Connectors

"This is where the magic happens" - James Hutchison, Owner

Connectors are one of the key features of IMan. They provide integration with an application, such as a CRM, an ERP or Accounting solution; a cloud based service, or eCommerce platform.

Connectors can be dual directional. This means, they can push data into an application/(web)service, or pull data out.

Connectors usually provide more than a straight integration with the target application. They facilitate the integration by smoothing out any interface (API) inconsistencies, such as:

• Hiding processing complexity from the mapping interface.
• Supplementing an API's functionality by adding missing functionality; improving the processing logic or bridging otherwise separate functions together.
• Provide a simple flattened interface for one-to-one (1:1) communication between IMan and the target application. An application may provide a particular functionality as a child to the primary entity, though they may operate at the same parental level. In these cases the connector will flatten the parent/child relation by exposing the child functionality within the primary entity.
• Except for substantive changes in the application's data schema, the connector's mapping is independent of version changes.

Static & Dynamic Type Connectors

A static connector provides a fixed list of import types, while a dynamic connector provides a non-fixed list of import types which are compiled by querying the application's meta data. Some connectors combine both approaches where a set of static data is supplemented by meta data dynamically obtained by querying the application.

Static Connector

Due to the limited functionality and specific purpose, a small accounting solution such as Sage50 would provide a fixed set of interface points. Each interface point exposes a fixed list of fields.

Dynamic Connector

A CRM solution such as the SageCRM or SageX3 -which allow their own data schema to be extended or customised - are examples of a dynamic connectors.

Mixed Type (static connectors with dynamically generated elements)

Both the Sage200 & Sage300 connectors combine the above strategies for presenting meta data within the connector screens. They provide a fixed list of import types, but the field lists are a combination of fields which are static and a small set of fields (Analysis Codes & Optional Fields respectively) that are dynamically added using queries.

Common connector handling and setup

The following section describes the common connector handling and setup instructions. Consult the connector's guide for guidance specific to individual applications.

Each connector (both push & pull) uses a common interface, with drop-downs showing the available options for that particular application. These are discussed in detail.