KPMG Netherlands streamlines enterprise integration platforms through Azure Integration Services

Standardize current and future integrations

KPMG Netherlands, the Dutch branch of the global KPMG organization, offers advisory and audit services to more than 10,000 business clients within the country. Its primary challenge lay in improving the integration between the growing number of software systems, applications, and SaaS solutions. Carel Nederveen, the Enterprise Technology Architect at KPMG Netherlands, described the situation by saying, “We had a fairly large number of integration technologies grown organically. With the increased demand for integrations, especially the growing number of SaaS solutions, we wanted to standardize and remove complexity in order to reduce costs and improve ease of use for future development.”

The IT team responsible for building the central platform could create integrations between specific software components, but it lacked a centralized API framework to guide their work. Consequently, each integration had to be custom-built. KPMG Netherlands also operates within a zero-trust security environment to safeguard its clients' data. Users must continually verify their identity and access only the data essential to their roles. The use of a standardized integration platform would thus better facilitate the zero-trust security setup and would reduce IT’s operational security workload.  

To address these challenges, KPMG Netherlands sought a solution to enhance security and streamline integrations. Nederveen believed that the answer lay in a robust integration platform supporting API-based development with cost scalability. Azure Integration Services emerged as the ideal foundation for creating a consistent, centralized, and modern integrations platform for KPMG Netherlands.

Building a path for collaboration

Nederveen's primary goal for the new integration platform was to establish a system that used APIs to facilitate connections between various software components and empower the company’s future IT strategy. The new platform aimed to empower the IT department to reference a standardized set of API functionalities, enabling seamless integration of software programs as needed.

KPMG Netherlands selected Azure Integration Services as the backbone of its integration platform for several compelling reasons. First and foremost, its cost scalability promised cost and time savings. It seamlessly integrated with the Microsoft technology stack and offered ease of scaling based on development requirements. Additionally, Nederveen's team could rely on Azure Logic Apps for low-code workflow orchestration, reducing the need to hire more C# developers and keeping integration development in-house. 

The team embarked on the platform's development in 2022 with valuable assistance from a Microsoft technology support team. The approach was to build the platform and integrations by hand at first, then develop in Azure DevOps using multiple Microsoft tools. Nederveen commended the Microsoft team’s reliability, saying, "We didn't want to spend excessive time on research. If we couldn't resolve an issue within a few hours, we'd seek assistance from the Microsoft team, a highly valuable and supportive resource."

A significant portion of the project involved rebuilding integrations. The team had to deconstruct prior custom-built integrations and reconstruct them from the ground up, emphasizing standardization and enhanced security protocols. The resulting integration platform now serves as a central gateway, directing all integration requests through a unified system for secure access between the various platforms and applications. Standardized APIs have significantly enhanced internal and external functionality, while the zero-trust security environment is reinforced by exposing only information referenced by the API functionalities and all requests requiring authentication from the central server.

The benefits of central operation

The implementation of the integration platform yielded immediate improvements in functionality for KPMG Netherlands. Unified API management streamlined development and deployment for both existing and new programs. Integration of additional programs through standard API calls required minimal additional development time. The shift to cloud-based operations reduced the time and cost associated with maintenance.

Azure API Management gave the developers at KPMG NL access to a central, managed set of resources for its APIs. All of the APIs developed exist in an indexed and searchable database. This lets developers searching for new functionality grab existing APIs instead of creating a new bespoke means of requesting information from external sources. That, in turn, speeds up the integration via Azure Logic Apps.

The standardized flow and actions of Logic Apps also ensure that the process of calling and acquiring extra data does not require extensive further coding. Once the standard APIs are used, developers can quickly use Logic Apps to assemble a workflow that acquires information and sends it to the correct spots on the backend. This makes the flow of information more reliable and speeds up integration between applications.

Enhanced processing power and smoother integration mean that tasks which once took days now operate in near real time, providing almost instant access to crucial data. By focusing on software integration, employees and clients benefitted from accessible and shareable information. Nederveen emphasized the importance of using APIs for development and expansion, stating, "Our job is about ensuring that they work together for our needs, as we don't need to build entirely new applications when there are many good ones available in the market."

The API functionality is a critical asset as KPMG Netherlands continues to add software to address specific business needs, ensuring future integration is seamless. "In our industry, it's vital to be somewhat risk-averse and thoroughly understand the software's inner workings," said Nederveen. " We have to understand every nut and bolt in our software. But we knew we needed something moving forward, and Azure Integration Services let us build a platform that prepares us for what comes next."

With the API platform in place, new integration requests follow a standardized process, with the IT team building the necessary connections pending central approval. The streamlined documentation and design philosophy have reduced the time spent on integrating software, allowing more focus on selecting the most suitable tools for each job.

Built together for the future

The integration platform has already reduced development time, yet KPMG Netherlands is only at the beginning of its journey, with more benefits to be realized. The team plans to extend the platform to other national branches of KPMG once the platform has been stress-tested. They are also exploring how the platform can integrate customer points of contact and facilitate secure data and functionality sharing.

AI is being employed to aid coding, utilizing Logic Apps and generative tools to fill code gaps and expedite development and deployment. While Microsoft Copilot is not currently integrated, Nederveen is aware of its potential and looks forward to exploring its benefits for coding, configuration, security and other functions like service request automation. Moreover, KPMG Netherlands is actively developing a new data platform founded on a Microsoft technology stack, which will seamlessly connect with the existing integration platform, supporting integrations where needed. 

By leveraging low-code building solutions and Azure Integration Services' capabilities, KPMG Netherlands has taken a foundational step to deliver significant benefits to employees and clients with minimal overhead. The cost savings and seamless integration of software components ensure secure operation across all essential software systems and provide opportunities for future expansion.

Azure Integration Services has proven to be very helpful to KPMG NL, and as with every other product in its library, Microsoft is continuously improving the product adding additional functionality. The platform and how the company is using it will be continuously improved by the KPMG NL integration team.  

"This platform is a preparation for the future," said Nederveen. "We have to future-proof what we do and be prepared for what's coming down the pipeline. Building this platform wasn't just about what it can do for us today, but what it can enable us to do for years to come."

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