The cloud promises companies many benefits, from automatic updates to rapid scaling (of seats, storage, or computing) to advantageous pricing structures. But, it makes few promises about integration. A Microsoft Dynamics ERP customer may be assured of achieving solid integration with Dynamics CRM Online; less assured if it then adds third-party human resources, business intelligence (BI) or marketing automation solutions, especially ones outside the Microsoft partner ecosystem.
A good many cloud applications (like CRM, marketing automation and HR systems) never get integrated, because user companies can't spare the time or expense. And with the pace of iterations in cloud-based software, they'd be crazy to try. Custom coding (still a preferred method of in...