--- title: Open Up – The New Super Easy World of Integration description: Top-of-the-market closed software vendors may become seduced by their own power and turn complacent.” – Sergei @ Daxtra I can’t believe I’m saying this but…… image: https://blog.idibu.com/hubfs/kyle-glenn-nXt5HtLmlgE-unsplash.jpg --- [![idibu](https://blog.idibu.com/hs-fs/hubfs/idibu-2021/images/logo-images/idibu-logo%20-%20Compono%20Reversed%20-%20640.png?width=162&height=66&name=idibu-logo%20-%20Compono%20Reversed%20-%20640.png "idibu")](https://www.idibu.com/) - [Product](https://ww2.idibu.com/services) - [Attract candidates](https://ww2.idibu.com/attract) - [Manage candidates](https://ww2.idibu.com/manage) - [Measure results](https://ww2.idibu.com/measure) - [Media Services](https://ww2.idibu.com/media) - [Job Listings Widget](https://ww2.idibu.com/job-listings-widget) - [Features](https://ww2.idibu.com/features) - [Whitelabel](https://ww2.idibu.com/whitelabel) - [Integrations](https://ww2.idibu.com/integrations) - [Bullhorn](https://ww2.idibu.com/bullhorn) - [Vincere](https://ww2.idibu.com/vincere) - [Mercury](https://ww2.idibu.com/mercury) - [Access](https://ww2.idibu.com/access) - [Other CRMs](https://ww2.idibu.com/our-crm-partners) - [Job boards](https://www.idibu.com/network) - Resources - [Blog](https://blog.idibu.com) - [Webinars](https://blog.idibu.com/webinars) - [Whitepapers](https://blog.idibu.com/whitepapers) - [Customer Stories](https://ww2.idibu.com/case-studies) - [Candidate Attraction Playbook](https://blog.idibu.com/whitepapers/candidate-attraction-playbook) - [AI Jobs Tool](https://ww2.idibu.com/ai-listing-optimisation-tool) - [Pricing](https://ww2.idibu.com/pricing) - [Contact](https://ww2.idibu.com/contact-us) [![Book A Free Discovery Call](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2571189/0118e601-b95e-47c2-a34a-21dc990c5b41.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2571189/0118e601-b95e-47c2-a34a-21dc990c5b41) [![Login](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2571189/20234ce3-75da-4382-9716-37a6628736a9.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2571189/20234ce3-75da-4382-9716-37a6628736a9) - -   [![idibu_logo_exclusionzone-1](https://blog.idibu.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Email,%20social%20and%20blog%20images/idibu_logo_exclusionzone-1.jpg?width=166&height=84&name=idibu_logo_exclusionzone-1.jpg "idibu_logo_exclusionzone-1")](https://demo.neambo.com/act2) - [Product](https://ww2.idibu.com/services) - [Attract candidates](https://ww2.idibu.com/attract) - [Manage candidates](https://ww2.idibu.com/manage) - [Measure results](https://ww2.idibu.com/measure) - [Media Services](https://ww2.idibu.com/media) - [Job Listings Widget](https://ww2.idibu.com/job-listings-widget) - [Features](https://ww2.idibu.com/features) - [Whitelabel](https://ww2.idibu.com/whitelabel) - [Integrations](https://ww2.idibu.com/integrations) - [Bullhorn](https://ww2.idibu.com/bullhorn) - [Vincere](https://ww2.idibu.com/vincere) - [Mercury](https://ww2.idibu.com/mercury) - [Access](https://ww2.idibu.com/access) - [Other CRMs](https://ww2.idibu.com/our-crm-partners) - [Job boards](https://www.idibu.com/network) - Resources - [Blog](https://blog.idibu.com) - [Webinars](https://blog.idibu.com/webinars) - [Whitepapers](https://blog.idibu.com/whitepapers) - [Customer Stories](https://ww2.idibu.com/case-studies) - [Candidate Attraction Playbook](https://blog.idibu.com/whitepapers/candidate-attraction-playbook) - [AI Jobs Tool](https://ww2.idibu.com/ai-listing-optimisation-tool) - [Pricing](https://ww2.idibu.com/pricing) - [Contact](https://ww2.idibu.com/contact-us) [![Chat with us](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2571189/67674067-0e09-418d-9123-5c01077e32d0.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2571189/67674067-0e09-418d-9123-5c01077e32d0) [![Login](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2571189/20234ce3-75da-4382-9716-37a6628736a9.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2571189/20234ce3-75da-4382-9716-37a6628736a9) - - ![](https://blog.idibu.com/hubfs/kyle-glenn-nXt5HtLmlgE-unsplash.jpg) # Open Up – The New Super Easy World of Integration Written by [Steve Walker](https://blog.idibu.com/author/steve-walker) > Top-of-the-market closed software vendors may become seduced by their own power and turn complacent.” – [Sergei @ Daxtra](http://www.daxtra.com/2017/05/04/open-your-mind/?utm_content=buffer3095e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer) **I can’t believe I’m saying this but…** ## … I like iFrames. It just stuck in the throat, but after 10 years of developing a business whose fundamental job is integrating systems (we post advertising data into 1200+ job boards globally) – I find the [technically filthy iFrames](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1081315/why-developers-hate-iframes) address certain issues in the world of integrating systems that are good. Let’s come back to that… The [difference between open and closed systems is explained well by Sergei Makhmodov in this article](http://www.daxtra.com/2017/05/04/open-your-mind/?utm_content=buffer3095e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer) – and while closed systems, controlled by the vendors served them a purpose historically, I’m happy to see that it would be the undoing of any Recruitment System moving forward in our SaaSsy world. Good. Legacy big-boy market-leaders have done everything possible to not open up – or to do so on the basis of +$1600 day rates with a 3 month wait time. **Removing their control not only allows their client to become more effective as a business, its good for the market/innovation/competition in general.** In the new obsession to integrate systems (think [Zapier](https://zapier.com/), [IFTTT](https://ifttt.com/), [Internet of Things](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_things) etc) it amuses me to see how what we saw as historical technical inferiority becomes flavour of the month. ## Queue “Webhooks” [![aaarr-webhooks-pirate](https://blog.idibu.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/aaarr-webhooks-pirate.gif?width=300&name=aaarr-webhooks-pirate.gif)Webhooks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webhook) are now the darling of the SaaS world – they allow any system to push data to any system that can accept it (note, only dinosaurs do not – we should be releasing our idibu web hook system in the next few weeks). ## What is a Webhook? When we first started idibu we learned about all the different ways to integrate and send data into job boards – the **worst approach** was plain old email and FTP (you can hardly call this an integration frankly) – and the utopian vision was ‘the official API’. Well, just above FTP was what idibu called “HTTP Push” – it’s where you post all the job details in the URL – to inject the job advert. It was deemed a slightly dirty solution, it meant the job board didn’t need to develop a technically robust API… and most of the time it worked… most of the time. **Fast forward 10 years and the world is in love with Webhooks – which are simply “HTTP Pushes” with a new name** – no longer dirty hacks – they lower the barrier to entry, and enable semi-technical people to quickly hook together disparate systems. They are great. And they haven’t just achieved main stream acceptance through marketing fluff – the network infrastructure connecting all our system has of course improved too in the last decade. ## iFrames – why do I like them now? Of the difficult lessons learnt from integrating idibu into CRM/ATS’s over the past 10 years, you would think the purist API integration route would be the way forward – I know I did. The problem is that **you end up with a huge number of different systems and user interfaces – sometimes created by a partner who ignores your advice on best practise – which means your support team have a scalability issue as you try to deal with all the nuances of these different models.** Yes, a full API integration is theoretically the best. In practise the freedom to ‘build it as you want’ can come back to haunt you. Yes, a full API integration is theoretically the best. In practise the freedom to ‘build it as you want’ can come back to haunt you. **Limitation can be a liberation** – and in planning how we would integrate the new idibu platform into Bullhorn we had to grapple with using a teeny-weeny iFrame window in their system. This turned into a blessing – **we re-engineered our navigation completely, upgraded our core system to work effectively in this small space – in short, by accepting the gross limitation of an iFrame integration it forced us to push what we could do.** It’s made us really work on the user experience and to focus acutely on helping a consultant use our product from inside their CRM. **And the best bit?** 1. Its a copy/paste integration that can be put into ANY third party system in the space of a couple of hours. 2. Our team only have ONE interface and integration approach to support I love the simplicity of this new low integration barrier to entry where our service can be fully embedded inside any other system in hours. I love that Webhooks let us send key events to any system anywhere instantly. **Sometimes the best solution to a problem already exists – and producing new technology is not the answer. Improving what already exists can often be the non-revolutionary but excellent way forward.** Previous Story [← Increase recruiter productivity – let them work as they want?](https://blog.idibu.com/increase-recruiter-productivity-by-working-your-own-way) Next Story [Improve your recruitment marketing – top expert tips →](https://blog.idibu.com/improve-recruitment-marketing-top-expert-tips) ### Subscribe by Email ## No Comments Yet Let us know what you think ### ![idibu logo](https://blog.idibu.com/hs-fs/hubfs/idibu-2021/images/logo-images/idibu-logo%20-%20Compono%20Reversed%20-%20640.png?width=120&name=idibu-logo%20-%20Compono%20Reversed%20-%20640.png) ### Follow Us - [![twitter](https://blog.idibu.com/hubfs/idibu-2021/images/twitter.png)](https://twitter.com/idibu) - [![linkedin](https://blog.idibu.com/hubfs/idibu-2021/images/linkedin.png)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/idibu) ![PP-KeyMiddle Reversed](https://blog.idibu.com/hs-fs/hubfs/PP-KeyMiddle%20Reversed.png?width=200&height=83&name=PP-KeyMiddle%20Reversed.png "PP-KeyMiddle Reversed") **Comparisons** - [idibu vs. Broadbean](https://ww2.idibu.com/idibu-the-best-broadbean-alternative) ![Single Colour White-1](https://blog.idibu.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Single%20Colour%20White-1.png?width=140&height=44&name=Single%20Colour%20White-1.png "Single Colour White-1") ![LinkedIn Bronze Channel Partner](https://blog.idibu.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/optimized/LinkedIn%20Bronze%20Channel%20Partner.png?width=200&height=65&name=LinkedIn%20Bronze%20Channel%20Partner.png "LinkedIn Bronze Channel Partner") ![SIA_CM_Member](https://blog.idibu.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/optimized/SIA_CM_Member.png?width=200&height=49&name=SIA_CM_Member.png "SIA_CM_Member") **Useful links:** - [About Us](https://ww2.idibu.com/about-us) - [V2 Support](https://v2-docs.idibu.com/) - [V3 Support](https://v3-docs.idibu.com/) - [Privacy Policy](https://ww2.idibu.com/privacy-policy) - [GDPR](https://ww2.idibu.com/gdpr/) - [Terms of Service](https://ww2.idibu.com/terms/) ### Arrange your free demo ### Arrange your free demo Copyright ©2025 idibu. 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