How to Set Up a Connected System with Azure Integration Services
Azure Integration Services is Microsoft's suite of cloud-native integration technologies that enables enterprises to connect applications, data, and processes across on-premises systems, cloud services, and SaaS platforms. Comprising Azure Logic Apps, Azure Service Bus, Azure API Management, and Azure Event Grid, the platform provides the messaging, orchestration, API governance, and event-driven architectures needed to eliminate data silos and create connected enterprise systems. EPC Group designs and implements integration architectures that connect ERP, CRM, HR, financial, and line-of-business systems into cohesive, automated workflows for organizations across healthcare, finance, and manufacturing.
The Four Pillars of Azure Integration Services
Azure Integration Services consists of four complementary services that address different integration patterns:
- Azure Logic Apps (Workflow Orchestration): Visual workflow designer with 400+ connectors to SaaS and on-premises systems. Orchestrates multi-step business processes including approvals, data transformations, and conditional routing. Available in Consumption (serverless, pay-per-execution) and Standard (dedicated hosting with VNet integration) tiers.
- Azure Service Bus (Enterprise Messaging): Reliable message broker supporting queues (point-to-point) and topics (publish-subscribe) patterns. Provides guaranteed delivery, FIFO ordering, dead-letter handling, and transactions. Essential for decoupling systems and handling asynchronous communication between microservices.
- Azure API Management (API Gateway): Full lifecycle API management including API gateway, developer portal, and analytics dashboard. Provides rate limiting, authentication, caching, request/response transformation, and versioning for APIs exposed internally or to partners.
- Azure Event Grid (Event Routing): Fully managed event routing service that distributes events from Azure services, custom applications, and third-party sources to subscribers. Supports push-based, reactive architectures with built-in retry and dead-lettering.
Common Enterprise Integration Patterns
EPC Group implements integration architectures based on proven enterprise integration patterns:
- API-Led Connectivity: Expose backend systems (SAP, Dynamics 365, legacy databases) through managed APIs in API Management. Frontend applications, partners, and mobile apps consume standardized APIs without direct backend coupling. API policies handle authentication, rate limiting, and data transformation.
- Event-Driven Architecture: Systems publish events to Event Grid when significant state changes occur (order placed, patient admitted, invoice approved). Subscribing services react to events asynchronously, enabling loose coupling and horizontal scaling. Logic Apps or Azure Functions process events and trigger downstream actions.
- Message-Based Integration: Service Bus queues and topics decouple producers and consumers, ensuring reliable message delivery even when target systems are temporarily offline. Message sessions maintain ordering, and dead-letter queues capture failed messages for investigation and replay.
- Hybrid Integration: On-premises data gateway and hybrid connections enable Logic Apps and API Management to securely access on-premises databases, file shares, and APIs without exposing them to the public internet. VNet integration in Logic Apps Standard provides network-level isolation.
- B2B/EDI Integration: Logic Apps B2B features support EDI (X12, EDIFACT) and AS2 message exchange with trading partners. Integration accounts manage partner agreements, schemas, and certificates for supply chain and financial transaction processing.
Setting Up Your Connected System: Architecture Guide
A well-designed connected system follows a layered architecture that separates concerns and enables independent scaling:
- Layer 1 - API Gateway: Deploy Azure API Management as the single entry point for all API traffic. Configure products, subscriptions, and policies for internal consumers, partner integrations, and public APIs. Enable Application Insights for API analytics and diagnostics.
- Layer 2 - Orchestration: Logic Apps Standard workflows orchestrate complex business processes that span multiple systems. Use stateful workflows for long-running processes (approval chains, multi-step order fulfillment) and stateless workflows for high-throughput, low-latency integrations.
- Layer 3 - Messaging: Service Bus provides the reliable messaging backbone. Use queues for point-to-point command processing and topics with subscriptions for event distribution. Configure message TTL, duplicate detection, and dead-letter policies based on business requirements.
- Layer 4 - Event Distribution: Event Grid distributes system events (Azure resource changes, custom application events, IoT telemetry) to multiple subscribers. Configure event filters to route specific event types to appropriate handlers.
- Layer 5 - Connectivity: On-premises data gateway, private endpoints, and VNet integration provide secure connectivity to on-premises systems, Azure PaaS services, and partner networks.
Security and Governance
Enterprise integration must be secure and governed from day one:
- Authentication: OAuth 2.0, Microsoft Entra ID, client certificates, and API keys protect API endpoints. Managed identities eliminate credential storage for service-to-service communication.
- Network Security: Private endpoints, VNet integration, and NSGs restrict traffic to authorized networks. API Management supports internal (VNet-only) and external deployment modes.
- Data Protection: TLS 1.2+ encryption in transit, Azure Key Vault for secret management, and data masking in API Management policies protect sensitive data flowing through integration layers.
- Monitoring: Azure Monitor, Application Insights, and Log Analytics provide end-to-end visibility into integration health, performance, and errors. Alerts trigger when error rates exceed thresholds or message queues exceed depth limits.
Why EPC Group for Integration Architecture
Enterprise integration projects fail when treated as purely technical exercises. EPC Group combines technical expertise with business process understanding:
- Integration Assessment: We map your current system landscape, data flows, and integration points to identify gaps, redundancies, and modernization opportunities. This assessment produces a prioritized integration roadmap.
- Architecture Design: We design the target integration architecture based on your specific systems (SAP, Dynamics 365, Salesforce, Epic, Cerner, custom applications), message volumes, latency requirements, and compliance constraints.
- Implementation: Our team builds Logic Apps workflows, configures Service Bus topologies, deploys API Management policies, and establishes Event Grid subscriptions. We follow infrastructure-as-code practices (Bicep, ARM templates) for repeatable deployments.
- Migration: For organizations moving from BizTalk Server, MuleSoft, or other integration platforms, we provide migration assessment, architecture translation, and phased cutover plans.
- Managed Services: Post-implementation, EPC Group provides integration monitoring, incident response, workflow maintenance, and capacity planning to ensure your connected systems operate reliably.
Connect Your Enterprise Systems
Contact EPC Group for an integration architecture assessment. We map your system landscape, design the optimal Azure Integration Services architecture, and implement connected workflows that automate processes and eliminate data silos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I use Logic Apps Consumption or Standard?
Logic Apps Consumption is serverless and pay-per-execution, making it cost-effective for low-volume workflows and rapid prototyping. Logic Apps Standard runs on a dedicated App Service plan, providing VNet integration, stateful/stateless workflow options, built-in storage, and better performance for high-volume scenarios. EPC Group recommends Standard for enterprise production workloads that require network isolation, predictable performance, and complex workflow orchestration. Consumption is suitable for event-triggered automations with modest execution volumes.
How does Azure Integration Services compare to BizTalk Server?
Azure Integration Services is the cloud-native successor to BizTalk Server. Logic Apps replaces BizTalk orchestration, Service Bus replaces BizTalk messaging adapters, API Management replaces BizTalk web service publishing, and Event Grid adds event-driven capabilities that BizTalk did not natively provide. The key advantages are elimination of infrastructure management, elastic scaling, 400+ built-in connectors, and pay-per-use pricing. EPC Group has migrated numerous BizTalk environments to Azure Integration Services, preserving business logic while modernizing the platform.
Can Azure Integration Services connect to on-premises systems?
Yes. The on-premises data gateway enables Logic Apps and API Management to securely access on-premises SQL Server, Oracle, SAP, file shares, and custom APIs. The gateway installs as a Windows service in your datacenter and communicates outbound to Azure through encrypted channels -- no inbound firewall rules required. For higher-performance scenarios, Logic Apps Standard with VNet integration can connect to on-premises systems through ExpressRoute or site-to-site VPN without the gateway.
What is the cost of Azure Integration Services?
Costs vary by component and usage. Logic Apps Consumption charges per action execution (approximately $0.000025 per action). Logic Apps Standard starts at approximately $150/month for a basic App Service plan. Service Bus Standard tier starts at approximately $10/month plus per-message charges. API Management ranges from ~$50/month (Developer) to ~$3,000/month (Premium with VNet) depending on the tier. Event Grid charges per operation (approximately $0.60 per million operations). EPC Group provides detailed cost modeling based on your expected message volumes and integration patterns.
How do I handle errors and failed messages?
Azure Integration Services provides comprehensive error handling at each layer. Service Bus uses dead-letter queues to capture messages that fail processing after the configured retry count. Logic Apps supports retry policies (fixed, exponential, custom intervals), try-catch scopes for error handling within workflows, and run history for troubleshooting failed executions. Event Grid retries event delivery with exponential backoff for up to 24 hours, with dead-letter storage in Azure Blob Storage for events that cannot be delivered. EPC Group implements monitoring dashboards that aggregate errors across all integration components and trigger alerts for immediate investigation.