You still have the opportunity to renew Exalate at your current price. To secure this, please request a quote before February 14 and complete the payment within 30 days of the quote’s validity. If you already have a valid quote, there’s no need to request a new one.
Questions or Concerns
If you haven’t received an email from us or have any questions about this change, please reach out to our support team at [email protected]. We are here to help.
Stay Updated
We encourage you to follow the Exalate News updates to stay informed about our latest innovations and announcements.
Thank You
We appreciate your trust and support as we continue working to improve your integration experience with powerful, innovative solutions.
We hosted a webinar at Exalate based on AI-powered Jira Service Management (JSM) Salesforce integration.
In this webinar, Majid (one of the hosts) decided to throw a random prompt at Exalate’s AI Assist—and the output took him by surprise.
It’s a great example of how you can implement complex workflow orchestrations using AI-powered integration tools without deep-diving into scripting.
So, here it is!
The Use Case
If a ticket in Jira Service Management (JSM) is in the Escalated status and has the Highest priority:
Add a comment to the synced Salesforce case saying, “Something is burning 🔥.”
Change the Salesforce case priority to High.
Otherwise, set the Salesforce case priority to Low.
Here’s what Majid typed:
When a Jira ticket has the Highest Priority and is in the Escalated status, add a comment to the Salesforce Case, saying “Something is burning 🔥” and change the Case priority to High. Otherwise, change the Case priority to Low.
Sounds complex, right? Not with AI Assist!
Before we discuss the implementation, let me give you a brief background about AI Assist.
Why Use Exalate’s AI Assist?
Exalate is a script-based integration solution that synchronizes data between multiple systems like Jira, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Zendesk, etc.
Its AI-powered Script mode lets you set up complex sync rules using Groovy-based scripts. You can configure advanced data mappings, apply conditional logic, and basically use the full power of Groovy.
But, if scripting feels out of your depth, you can use AI Assist in the Script mode to generate sync rules automatically.
Let’s see how Majid implemented an advanced Jira Service Management (JSM) Salesforce i`ntegration scenario using AI Assist.
How to Set Up an Advanced Jira Service Management Salesforce Integration
1. Connect Jira Service Management and Salesforce
Install Exalate on both JSM and Salesforce, then set up a connection. You can also install it from the integrations page.
You can follow this step-by-step guide to configure the connection in Script mode.
Once connected, click Configure Sync and navigate to the Rules tab, where you’ll set up sync rules.
2. Understand Exalate’s Sync Architecture
In the Rules tab, you’ll find default scripts for syncing basic fields like summary, description, comments, and attachments. To sync custom fields or behaviors, you’ll need to add your own scripts.
The Rules tab is divided into:
Outgoing Sync: Defines the information sent from JSM to Salesforce.
Incoming Sync: Maps the information received from Salesforce into JSM.
The same exists on the Salesforce side.
This distributed architecture allows each team to independently decide what information to exchange without any kind of centralized control.
Exalate uses a Replica—a payload that stores the information to be transferred between systems. You populate the Replica on the source instance and extract its content on the destination instance to map fields locally.
3. Modify the Salesforce Incoming Sync
To implement the use case go to the Salesforce Incoming sync and type the following prompt in the AI chatbox.
When a Jira ticket has the Highest Priority and is in the Escalated status, add a comment to the Salesforce Case, saying “Something is burning 🔥” and change the Case priority to High. Otherwise, change the Case priority to Low.
Wait for the suggested scripts to load.
Green indicates scripts to be added.
Red indicates scripts to be deleted.
Carefully review the generated scripts. As with any AI, AI Assist can make mistakes. So don’t publish the changes until you’re sure. You can always refine the prompt until you get the desired output.
That’s it! Way simpler than writing your own scripts, right?
Have a JSM Salesforce Integration Use Case in Mind?
Using script-based solutions like Exalate can seem overwhelming at first but if used correctly it can do wonders for your integration needs.
Have any specific Jira Salesforce integration use case in mind? Just ask our integration engineers for a walkthrough of what’s possible.
Workflow orchestration helps businesses automate and manage their tasks across different systems and teams. It ensures that every step in a process happens in the right order, making workflows more efficient and consistent from start to finish.
In this blog, we’ll explore what workflow orchestration is, its key benefits, and how it enhances business processes.
We’ll also understand how the right tools can help you streamline and manage complex workflows effectively.
What is Workflow Orchestration?
Workflow orchestration is the process of integrating, coordinating, and managing multiple automated steps across diverse systems to achieve an end-to-end execution of complex business workflows.
Let’s rewind a little and know what workflows are.
A workflow is a series of steps or tasks required to complete a specific process or project. In a business context, workflows represent sequences of tasks designed to achieve specific objectives, efficiently and consistently.
Business workflows often span multiple tools, teams, systems, and even companies. These workflows range from simple automation, such as firing a notification alert when a customer raises an urgent request, to intricate processes involving numerous steps across different platforms.
Workflow automation refers to the act of automating repetitive steps within a single workflow. However, workflow orchestration takes this a step further.
It dynamically determines the sequence of tasks to ensure optimal output. It schedules and chains tasks together, enabling an automatic response to events in a logical, efficient manner.
Key Definitions
Workflow: A process involving two or more steps.
Workflow Orchestration: The integration of automated tasks or complex workflows across tools, systems, organizations, and teams.
When understanding workflow orchestration, it’s important to know the nuances of workflow automation.
What is the Difference Between Workflow Orchestration and Workflow Automation?
While workflow automation focuses on automating individual tasks, workflow orchestration manages the sequence and interaction of these tasks to create a cohesive, unified process.
Think of it this way:
Workflow Automation is like setting up a simple alarm clock to wake you up at a fixed time every day—it performs a single function repeatedly without needing further intervention.
Workflow Orchestration is akin to organizing an entire day’s schedule: coordinating your alarm with breakfast preparation, planning your commute, scheduling meetings, and adjusting dynamically if an unforeseen event (like traffic) disrupts your plan.
Workflow orchestration is also often compared with other terms like process orchestration and data orchestration.
Let’s quickly dig into the subtle differences between these terms.
What is the Difference Between Workflow Orchestration and Process Orchestration?
Workflow orchestration focuses on automating and coordinating specific tasks or jobs within a defined sequence, often in technical domains like IT operations or data pipelines.
In contrast, process orchestration manages entire end-to-end business processes, integrating systems, workflows, and human tasks to achieve broader organizational goals.
Workflow orchestration is granular and technical, while process orchestration is holistic and business-oriented.
What is the Difference Between Workflow Orchestration and Data Orchestration?
Workflow and data orchestration both aim to improve efficiency, but they focus on different areas.
Here’s a breakdown:
Workflow orchestration manages the sequence of tasks in a process, ensuring each step is completed in the right order from start to finish.
Data orchestration focuses on the movement and transformation of data across different systems. It ensures data is available where and when it’s needed, involving tasks like ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) and synchronization across various data sources.
While workflow orchestration handles task management, data orchestration deals with the flow of data. They can overlap, especially in data-heavy workflows where managing data is crucial to the process.
Benefits of Workflow Orchestration
There are a lot of benefits your company can experience with the right workflow orchestration in place.
Increased Efficiency
Streamlined orchestrated workflows will reduce manual intervention in all business areas. This increases operational efficiency by automating and sequencing tasks across everyday tools.
Improved Accuracy
When manual interventions stop, manual errors stop too. All business workflows continue according to predefined sequences, maintaining accuracy and consistency in task execution.
Scalability
Complex workflows often stretch across multiple environments, evolving as systems and team needs change.
For example, consider orchestrating a software development workflow between Jira and Azure DevOps. In this scenario, the project management team uses Jira, while the development and QA teams rely on Azure DevOps. If the QA team later transitions to a separate Jira instance, scaling the workflow to include Jira, Azure DevOps, and the new Jira requires an orchestration tool capable of managing such complexity with ease.
Another instance is when the data volume or transactions between two integrated workflows increases exponentially. An orchestrator should be able to handle such large-scale data transactions without additional overhead or complications.
Enhanced Visibility
Workflow orchestration ensures your teams will always have clear views of their workflows, making them observable and debuggable. It would also offer monitoring and reporting features for better oversight.
Implementing workflow orchestration requires careful planning and the right tool.
Workflow Orchestration Tools
Workflow orchestration tools are software solutions designed to manage, coordinate, and integrate complex workflows across multiple systems, teams, and processes.
Key Features of Workflow Orchestration Tools
Task Automation: Automate repetitive tasks to save time and reduce manual errors.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly connect various systems, APIs, and platforms.
Scheduling and Triggering: Schedule workflows or trigger them based on specific events or conditions.
Observability: Monitor workflows in real-time, track progress, and debug issues.
Scalability: Handle increasing workloads and adapt to complex, evolving processes.
Choosing the Right Workflow Orchestration Tool
Security
Security is a non-negotiable aspect of orchestrated workflows. As data moves between multiple systems during orchestration, it’s critical to ensure it reaches the right destination and remains accessible only to authorized individuals.
A decentralized workflow orchestration setup can address many security challenges. In this setup, each system or team can independently decide whether to include or exclude specific data during workflow orchestration. This prevents accidental sharing of sensitive information with unintended parties.
Additionally, prioritize tools that implement robust security measures, such as encryption for data exchange, secure transfer protocols, and strict compliance with industry standards. Evaluate the tool’s overall security posture, including its adherence to best practices and certifications, to make an informed choice.
Flexibility
Simple automation tools do not work for orchestrating complex workflows. Flexible workflow orchestration tools will ensure you can integrate for advanced scenarios. For instance, a simple status update in one system leads to simultaneous real-time status updates in multiple systems all at once.
Scalability
Businesses evolve—workloads shift, requirements change, and the scope of workflows to be orchestrated grows. To stay ahead, choose an orchestration tool that is built to adapt and handle both your organization’s current needs and future workload demands.
Exalate: A Workflow Orchestration Tool
Exalate is an advanced workflow orchestration tool that supports decentralized integration. It is the ideal setup when you want to orchestrate workflows across companies where each company has independent control over data exchange.
Exalate also has an intuitive AI-powered Groovy-based scripting engine that is perfect for intricate workflows. You can set it up any way you want, using conditional logic or advanced data mappings, there’s a place for every workflow.
Let’s discuss some practical workflow orchestration examples.
Workflow Orchestration Examples
Customer Support to Software Development Escalation
Below is an example outlining how an e-commerce company automates critical incident resolution through workflow orchestration.
Step 1: Incident Creation (Trigger Event)
People Involved: Customer (e-commerce company), Support Team
Scenario: A critical security vulnerability is discovered in the payment processing system. An incident with urgency = 1 is raised in ServiceNow.
Action: This triggers a Jira Bug (issue type) of the Highest priority for the development team.
Outcome: The bug is assigned to John, a developer, working in Jira.
Step 2: Development Begins
People Involved: John (Developer), ServiceNow Agent
Scenario: John starts working on the Jira bug and changes the status to “In Progress.”
Trigger: ServiceNow incident status automatically updates to “In Progress.”
Interaction: John requests additional details by adding a comment, which is reflected as a ServiceNow work note. The ServiceNow agent sends all the relevant details.
Outcome: John has the information needed to continue working on the critical bug.
Step 3: Immediate Patch and Validation
People Involved: John (Developer), Anna (QA Specialist)
Scenario: Since it’s a critical issue, the bug must be patched to production within 2 hours.
Action: John fixes the bug, changes the Jira status to “In Review,” and comments “The bug is resolved.”
Integration:
A trigger is generated. The issue is reflected as a Task (work item) in Azure DevOps. A comment is added to the work item: “The bug is ready for validation”.
A comment is added to the ServiceNow incident: “The bug is with the QA team.”
Outcome: The “Assigned to” field in Azure DevOps automatically reflects Anna (QA Specialist).
Step 4: QA Validation
People Involved: Anna (QA Specialist), John (Developer)
Scenario: Anna begins testing by changing the Azure DevOps work item status to “Active.”
Action: A comment “Testing begins” is automatically added to John’s Jira issue and the ServiceNow incident.
Outcome: QA progresses with all relevant details synchronized.
Step 5: Release Preparation
People Involved: Anna (QA Specialist), George (Release Manager)
Scenario: After QA validation, the issue is prepared for release.
Action: Anna marks the Azure DevOps work item as “Resolved” and comments: “Fix has been validated.”
Integration:
A new Jira issue is created for George (Release Manager) with all relevant details.
Comments are synced across John’s Jira issue and the ServiceNow incident.
Outcome: The release manager has everything needed to patch the fix.
Step 6: Release and Closure
People Involved: George (Release Manager), ServiceNow Team
Scenario: George patches the fix into production.
Action: George marks the Jira issue in his instance as “Done.”
Integration:
The Azure DevOps work item status changes to “Closed.”
John’s Jira issue status updates to “Done.”
A final work note is added to the ServiceNow incident: “The fix is now in production.”
Outcome: The incident is resolved, and all systems reflect the updated statuses.
Benefits of Workflow Orchestration in This Use Case
Efficiency: Ensures seamless transitions between systems and roles.
Accuracy: Automatically updates statuses and synchronizes comments.
Transparency: Provides clear communication across teams and everyone involved has a transparent picture of the incident.
Speed: Improves resolution time or SLA for critical issues.
Multi-Level Support Escalation Workflow
This use case demonstrates how an orchestration can adapt to meet varying levels of customer support workflow.
For example:
Incident Creation: Customer reports a ticket in Zendesk.
L1 Troubleshooting: The L1 team attempts to resolve the ticket, if unresolved, they escalate it to L2. L2 engineers work in Jira. Fields like ticket status, priority, company name, and comments are synced.
L2 Escalation: L2 takes over the issue, updates the status, and synchronizes comments or internal notes across Jira and Zendesk.
L2 Resolution or Escalation to L3: If L2 cannot resolve, the issue is escalated to L3, maybe using ServiceNow. Assignee and escalation status are updated in both systems.
L3 Resolution: L3 resolves the ticket, updates the incident status, and adds resolution details in all integrated systems.
Incident Closure: The issue is resolved in all systems, and final comments and statuses are synchronized.
Optimize Customer-facing Workflows for MSPs Through Orchestration
Managed Service Providers (MSPs) can significantly benefit from workflow orchestration by integrating their systems with those of their customers, creating a continuous flow of information across diverse platforms.
This integration allows MSPs to automatically capture incidents, track development progress, or escalate issues as needed, all in real-time.
By connecting systems like ServiceNow, Jira, Salesforce, Freshdesk, etc. MSPs can automate support workflows, improve response times, and ensure that all parties—internal teams and customers—are always updated with the latest status.
Explore how SPK and Associates, an MSP, uses Exalate to onboard new customers and streamline its operations.
SPK’s approach can be highly beneficial for all outsourcing needs, as it enables service providers to manage external teams and resources effectively, ensuring smooth collaboration and the efficient handling of tasks, no matter where the service is being provided.
Here is a sample example of workflow orchestration that implements the following scenario:
When a Jira ticket has the Highest Priority and is in the Escalated status, add a comment to the Salesforce Case, saying “Something is burning” and change the Case priority to High. Otherwise, change the Case priority to Low.
Implementing Workflow Orchestration
Workflow orchestration needs to be considered as a project and detailing the steps is important.
Every company’s needs and workflows are different, but the usual recommendation is as follows.
Understand and define the workflow you want to orchestrate end-to-end. Ensure you identify the entry and exit data points in all the systems you want to integrate. Identify key tasks, dependencies, mappings, conditions, and triggers. Choose what needs to be included or excluded from being exchanged.
Decide a workflow orchestration tool based on your use case and company requirements.
Make sure your workflow is communicated clearly to the orchestrator. Design and define your process flows. Define triggers and error-handling mechanisms in every system.
Orchestrate a simple workflow and then scale it in a controlled and consistent manner. Keep testing for expected outcomes. Gradually deploy them in production.
Regularly monitor your workflows to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Get Started With Workflow Orchestration
Workflow orchestration is indispensable for businesses that aim to achieve a complete digital transformation and increase operational excellence.
By automating, integrating, and orchestrating complex workflows, organizations can reduce manual errors, and scale their daily operations effortlessly.
Tools like Exalate can help you orchestrate workflows from start to finish. With its AI-assisted scripting engine, integrating workflows is really simple.
Whether you’re managing IT infrastructure, outsourcing software development, processing data pipelines, or handling customer support, tools like Exalate offer a structured approach to achieving seamless process management.
Discuss your workflow in detail with an integration engineer and get started!
