Bespoke Integration and Adapters
Not every system provides exactly the interface required by the organisation using it.
A device may expose useful information in an awkward format. A software platform may support only part of a required workflow. Two products may each work well independently but have no supported way to communicate.
A bespoke adapter can bridge that gap.
WDWD Industries designs custom integration layers and adapters around existing software, hardware and third-party systems.
What an adapter does
An adapter provides a controlled translation between one system and another.
It may:
- translate a protocol;
- convert data formats;
- expose an internal API;
- map identifiers and statuses;
- add authentication;
- buffer unreliable communication;
- convert events into actions;
- provide a simpler interface around a complex device or service.
The original systems can often remain unchanged.
Why adapters are useful
Adapters are particularly useful where replacing the underlying system would be disproportionate.
Examples include situations where:
- an established device performs its main role well;
- a vendor platform cannot be modified;
- a legacy system must remain operational;
- only a small amount of functionality needs to be exposed;
- a temporary bridge is needed during a larger migration;
- a specialist interface needs to be made available to a broader application.
Creating a stable boundary
One advantage of an adapter is that it can isolate the rest of the system from awkward implementation details.
Instead of every application needing to understand a proprietary or unusual interface, the adapter can present a consistent internal contract.
This can make future development simpler.
Dealing with incomplete interfaces
An integration does not always begin with a well-documented API.
Investigation may be required to understand:
- available commands;
- network behaviour;
- file formats;
- device messages;
- authentication;
- state changes;
- timing requirements;
- limitations.
Once understood, this behaviour can often be wrapped in a cleaner interface.
Reliability
A useful adapter should account for failure.
Depending on the environment, this may involve:
- retries;
- timeouts;
- reconnection;
- local buffering;
- duplicate detection;
- state reconciliation;
- logging;
- health checks.
This is particularly important where the underlying system was not originally designed for integration.
Example scenarios
Examples include:
- exposing a legacy system through a modern API;
- converting a specialist device protocol into a web service;
- connecting two third-party products with incompatible interfaces;
- creating a gateway between equipment and cloud software;
- wrapping an awkward vendor API behind a stable internal service;
- introducing a temporary compatibility layer during a migration.
How WDWD Industries can help
WDWD Industries works on integration problems where the required interface does not already exist in a convenient form.
Typical work includes:
- interface investigation;
- custom adapters;
- gateways;
- protocol translation;
- API wrappers;
- data transformation;
- legacy integration;
- reliability and monitoring.
If two systems need to work together but there is no straightforward supported integration, contact WDWD Industries at https://wdwd.industries/enquiries.