I’ve had discussions lately with B2B organizations about their pressing need to modernize their technology processes. Many business execs have a ‘want’ and a ‘desire’ for change, to help meet fundamental business metrics.

But as time goes by, and they wait longer, it becomes a bigger risk to their business. Many believe that half of the S&P 500 companies will be replaced in the next decade. I am sure that one of the keys to stay or appear on this list is the modernization of your business processes and IT systems. Talking about B2B companies, this means that you must make B2B modernization and B2B integration a priority.

It’s already moving ahead. Gartner estimates that by 2025, over 95% of new digital workloads will be deployed on cloud-native platforms, up from 30% in 2021.

Stop grappling with hodgepodge EDI solutions

Many companies have been running their B2B/EDI solutions for decades. Today, their software infrastructure is becoming outdated, unreliable, and highly costly to maintain. Many of these older EDI systems were pieced together internally, and then added to with newer technology units. The result was a hodgepodge tech system that often required constant maintenance and upkeep.

Even more troubling is their lack of flexibility in traditional EDI systems, making it difficult for businesses to differentiate themselves with greater innovation and improved customer experiences. These legacy platforms are not only inflexible, they’re also unreliable. These older systems just cannot support the innovation, scale, and demands of modern API-driven business requirements.

Simply put, traditional EDI and B2B integration systems are falling behind in the market. Enterprises need B2B integration solutions that provide greater flexibility, ultimate reliability, security, scalability, and compatibility with cloud-based ERP systems.

Reinforce your current business and innovate with ingenuity

The EDI/B2B processes of the future enable companies to access data from anywhere in the world at any time. As a result, employees can collaborate on projects more freely and work more efficiently on critical infrastructure projects. In a remote work-connected world, this also cuts down on travel costs. In addition, massive amounts of stored data can be accessed remotely when needed.

EDI market and APIs continue to grow in use. By 2023, Gartner Research shows over 50% of all B2B transactions will run through APIs. As industry regulations evolve rapidly, B2B companies will be pushed to adopt new integration standards and processes.

With a cloud-based API-enabled B2B integration platform, businesses can explore new business opportunities. They can reach higher efficiency by streamlining traditional EDI along with modern API management systems.

Today’s B2B integration platforms must connect in the cloud with partner ecosystems. This will help to support a higher number of transactions, evolving security, and policy regulations. Not only that, but an API-driven cloud infrastructure will nearly eliminate the maintenance costs of older, outdated systems.

And given the 24/7/365 nature of modern business, enterprises can’t afford to have problems with EDI. They need a solution that simply works. A modern API-enabled B2B platform is flexible and scalable to tame this complexity, streamline traditional EDI and API-driven processes, offer rock-solid availability and reliability, and support innovation.

Achieve maximum value with Axway’s B2B Integration Platform

To remain competitive and stay current with your partners’ and customers’ rapidly changing technology, consider an upgrade to the new Axway B2B Integration Platform experience, with B2Bi as software or B2B Managed Cloud Services solutions. Having this modernization in place will set your business apart from those that are lagging behind. This system will also help to maintain your B2B company’s overall innovation, security, and reliability to meet the new era’s market needs.

IT leaders can have a single point of B2B integration management for a wide variety of EDI protocols and modern APIs with the new Axway B2B Integration Platform experience, with B2Bi as Software or B2B Managed Cloud Services solutions. Enterprises will gain full B2B engine performance, with functional richness of capabilities, certifications and compliance, high flexibility and usability, as well as new e-Invoicing with PEPPOL services for standardized messaging in the order-to-invoice flow.

You’ll be able to use real-time alerts to trace back root causes for malfunctioning connections and SLA risks. And Axway B2B Integration offers companies the flexibility to move to the cloud in stages, or even just delegate portions of their EDI operations, to avoid lock-in and gain resilience in the face of a changing workforce.

Maybe your business has embarked on a new growth strategy, or has introduced a new product line that requires new processes. It could be a launch into new country markets, or simply responding to customer and partner demands to move to the next level. Knowing why it’s time for a full new B2B is often the action point for change. It’s decision time.

Let us help you streamline EDI and API capabilities to enable a unique and consistent B2B integration experience with the Axway B2B Integration Platform experience.