01
APIs
Defined application operations
- Best when
- A supported interface exposes the records or actions the workflow needs.
- Design for
- Authentication, versioned contracts, rate limits, transaction behavior, and confirmation of completed writes.
Keep the core. Connect the next capability.
AI & automation
integration for
legacy systems.
Bring AI and automation into the systems your organization already depends on. GS Consulting builds approved interfaces, reliable data flows, and controlled workflows around existing applications, starting with an integration architecture assessment.
20-minute fit check · One workflow is enough to begin
Build around what worksIntegration pattern
New capabilities
Private AI
analysis
analysis
Workflow
automation
automation
Analytics &
reporting
reporting
Integration & control
APIsMiddlewareEventsRPA
Map data · Validate · Review · LogApproved reads and writes
Retained foundationYour system of record
ERP · CRM · custom applications · databases
Interfaces and write permissions are agreed for each workflow.
Keep the core systemModernize one workflow at a time
Choose the right connectionArchitecture shaped by your constraints
See a documented implementationSpecialized AI connected to an operational platformAPI vs middleware vs events vs RPA
Choose the connection
your system can support.
The right integration starts with the system's supported interfaces and the work you need to perform. We compare the options against reliability, security, transaction behavior, and the cost of keeping them running.
02
Middleware
Translation and coordination
- Best when
- Several systems need shared mappings, routing, or a bridge between different protocols and data models.
- Design for
- Clear ownership, transformation tests, monitoring, and capacity so the integration layer stays maintainable.
03
Events
Work that reacts to change
- Best when
- A supported event or change feed can trigger work without making every system wait for an immediate response.
- Design for
- Duplicate handling, ordering, schema evolution, replay, and visibility into delayed or failed processing.
04
RPA
Controlled screen interaction
- Best when
- A stable, permitted user-interface workflow is the practical connection point.
- Design for
- Dedicated identities, UI change detection, exception review, and a maintenance plan as the application evolves.
These methods can work together. Middleware can coordinate API calls, events can trigger background work, and RPA can support a remaining screen-based step. The assessment documents the tradeoffs for your environment.
Database extraction and normalization
Give automation data
it can actually use.
Start with approved exports, read replicas, bounded queries, or supported change data capture. Choose the extraction path around source load, data freshness, licensing, and operational ownership.
- Extract within an agreed boundary. Define datasets, access, schedules, and checkpoints.
- Normalize the meaning. Map keys, types, units, timestamps, relationships, and business rules.
- Validate and reconcile. Check completeness, duplicates, source totals, and rejected records before downstream use.
AI can help interpret ambiguous content. Extraction rules, validation, and delivery still need explicit software behavior and independent checks.
From source fields to a data contractIllustrative mapping
| Legacy field | Normalized contract |
|---|---|
CUST_NO | Customer identifierPreserve leading zeros and source references. |
AMT | Amount + currencyDefine precision, units, and the currency source. |
LAST_UPD | Timestamp + time zoneConfirm source time semantics before conversion. |
STATUS | Documented business stateMap codes explicitly; route unknown values for review. |
Version the mapping. Keep rejected records visible. Reconcile the result with the source.
Incremental modernization
One useful workflow.
A foundation you can extend.
Retain the core system where it still does its job. Add a bounded capability, prove its operating behavior, and use the result to guide the next investment.
- 01 / Establish a baseline
Start with approved reads.
Map one workflow, choose a source and destination, and measure current effort and data quality. A read-only pilot can test analysis or reporting with limited authority.
- 02 / Connect the workflow
Prove the handoffs.
Validate outputs, exercise exceptions, and confirm receipt in the destination. Where writes are needed, agree permissions, review gates, and reconciliation first.
- 03 / Expand deliberately
Modernize in increments.
Add sources or capabilities after acceptance. Plan cutover, recovery, monitoring, and ownership for each change; retire components only when replacement is justified.
Implementation evidence
Specialized automation.
Connected to operations.
GS Consulting's cyber-analysis case study shows a private AI pipeline producing structured JSON that a custom integration places into an approved SIEM or database for indexing and search.
- Custom Python handles approved inputs, model interaction, and structured output.
- The integration makes analysis available inside an existing operational platform.
- Workflow orchestration exposes execution state and failures; people retain consequential decisions.
Evidence of connecting specialized automation to an operational system. Your application's interfaces, controls, and acceptance criteria are assessed separately.
Security boundaries and audit logging
Make every boundary
and handoff explicit.
Define what data can move, what each identity can do, who approves consequential actions, and what evidence operators need to understand the result. Use the safe legacy write back guide when a workflow will change authoritative records.
- Scoped access
- Separate read and write permissions, use approved service identities and secrets handling, and document the allowed operations for each connection.
- Data and AI boundaries
- Agree permitted fields, destinations, model deployment, retention, and review requirements. Validate outputs before they enter a downstream workflow.
- A usable audit trail
- Record correlation IDs, source references, processing versions, approvals, failures, and destination acknowledgments. Keep credentials and unnecessary sensitive content out of logs.
- Recovery and reconciliation
- Design retry limits, duplicate handling, exception routing, and reconciliation for partial failures. Confirm external effects before retrying a write.
Integration architecture assessment
Turn a systems problem
into a buildable scope.
Bring one workflow, the system it depends on, and the result you need. We assess the constraints and define a practical path to a working integration.
Agree the assessment's scope, price, dependencies, and milestones before work begins. A separately scoped pilot can then test the recommended architecture against acceptance criteria.
Scope My Integration Start with a 20-minute fit check
You leave the assessment with
- A system and workflow mapOwners, interfaces, dependencies, and deployment constraints.
- An architecture recommendationAPI, middleware, event, and RPA options with explicit tradeoffs.
- A data and control specificationExtraction, normalization, validation, permissions, and audit logging.
- A bounded pilot planDeliverables, acceptance criteria, dependencies, estimate, and operating owner.
Go deeper
Connect the wider workflow.
AI deliverySecure AI automation
Design the AI workflow, review process, and operating controls around the connection.
Explore the service →Security operationsSIEM integration & cyber automationConnect security data and specialized analysis to existing operational platforms.
Explore cyber integration →Data movementChange capture vs batch extractionChoose a supported source pattern from freshness, load, completeness, replay, and reconciliation evidence.
Read the guide →Pilot acceptanceLegacy integration pilot acceptanceSet release gates for representative data, reconciliation, recovery, controls, and operating ownership.
Read the guide →Production transactionsSafe legacy write backControl authority, duplicates, conflicts, destination proof, repair, and reconciliation before production updates.
Read the guide →Integration guideLegacy systems and enterprise AIExplore architecture choices for connecting automation to established systems.
Read the guide →Data foundationsLegacy database extractionUnderstand the preparation, validation, and controls behind usable source data.
Read the guide →Need a broader delivery scope? Explore custom software development, data engineering, and workflow automation.
Before an engagement
Practical questions.
Clear starting points.
Architecture, compatibility, data access, and what it takes to begin.
Can we add AI and automation without replacing our core system?
Often, yes. An integration layer can connect new capabilities to an existing system of record while its core transactions continue to run there. We assess interfaces, data access, supportability, and operating constraints first. If a system cannot support a safe connection, the assessment identifies the remediation or replacement decisions needed before that workflow can proceed.
How do you choose between APIs, middleware, events, and RPA?
Use supported APIs for defined application operations, middleware for translation and coordination across systems, events for asynchronous reactions to changes, and RPA for suitable screen-based steps when supported interfaces are unavailable. These methods can be combined. The choice depends on vendor support, transaction behavior, latency, change frequency, permissions, and who will maintain the connection.
How do you extract and normalize data from a legacy database?
We assess approved exports, read replicas, bounded read queries, or supported change data capture against production load and freshness requirements. Field mappings define identifiers, types, timestamps, units, and business meaning. Validation and reconciliation check completeness, duplicates, and source totals; invalid records follow an exception path. AI can assist with interpreting ambiguous content, with its output evaluated separately from deterministic extraction and validation.
What does an integration architecture assessment deliver?
For an agreed workflow, the assessment documents systems, owners, interfaces, data flows, and constraints. You receive an architecture recommendation, an interface tradeoff analysis, extraction and normalization requirements, security boundaries, an audit logging plan, and a bounded pilot scope with acceptance criteria, dependencies, and a delivery estimate. Scope and price are agreed before assessment work begins.
Can AI or automation update records in the legacy system?
Write access is a separate design decision. An approved write path needs scoped permissions, input validation, transaction rules, review requirements, and confirmation from the destination. Model output alone does not authorize a change. We define how duplicate requests, partial failures, reconciliation, and recovery are handled before enabling production writes; a read-only pilot can establish value first.
Can you integrate with our specific ERP, CRM, or custom application?
We assess the specific product, version, supported interfaces, licensing, and deployment restrictions before confirming compatibility. The published cyber-analysis case study demonstrates custom integration of structured AI results into an approved SIEM or database. That provides evidence of the integration approach; your application and workflow require their own architecture and acceptance checks.
How do we start, and what determines cost and timing?
Start with a 20-minute fit check and a high-level description of the workflow, source system, desired destination, and outcome. Complexity depends on interface access, data quality, volumes, security requirements, write behavior, and vendor dependencies. We agree scope, price, and milestones before delivery. Share initial requirements at a public level; detailed system information can move through an approved channel later.
Your next working connection
What should your existing
system be able to do next?
Tell us where data gets stuck or work becomes manual. We will help scope an integration architecture assessment around that workflow.
Scope My Integration Review the assessment deliverablesStart with a high-level description. Share detailed system information through an approved channel later.