Overview
Azure Integration Services is a comprehensive suite of cloud services for connecting applications, data, and business processes. Whether you need real-time event processing, reliable message queuing, serverless workflow orchestration, or API management, Azure provides the tools for modern enterprise integration.
Our expertise spans the entire Azure integration ecosystem. We design and implement hybrid integration architectures that connect cloud services with on-premises systems, enable event-driven architectures, and provide scalable API management for digital transformation initiatives.
Core Azure Integration Services
Azure Logic Apps
Serverless workflow orchestration platform for automating business processes and integrating applications. Azure Logic Apps provides:
- Visual Designer: Drag-and-drop workflow design with 400+ connectors
- Standard vs Consumption: Choose between multi-tenant and single-tenant hosting
- Built-in Connectors: SAP, Oracle, SQL Server, Dynamics 365, Salesforce, and more
- Enterprise Integration Pack: B2B messaging with EDI, AS2, and X12
Azure Service Bus
Enterprise message broker for reliable asynchronous messaging. Service Bus offers:
- Queues: Point-to-point messaging with FIFO guarantee
- Topics & Subscriptions: Publish-subscribe messaging patterns
- Sessions: Ordered message processing and correlation
- Dead-Letter Queues: Automatic handling of unprocessable messages
Azure Event Grid
Event routing service for building event-driven architectures. Event Grid provides:
- Reactive Programming: React to Azure resource state changes
- Custom Topics: Publish application-specific events
- Event Filtering: Advanced filtering and routing logic
- High Throughput: Millions of events per second
Azure Event Hubs
Big data streaming platform for high-throughput event ingestion. Event Hubs enables:
- Telemetry Ingestion: IoT devices, application logs, clickstream data
- Kafka Compatibility: Works with existing Kafka clients
- Partitioning: Parallel processing for scalability
- Capture: Automatic archival to Azure Storage or Data Lake
Azure API Management
Full lifecycle API management platform. APIM provides:
- API Gateway: Single entry point for all backend services
- Developer Portal: Self-service API documentation and testing
- Policy Engine: Rate limiting, caching, transformation, authentication
- Analytics: Usage metrics, performance monitoring, and insights
On-Premises Data Gateway
Secure bridge between on-premises data and cloud services. Data Gateway enables:
- Hybrid Connectivity: Access on-premises SQL, file shares, SAP
- Security: Encrypted connections without VPN or firewall changes
- High Availability: Gateway clustering for redundancy
- Monitoring: Gateway health and performance metrics
Enterprise Integration Patterns
We implement proven integration patterns for reliable, scalable architectures:
Event-Driven Architecture
Event Sourcing Pattern
Store application state as a sequence of events. Benefits include:
- Complete audit trail of all state changes
- Ability to rebuild state by replaying events
- Temporal queries (view state at any point in time)
- Support for event-driven microservices
Implementation: Event Hubs for ingestion, Event Grid for routing, Cosmos DB for event store
CQRS (Command Query Responsibility Segregation)
Separate read and write operations for optimized performance:
- Write model optimized for consistency and validation
- Read models denormalized for query performance
- Independent scaling of read and write workloads
- Different data stores for commands and queries
Implementation: Service Bus for commands, Event Grid for synchronization, SQL/Cosmos for read models
Saga Pattern for Distributed Transactions
Manage long-running business processes across multiple services:
- Choreography: Services publish events and react to events from others
- Orchestration: Central coordinator manages saga execution
- Compensation: Undo completed steps if saga fails
- Eventual consistency across distributed systems
Implementation: Durable Functions for orchestration, Service Bus for reliable messaging
API-Led Integration
System APIs
Low-level APIs that connect directly to backend systems (databases, SaaS, legacy systems). Provide standardized access to underlying data sources.
Process APIs
Business logic layer that orchestrates multiple system APIs. Implement business processes, data aggregation, and transformation logic.
Experience APIs
Channel-specific APIs tailored for specific consumers (mobile apps, web portals, chatbots). Provide optimized data structures and operations for each channel.
Messaging Patterns
- Request-Reply: Synchronous communication with response correlation
- Publish-Subscribe: One-to-many message distribution with topics
- Competing Consumers: Multiple workers processing messages from a queue
- Message Routing: Content-based routing with filters and subscriptions
- Priority Queue: Process high-priority messages first
- Claim Check: Store large payloads externally, pass reference in message
Azure Logic Apps Development
Standard vs Consumption
Choose the right hosting model based on your requirements:
| Feature | Consumption | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Multi-tenant, serverless | Single-tenant, dedicated |
| Pricing | Pay per execution | Fixed monthly cost |
| VNet Integration | Via ISE (expensive) | Built-in support |
| Local Development | Limited | Full VS Code support |
| Best For | Low-volume, cloud-only | High-volume, hybrid, dev/test |
Advanced Logic Apps Features
Stateful vs Stateless Workflows
Standard Logic Apps support both execution modes:
- Stateful: Run history persisted, supports long-running operations, retry with history
- Stateless: No history, faster execution, ideal for high-throughput scenarios
Built-in Connectors
Built-in connectors run in the same process as Logic Apps runtime for better performance:
- Azure Service Bus, Azure Blob Storage, Azure Cosmos DB
- HTTP, Request/Response, Schedule
- SQL Server (built-in version for better performance)
- Inline Code (JavaScript execution within workflow)
Custom Connectors
Build connectors for any REST API with OpenAPI specification:
- Import OpenAPI 2.0/3.0 or Postman collections
- Configure authentication (OAuth 2.0, API Key, Basic)
- Add custom code for request/response transformation
- Share connectors across organization or publish publicly
Error Handling & Resilience
- Retry Policies: Exponential backoff, fixed interval, custom retry strategies
- Scope Actions: Group actions with shared error handling
- Run After Configuration: Control action execution based on previous action status
- Try-Catch-Finally: Structured exception handling with scope actions
- Timeout Settings: Action-level and workflow-level timeouts
Azure Service Bus Best Practices
Message Properties & Metadata
- ContentType: Specify message format (application/json, text/xml)
- CorrelationId: Correlate request and response messages
- SessionId: Group related messages for ordered processing
- MessageId: Unique identifier for deduplication
- Custom Properties: Add application-specific metadata for filtering
Advanced Features
Message Sessions
Guarantee FIFO processing for related messages. Use sessions for:
- Processing all messages for an order in sequence
- Implementing stateful message processing workflows
- Load balancing across multiple consumers while maintaining order
Scheduled Messages
Enqueue messages to be available at a future time. Use cases:
- Delayed notification delivery
- Reminder systems and scheduled tasks
- Rate limiting with message spacing
Auto-Forwarding
Chain queues and subscriptions for complex routing:
- Implement pipeline processing patterns
- Move messages between namespaces (with Premium tier)
- Dead-letter queue consolidation
Performance Optimization
- Batch Processing: Send/receive multiple messages in a single operation
- Prefetching: Client-side message caching for improved throughput
- Partitioning: Distribute messages across multiple brokers (deprecated, use Premium)
- Premium Tier: Dedicated resources for predictable performance
- Message Size: Keep messages small, use claim check pattern for large payloads
API Management Strategies
Policy Framework
APIM policies are XML-based configurations applied at different scopes (global, product, API, operation):
Inbound Policies
Applied before request is forwarded to backend:
- Rate limiting and quota enforcement
- JWT validation and OAuth 2.0 authentication
- Request transformation and header manipulation
- IP filtering and CORS configuration
Backend Policies
Control backend communication:
- Service URL rewriting and load balancing
- Circuit breaker pattern for fault tolerance
- Retry policies with exponential backoff
- Backend authentication (certificate, credentials)
Outbound Policies
Applied before response is returned to client:
- Response transformation and data masking
- Response caching for performance
- Header filtering and CORS headers
- Find and replace in response body
Advanced APIM Features
- API Versioning: URL path, query parameter, or header-based versioning
- API Revisions: Safe testing of API changes before making them current
- Self-Hosted Gateway: Deploy gateway on-premises or in other clouds
- Synthetic GraphQL: Create GraphQL APIs from existing REST endpoints
- Validation Policies: OpenAPI schema validation for requests/responses
- Mock Responses: Return example responses for API development
Developer Portal Customization
- Branding: Custom themes, logos, and styling
- Content Management: Custom pages and documentation
- Interactive Console: Try API operations with real credentials
- Subscription Management: Self-service API key generation
- Code Samples: Auto-generated samples in multiple languages
Security & Monitoring
Authentication & Authorization
🔒 Authentication & Authorization
- Managed Identities: Azure AD authentication without credentials in code
- Azure Key Vault: Secure storage for secrets, certificates, and keys
- Shared Access Signatures: Time-limited, scoped access to Service Bus/Storage
- OAuth 2.0 & OpenID Connect: Standard protocols for API authentication
- Certificate-Based Auth: Mutual TLS for service-to-service communication
🛡️ Network Security
- Private Endpoints: Access Azure services over private IP addresses
- VNet Integration: Logic Apps Standard and APIM in your VNet
- IP Filtering: Restrict access to known IP ranges
- Service Endpoints: Secure Azure-to-Azure connectivity
- Application Gateway + WAF: Web application firewall for APIs
Monitoring & Observability
- Azure Monitor: Centralized logging and metrics for all integration services
- Application Insights: Distributed tracing across Logic Apps and APIs
- Log Analytics: KQL queries for deep troubleshooting
- Service Health: Azure platform health and planned maintenance
- Alerts & Action Groups: Proactive notifications and automated remediation
- Logic Apps Run History: Detailed execution logs with input/output tracking
DevOps & Deployment
Infrastructure as Code
- ARM Templates: Azure Resource Manager templates for resource deployment
- Bicep: Domain-specific language for Azure resources (simpler than ARM)
- Terraform: Multi-cloud IaC with Azure provider
- Azure CLI/PowerShell: Scripted deployment and configuration
CI/CD Pipelines
Logic Apps Standard
Full DevOps support with local development and source control:
- VS Code extension for local workflow design
- Git repository integration (Azure DevOps, GitHub)
- Azure DevOps pipelines or GitHub Actions for deployment
- Parameterization with parameters.json and environment-specific config
API Management
DevOps kit for automated API deployment:
- Extract API configurations to ARM templates or Bicep
- Source control for API definitions, policies, and products
- Multi-environment deployment with parameter files
- API testing integration with Postman/Newman
Testing Strategies
- Unit Testing: Test individual workflow actions with mock data
- Integration Testing: End-to-end testing with test environments
- Load Testing: Azure Load Testing for performance validation
- API Testing: Postman collections, Pact for contract testing
- Chaos Engineering: Test resilience with fault injection
Best Practices
🏗️ Architecture Principles
- Design for failure: assume any component can fail
- Use idempotent operations for reliable message processing
- Implement correlation IDs for distributed tracing
- Decouple services with asynchronous messaging
- Apply throttling and backpressure to protect backends
⚡ Performance Guidelines
- Use Service Bus batching for high throughput scenarios
- Implement response caching in APIM for read-heavy APIs
- Choose Standard Logic Apps for high-volume workflows
- Use Event Grid for real-time, lightweight events
- Optimize message size; use claim check for large payloads
🔒 Security Guidelines
- Always use managed identities over connection strings
- Store secrets in Azure Key Vault with access policies
- Enable diagnostic logging for all integration services
- Implement network isolation with Private Link
- Rotate keys and certificates regularly
Our Integration Approach
At CRX Partners, we design resilient, scalable integration architectures that align with your business objectives. Our methodology includes:
Discovery & Assessment
Analyze existing integrations, identify pain points, and map data flows across systems to design optimal solutions.
Architecture Design
Design event-driven, API-led architectures with proper service selection, security patterns, and scalability considerations.
Implementation & Testing
Build integrations with error handling, monitoring, and comprehensive testing (unit, integration, load testing).
DevOps & Support
Establish CI/CD pipelines, monitoring dashboards, and provide ongoing support for production integrations.
Ready to Modernize Your Integration Architecture?
Let's discuss how Azure Integration Services can connect your applications, data, and processes for seamless digital transformation.