Why AI doesn't work on legacy and how iPaaS makes it possible

That might sound technical, but it is where organizations get stuck. Not because they don't have smart people, no good ideas, or no strategy. But because their systems simply can't talk to the AI that needs to connect to them.

It's simple: You can't deploy AI on an integration platform that isn't AI-ready.

That's where legacy chafes. Not at your AI tool. Not at your data scientists. But at the infrastructure that needs to connect everything.

AI demands movement. Legacy stands still.

To make AI work, you need three things:

1. Access to current data  
AI needs to know what's happening now, not what was processed in a batch two nights ago.

2. Processes to act on  
AI is useless without actions. Actions are useless without orchestration.

3. Governance and security  
Because if AI can see everything, you have a problem much bigger than innovation. Legacy fails on all three.

Data comes too slowly  
ESBs and older integration platforms are often batch-based. That works fine for reports and back-office processes, but falls short for AI agents that need to act in real time.

Processes can't be orchestrated  
Legacy platforms can connect, but not conduct. AI needs exactly the latter.

Security is a maze  
More layers. More tooling. More risks. And less overview. Running AI on legacy is like trying to put a Formula 1 engine in a lawnmower.

Gartner: the integration layer determines whether AI succeeds

Gartner says it unequivocally: "AI changed expectations of what iPaaS is used for." In other words:

• Integration is no longer just "system A talks to system B".
• Integration is the backbone of AI.
• The quality of your integration determines the quality of your AI.

The market is therefore moving massively toward cloud-native iPaaS. Not because they feel like a new platform, but because it's becoming impossible to stay relevant without modern integration.

In fact: the demand for iPaaS is growing because of AI. Not despite AI. Not alongside it. But because of AI.

If you stay stuck in legacy

Carpetright: years of deferred maintenance, a non-functioning ERP implementation, an integration layer that couldn't do what the business needed. The bankruptcy has multiple causes, of course, but the common thread is recognizable: you can't grow on an infrastructure that can't move along. Because AI isn't a trick. AI is an amplifier. What works well goes ten times faster. What works poorly goes wrong ten times over.

Cloud imposters are the new pitfall

One of the insights from the framework was the Medium article about "cloud imposters": platforms that pretend to be a cloud solution, but technically still resemble the legacy you're trying to get away from. They lack:

• Automatic scalability
• Native AI features
• Modern orchestration
• Real-time data
• Security by design

The risk of this is greater than legacy itself: you buy a new platform that becomes the same problem within two years. Cloud-native iPaaS prevents that. You get updates automatically. You get AI features as soon as they're available. You work on a platform that evolves with the market.

Modern iPaaS learns, legacy stands still.

MCP: the breakthrough that makes AI safe

One of the biggest breakthroughs of this moment is MCP: the Model Context Protocol. MCP determines which applications AI may see, which data AI may use, and which actions AI may execute. It's the governance layer AI needs to work safely in enterprise environments. In legacy, MCP is impossible. In cloud-native iPaaS, it's standard. That's the difference between AI that adds value and AI that poses risk.

Long story short: AI doesn't work without modern integration

Not a little bit. Not "with some workarounds". Not "maybe if we optimize". It just doesn't work. AI demands real-time data, orchestration, security, scalability, and flexibility. Legacy gives you the exact opposite.

With modern iPaaS you get:

• Integrations in days instead of months
• Real-time data streams
• AI-ready governance
• Orchestration that can control agents
• Less technical debt
• A foundation that moves along

And above all: the certainty that AI moves you forward instead of holding you back. Want to find out whether your integration foundation is AI-ready?

Schedule an integration scan right away.

AI only works if your integrations cooperate.