Companies worldwide have been using electronic data interchange technology for many years now, and there were not few times when people declared its end. But it remained an essential tool for businesses because it supports B2B communications better than any other software. 2019 is here and new technologies are created daily and the chances of EDI getting replaced in the business chain is high. Here are the latest EDI software trends, check them if you want to find out experts’ opinion on the subject.
IT Skills Shortage
Cloud computing is changing the framework for EDI technology deployment and service consumption models. Companies have started to migrate their data and applications to the cloud, and EDI is no exception. Now that cloud computing has reached its highest levels the need for talented IT workers is also increasing.
When companies are facing skills shortage the only solution that can help them survive in the market is outsourcing. More and more companies have started to collaborate with external businesses to get 24/7 coverage and reduce costs. When it comes to EDI, they prefer to outsource it because they no longer consider it an internal requirement.
The e-commerce market is experienced an astronomic growth
EDI is essential at establishing connections for a smooth flow of retail data, inventory, and supply chain. EDI is considered one of the main communication standards for e-commerce markets, even in 2019.
Anywhere in the world, EDI is used to run businesses, and the growth of e-commerce is a chance for the technology to expand to new industries.
Business Process Integration
B2B EDI integration is used to connect an organisation with its clients, partners, logistics companies, suppliers, and financial institutions. The latest versions of EDI come with countless benefits for businesses.
- New integration features for cloud applications, systems, and partners
- Analytics and visibility capabilities
- Real-time, synchronous, and asynchronous transactional features
- Process orchestration for intelligent automation
- Integration and data mapping
The Growth of Blockchain Technology
From time to time, a new technology appears and everyone thinks that it will replace EDI. A few years ago, XML was considered the new solution, then API came to market and everyone forgot about it. Now blockchain is producing fever among experts, so we should analyse the blockchain trend. Yes, it’s quite effective for some processes but it’s not able to replace the entire B2B transactional technology. Blockchain will probably stand to augment EDI and will work together with its systems to produce better results.
Companies are using Blockchain to communicate and it’s an effective way to do it, but it’s a new technology in the market and many people have issues in identifying its full potential. It’s a shared ledger, therefore it has no issues in making the process easier. However, it will not replace EDI, at least not in 2019.