Harnessing the Future: Integration, AI, and APIs in Digital Transformation
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Our latest 2025 Connectivity Benchmark Report shows integration is key to AI success. Surveying 1,050+ IT leaders, we found that connecting systems and data is crucial for effective AI, automation, and APIs. Simply put: no integration, no AI win. Karuna Mukherjea, CMO at MuleSoft, shares her insights.
Join Karuna’s session at Agentforce World Tour Sydney 2025
When: Wednesday, Feb 26 at 12:10 PM – 12:40 PM AEDT
Where: Breakout C, Campground at the ICC Sydney
What you’ll learn: Your AI strategy is only as good as your integration and automation foundation. Simplify application network complexity and leverage AI-enabled tooling to maximise operational efficiency.
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We released our annual 2025 MuleSoft Connectivity Benchmark Report, which dives into the rapidly evolving agentic enterprise.
As a member of the MuleSoft team, I’m proud of the work behind this report, and equally as excited to share the key insights it reveals. We’ve collected critical learnings into the challenges and opportunities at the intersection of AI and autonomous agents, digital transformation, integration, automation, and APIs.
Despite major advances in the industry, integration hurdles continue to impede progress at the cost of customer and employee experiences. It’s clear that connected systems, processes, and data is no longer optional – it’s essential.
Here’s my take on some of these insights and how they offer a path forward for enterprises aiming to thrive in the complex world of AI-driven enterprise.
AI, APIs, and the agentic enterprise
Learn more about these insights from over 1,050 IT leaders in the 2025 MuleSoft Connectivity Benchmark Report.
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Artificial intelligence: booming yet hindered by integration
Our report underscores the explosive growth of AI adoption. 94% of IT decision-makers plan to implement autonomous agents within the next two years, and organisations are using more AI models than anticipated just a year ago.
Despite this progress, integration issues continue to be a barrier to success. 95% of organisations face challenges in integrating AI into existing processes, and 80% cite data integration as their most significant obstacle.
AI’s potential is undeniable, but without robust integration strategies, its promise remains unrealised. Businesses must prioritise integration as the backbone of AI deployment. This involves reevaluating data architectures to dismantle silos and using APIs to create seamless connectivity.
For AI to deliver on its promise, integration must be prioritised at every level.
Beyond the hype of legacy modernisation
Digital transformation is a drum that business and IT leaders have been beating for at least 20 years. AI and automation are leading the charge in 2025, and the need to innovate is more important than ever.
Accordingly, nearly all enterprises (92%) are engaged in digital transformation efforts, with 96% incorporating AI to enhance their services. However, this surge in adoption only seems to make pre-existing challenges more pronounced – specifically around data silos and IT complexity. The average enterprise now manages 897 applications, yet only 29% are integrated.
It’s important for organisations to embrace a modern connectivity approach if they want to stay ahead of the competition. This means ensuring seamless integration, and that AI simplifies (rather than amplifies) complexity.
Those who fail to act decisively risk falling behind. Eighty-three percent of our respondents believe delays equate to lost revenue opportunities.
Integration: the foundation of connectivity
Cloud- and AI-driven companies should ask themselves: how can we create value from our data if it remains inaccessible?
The report highlights a critical gap in the integration landscape. While the demand for integration spans all departments, only 2% of organisations have more than half their applications connected.
Data silos remain a pervasive challenge, with 90% of organisations identifying business obstacles caused by them. Key barriers include moving data into data warehouses (26%) and correlating it to derive actionable insights (24%).
Integration is no longer just an IT issue – it’s a business imperative that affects every industry. And it’s clear to me that organisations should embrace modern integration platforms that facilitate interoperability and streamline data flow across systems.
This requires a cultural shift, positioning integration as a strategic priority rather than a technical afterthought.
Where there’s a mule, there’s a way
Kickstart your integration journey on the Mulesoft blog, for tips and expert insights that are truly mule-tastic.
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Empowering efficiency through integration and automation
Automation is another critical lever for modern enterprises. Sixty-five percent of organisations report having complete or near-complete strategies for supporting non-technical users to build automation via low-code and no-code platforms.
However, disconnected applications slow down progress, with IT teams spending 39% of their time creating custom integrations like automations.
Automation and integration are two sides of the same coin. To achieve scalable automation, organisations must first ensure seamless connectivity between systems. Equipping business teams with user-friendly tools under centralised IT governance is key to innovation and maintaining control.
The future of automation lies in the collaboration between IT and business teams, with integration leading the way.
APIs: the powerhouse of digital revenue
APIs remain a cornerstone of digital innovation, with 99% of organisations using them to streamline and automate business processes. And for the most part, business leaders are taking notice: 40% of respondents attribute a significant portion of their revenue to APIs, up from 33% last year.
Despite this, 87% believe API management can be improved, and 91% see value in collaborating with third parties to maximise ROI.
But it’s not all about the technological tools. APIs are strategic assets for innovation and revenue. Organisations need mature API strategies that include governance, scalability, and external collaboration for their full potential.
The data shows that businesses that treat APIs as profit centres rather than cost centres will lead the next wave of digital transformation. Tools like the MuleSoft Anypoint Platform help organisations do just that.
The power of integration in a digital world
The 2025 MuleSoft Connectivity Benchmark Report highlights the evolving challenges and opportunities for enterprises navigating the complexities of modern technology.
AI, legacy modernisation, integration, automation, and APIs are not disparate trends, but interconnected elements of a unified strategy. To stay competitive, organisations should adopt a holistic approach that prioritises integration as the linchpin of innovation.
In the agentic enterprise, we’ll benefit from autonomous agents that can respond to queries, handle sophisticated tasks on their own, and innovate through simplified workflows. And they’ll do it all without needing constant human oversight. These agents will become another key digital component in our IT infrastructure, interacting seamlessly with existing integrations, automations, and even with each other.
The key takeaway is clear: organisations that prioritise integration are better positioned to succeed in an increasingly connected world.
Top 7 trends shaping digital transformation in 2025
IT leaders are seeking an edge to plan for what’s next – read our latest report on how you can best prepare for another year of rapid change.
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