Custom On-Premise Data Integration Development
Appfront builds data integration that runs entirely within your own network. Systems that don't know about each other are connected, data is transformed and checked along the way, and you keep visibility over what was transferred and when, without your data passing through a cloud service. Get in touch to discuss what your situation requires.
What is on-premise data integration?
On-premise data integration means connecting systems so that all processing stays within your own infrastructure: on your servers, in your data centre or in a private cloud you manage. The connections themselves don't differ fundamentally from cloud integration (fetching, transforming, validating, writing), but the place where it happens does, and that is precisely why organisations choose it.
The reason is usually one of three things. There is a legal or contractual requirement that data must not leave the network. There are systems that simply cannot be reached from outside, such as production control or an old package without an API. Or the data volumes are so large that sending them back and forth to a cloud service is impractical.
Appfront builds these connections as bespoke software, including monitoring and error handling, so that operations doesn't mean someone checking each morning whether the overnight script ran. If you are mainly looking for advice on your data landscape, see data integration consulting.
Data stays in-house
All processing runs on infrastructure you manage. No stopover at an external service, no negotiating data processing agreements with your security officer.
Systems without an API too
Database connections, file exchange, message queues and, where needed, a wrapper around an old package, because reality rarely consists of neat REST APIs.
Visibility into what happens
Logging, reconciliation and alerting per connection, so that a failed run doesn't come to light only when a customer calls to say an order is missing.
On-premise or cloud? The boundary
The choice is rarely a matter of principle but usually a practical one. This page covers the situation in which on-premise is necessary or sensible; if it isn't, a cloud solution is often simpler.
Within your own walls
There is a requirement that data must not leave the network, or there are source systems that cannot be reached from outside, or the volumes make exchange with a cloud service impractical. The connections run on your own infrastructure.
Advice or AI within your own environment
If you first want to know what your data landscape should look like, see data integration consulting. If the same sovereignty question arises around AI, then a private on-premise LLM is the relevant page.
Our development process for your integration landscape
Integration projects often run into trouble because of assumptions about what a source system can do. We test that early, on the real environment.
We map which systems need to be connected, what they technically allow, who owns them and exactly which data needs to flow. Where possible, we connect to a test environment early, because the documentation for an older package is rarely fully accurate.
We design the connections, the canonical data model, the transformation and validation rules and the error-handling path, including what should happen when a source system is down for a day.
We build in short iterations with automated tests, structured logging and monitoring. You see working versions along the way and steer the work based on what your team actually needs in practice, rather than on a specification written months earlier.
Controlled go-live with validation and a safety net, followed by ongoing management, monitoring and further development as your system landscape or data model changes.
What custom on-premise data integration delivers in practice
What you need depends on your landscape. These are the components that come up most often.
Connections to source systems
Via API, database, file exchange or message queue, depending on what the system supports. For packages without an integration interface, we build an intermediate layer where needed.
Transformation and validation
Converting data into one shared model, with validation on the rules that matter in your organisation, so that errors are stopped at the boundary instead of spreading downstream.
Synchronisation and scheduling
Event-driven where it makes sense and scheduled where it has to be, with a defined order and dependencies between connections.
Error handling and recovery
Failed messages end up in a recovery queue where they are visible and can be resubmitted, rather than in a log file nobody reads.
Monitoring and alerting
Dashboards per connection showing throughput, latency and error rate, plus alerts to the administrator when a flow stalls or deviates from its normal pattern.
Management by your own team
Documentation, repeatable deployment and a management environment so that your own administrators can track, restart and adjust connections without needing us involved.
Typical use cases in practice
On-premise integration is most valuable where sensitivity, technical constraints or data volume make the cloud impractical.
Healthcare
Institutions exchanging patient data between systems, where the requirement that data must not leave the organisation outweighs the convenience of a cloud service.
Government and semi-public bodies
Organisations with data sovereignty requirements, and with base registers and case management systems that can only be reached within their own network.
Industry and manufacturing
Connections between production control and office automation, where the control layer stays separated from the internet for security reasons.
Financial services
Parties with contractual or regulatory requirements on where data may be processed, and with core systems that cannot be accessed through a public interface.
Technology we use
We prefer components that you can run and understand yourself, rather than an integration platform that becomes a specialism in its own right. The precise choice depends on your processes, the systems to be connected and your hosting preferences. We deliberately choose a stack your own team can manage and develop further, without dependence on per-user licences.
Why choose Appfront for your on-premise integration?
Appfront builds custom software for a range of organisations across the Netherlands. For integration, we start by connecting to the real source systems, not by designing on paper. The documentation for a twenty-year-old package is rarely accurate, and you want to know that before a plan is set in stone.
We build with components your own administrators already know, so you don't become dependent on an integration platform with its own licences and its own specialists. That also keeps the option open to move to the cloud later if your requirements change.
On every project we write clear documentation and make sure your own team, or a future supplier, can understand and manage the system. No black box: transparent code and clear agreements on monitoring, alerting and maintenance. You own the solution and pay no per-user licence fee.
Also see our wider services around custom software development, data integration consulting and private on-premise LLMs. Unsure about the approach? Get in touch.
Security across your integration landscape
An integration layer by definition has access to several systems at once, which makes it an attractive target. Appfront builds to the OWASP ASVS, uses least-privilege service accounts and encrypts traffic even within your own network, because internal traffic is not automatically safe traffic.
For each connection we document which data flows, for what purpose and on what legal basis, so that your record of processing activities is accurate and GDPR compliance can be demonstrated. Where possible we limit the flow to the fields that are actually needed, rather than passing on entire records.
More on our security approach: information security policy and CVD policy.
- Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest
- Role-based access following least privilege
- Audit trail for viewing and changes
- Secrets in a secure vault, not in code
- Documented data flows for your record of processing activities
- Service accounts with minimal rights per source system
Frequently asked questions about on-premise data integration
Answers to the questions we are asked most often.
Connecting systems where all processing runs on infrastructure you manage yourself: your servers, your data centre or a private cloud. Data is retrieved, transformed, validated and written back without passing through an external service. Functionally it is the same as cloud integration; the difference is where it runs and who can access it.
It is necessary when a legal or contractual requirement stipulates that data must not leave the network, when source systems cannot be reached from outside, or when the data volumes make exchange with a cloud service impractical. If none of these apply, a cloud solution is usually simpler to manage, and we will say so.
Yes, and in practice this is often the case. We then work with a direct database connection, scheduled file exchange or an intermediary layer around the package. It is important that we first test on the real environment what is possible and whether the software vendor objects. The latter is a contractual question you do not want to discover afterwards.
Failed messages go to a retry queue with the reason for the failure and the original content, so they can be resubmitted after a correction. The administrator receives an alert when a flow stalls or the error rate rises. What exactly should happen when a source system fails is agreed per connection; sometimes waiting is better than continuing with outdated data.
Preferably your own operations team. We provide documentation, a repeatable deployment and an management environment in which connections can be monitored, restarted and adjusted. If you would prefer us to handle operations, that is also possible, but we do not build in a way that forces you into it.
Yes, provided we take that into account in the design. By building the connections as separate components with a clear separation between logic and infrastructure, moving to a cloud environment later becomes a matter of deployment rather than rebuilding. That is also one reason not to use an integration platform that is tied to a single environment.
Internal traffic is not automatically safe traffic. We encrypt within the network too, work with least-privilege service accounts, keep secrets in a vault, and ensure the integration layer has no more rights to source systems than is strictly necessary for the data it moves.
For a landscape with many standard packages that already talk to each other, an integration platform can be efficient. The drawback is that it becomes a specialism of its own, with licences and knowledge you have to buy in. Custom development pays off when you have a limited number of connections, unusual source systems, or when you want your own developers to be able to maintain it with the knowledge they already have.
Ready to have your on-premise data integration built?
Tell us which systems need to be connected, why the data must stay in-house, and what is currently done manually or via a script. We are happy to help you think through scope, connections and the first version. A no-obligation first conversation will give you a clear picture of what is possible and whether custom development makes sense in your situation.
Is this topic also relevant within your own organisation? You can read more about custom data integration software development on applatenmaken.com.