As part of SAP’s commitment to further enhance the employee experience, we are excited to offer API integration for SAP U.S. Benefits Administration by Benefitfocus. This functionality enables more seamless integration of benefits data across the SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite.

While traditional middleware-based integration can offer basic data transfer capabilities, it often requires significant investment and maintenance responsibilities. The new API (Application Programming Interface) integration is a cost effective and efficient approach and no longer requires customers to build their own integration. Instead, preconfigured templates are hosted in the SAP API Business Hub and can be imported using a one-click approach. There is no up-front development cost and maintenance is handled with point-to-point integration for greater performance and peace of mind. However, the benefits of API integration extend far beyond cost-savings.

In the past, middleware-based integration involved resource-intensive SFTP file transfer processes that were susceptible to errors. Now, with an API integration, data can be transferred in near real-time between Benefitfocus and SAP SuccessFactors. This increases the efficiency of new hire and termination processing and simplifies payroll reconciliation by enabling  data to move between systems in minutes rather than weeks. The data exchange is fully automated and hard coded to conform to preset API standards, ensuring security and stability.

Here’s a quick summary of some of the key advantages of using API integration:

• No development and implementation cost
• Near real-time data transfer
• 100% fully automated machine-to-machine data exchange reduces error risk
• Enhanced security and stability

The advantages of an API integration all add up to an improved experience that eliminates the headaches that would typically occur with a middleware-based integration. Near real-time data transfer and turn-key automation provide the speed and accuracy today’s businesses demand. Gone are the days of waiting for new hire and terminations data to be reflected in the system. Events and data changes, such as deduction selections, are reflected within minutes and integrate effortlessly with other solutions in the SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite.

To learn more about API integration for SAP U.S. Benefits Integration by Benefitfocus, visit the API Business Hub.