High-growth organisations often find their growth ambitions hamstrung by a critical bottleneck: application and data integration. Manual processes and outdated, point-to-point integration solutions create data silos, introduce errors, and overwhelm IT teams, stifling innovation and frustratinghid customers.
A recent Total Economic Impact (TEI) study conducted by Forrester Consulting, commissioned by Celigo, provides a compelling solution to this universal challenge. The study, which aggregated the experiences of multiple organisations, concludes that the Celigo Integration Platform doesn’t just solve technical problems – it delivers a staggering 383% return on investment (ROI) and a net present value (NPV) of $1.1 million over three years.
But how does an integration platform achieve such dramatic financial results? The Forrester report details a journey from fragmented, error-prone operations to a streamlined, automated, and agile enterprise, powered by a unified low-code iPaaS. In this article, we examine key findings from the TEI.
The High Cost of Disconnected Systems
Before investing in the Celigo Integration Platform, the profiled organisations struggled with significant operational hurdles. Their business processes were either fully manual or partially automated with antiquated tools. This legacy environment led to a cascade of problems:
Technical Limitations
Outdated integration solutions were difficult to use, required specialised developers, and were impossible to scale efficiently.
Pervasive Data Errors
Manual data transfers via spreadsheets were commonplace, leading to frequent errors, duplications, and system freezes. As one VP of IT in the pharmaceuticals industry noted, managing this became “increasingly difficult … with our small operational teams”.
Overwhelmed IT Team
Small IT departments had no bandwidth to support new business initiatives, such as e-commerce expansion, because they were constantly firefighting integration issues.
Poor Customer Experiences
Data inaccuracies caused tangible business harm where orders were lost, customers were billed incorrectly, and shipments were delayed, tarnishing the brand’s reputation.
These challenges created an urgent need for a centralised, user-friendly solution that could break down data silos, empower internal teams, and reduce the cost of scaling.
Quantifiable Benefits: The Road to US$1.4 Million
The Forrester study quantified the benefits of the Celigo Integration Platform across several key areas, building to a total of US$1.4 million in risk-adjusted benefits for the composite organisation.
Incremental Profit Contribution: US$246,000
By enabling seamless integrations for order-to-cash processes, real-time inventory updates, and faster launch of new revenue streams (like “buy online, pick up in-store”), Celigo directly contributed to revenue growth. The platform helped secure a 3% increase in revenue within the affected streams by eliminating costly errors and delays.
Integration Development Cost Avoidance: US$458,000
The low-code environment of the Celigo Integration Platform was a game-changer. It enabled IT teams to deploy integrations and automation flows 50% faster. Complex projects that once took two IT staff 30 days were completed in half the time. Furthermore, the platform democratised integration, allowing business users to build non-complex flows, thereby freeing up expensive IT resources for more strategic work.
Business User Productivity Improvement: US$252,000
Automating manual, repetitive tasks, from inventory updates and financial reconciliation to employee onboarding, gave employees valuable time back. The study found that affected business users saved over 100 hours per year, which was reallocated to value-generating activities, improving overall operational efficiency.
Reduction in Cost of Resolving Data Errors: US$105,000
Automation and the platform’s centralised dashboard led to a 50% reduction in data errors and an 83% reduction in time spent resolving them. A business user could now handle what used to take hours for an IT specialist in 30 minutes, thanks to clear visibility and AI-assisted error detection.
Cost Savings from Retired Technologies: US$329,000
Organisations consolidated multiple legacy integration tools onto the single, comprehensive Celigo Integration Platform. This not only saved on licensing and maintenance fees but also reduced the management burden of maintaining several disparate systems.
Beyond the Numbers: The Strategic Advantages
While the quantified benefits are impressive, the Forrester report also highlighted crucial unquantified advantages that provide long-term strategic value:
AI Benefits
Celigo’s AI capabilities simplify complex tasks through predictive analytics, intelligent data mapping, and automated flow documentation, further boosting productivity.
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction
With real-time, accurate inventory, pricing, and orders data, companies drastically reduced overselling and listing errors, leading to a more reliable and satisfying customer experience.
Faster, Data-Driven Decisions
Seamless data integration means finance and management teams can access timely and accurate reports, enabling them to make critical business decisions –like pricing adjustments – weeks faster than before.
A Manageable Investment with Massive Returns
On the cost side, the three-year investment was calculated at US$287,000. This includes subscription fees based on endpoints and flows, initial professional services, and the internal cost of implementation and management – noted by interviewees as a “minimal time investment”. The platform’s ease of use also meant training costs were negligible, with users becoming proficient in a matter of hours.
When weighed against US$1.4 million in benefits, this investment delivers an undeniable ROI of 383% and an NPV of $1.1 million. As the VP of IT from a pharmaceutical company succinctly put it: “The ROI with the Celigo platform is instant. You don’t have to wait 10 years to see savings. It’s a big win for our organisation.”
Conclusion: More Than an Integration Tool—A Growth Engine
The Forrester TEI study conclusively demonstrates that the Celigo Integration Platform is far more than a technical utility. It is a strategic investment that pays for itself many times over by driving efficiency, enabling growth, and future-proofing the business.
By breaking down data silos, empowering both IT and business users, and creating a seamless operational flow, Celigo positions organisations to compete and win in the modern digital landscape. For any business seeking to overcome integration chaos and unlock new levels of productivity and profit, the evidence is clear: the platform provides a compelling and financially robust pathway to success.
