As enterprises increasingly deploy AI agents, a critical success factor has emerged: integration. In a recent Salesforce survey, 80% of businesses cited data integration as a major blocker to AI adoption.
The ability to seamlessly connect AI agents with the vast and varied landscape of enterprise IT is not merely a technical challenge. It’s a strategic imperative.
For organizations aiming to leverage AI agents to automate complex tasks, make data-driven decisions, and create new business models, businesses must build an “agent-ready” foundation.
This foundation must include robust integration and API capabilities, which enable AI agents to access critical data, interact with existing systems, and take action for improved efficiency and new revenue streams.
From cloud to agentic AI: A major enterprise transformation
Disruptive technologies go hand-in-hand with transformations in business models. For instance, cloud computing fundamentally moved IT cost structures from capital to operational expenditure. This shift empowered businesses to explore and innovate in new markets, products, and services.
Agentic AI will go a step further, transforming the core processes and logic of how software operates and solves problems.
Agentic AI will go a step further, transforming the core processes and logic of how software operates and solves problems.
Just as cloud computing has empowered digital transformation, agentic AI will drive the next wave of business evolution. Agentic AI will enable businesses to automate complex tasks, make data-driven decisions with greater speed and accuracy, and deliver personalized experiences to customers at scale.
The integration imperative
In this new agentic era, integration becomes even more critical.
To be truly effective, AI agents can’t operate in a vacuum. They must be able to access and act upon data residing in various systems — from CRM and ERP platforms to legacy databases and modern cloud applications.
According to a survey of over 1,000 enterprise IT leaders, the number of AI models used by organizations has doubled from last year, and only 29% of apps on average are connected within organizations. As data silos multiply, agents are limited in their ability to retrieve information, automate processes, and deliver meaningful outcomes.
Integration and APIs enable agents to access critical, business-specific data and interact directly with existing systems and automations across the enterprise.
Integration and APIs enable agents to access critical, business-specific data and interact directly with existing systems and automations across the enterprise.
Bringing enterprises into the agentic era
As happened with the cloud, AI is going to change what systems are needed in the enterprise. Some old systems will be taken out. Some existing systems and investments will need to be brought into a new AI infrastructure framework. New systems will be arriving.
Adopting agentic AI does not mean organizations must replace their entire infrastructure and models. They can extend their existing systems, tools, and functionalities into the new AI world through API and integration capabilities, for example, those offered by MuleSoft. That means companies don’t need to start from scratch to build AI agents, agent applications, or processes.
To build an agent-ready enterprise, robust integration and API capabilities are essential, with solutions like MuleSoft providing this critical foundation. By connecting systems, data, and applications, AI agents can:
- Retrieve information and take action: Access the data they need to make informed decisions and take effective action.
- Automate processes: Execute tasks across multiple systems, streamlining workflows and improving efficiency.
- Extend reach: Interact with systems and data beyond their native environment. For example, MuleSoft for Agentforce extends the capabilities of Salesforce’s digital labor platform, Agentforce, allowing agents to securely perform actions across the entire business.
Building the foundation for agent action
Companies like AAA Washington and The Adecco Group are demonstrating integration’s impact on AI agent effectiveness.
Member engagement and retention is critical to the revenue goals of AAA Washington, which serves the Pacific Northwest, offering insurance, travel planning, and 24/7 roadside assistance. Agentforce will help AAA Washington connect with members at the right time to offer relevant deals and increase the likelihood of renewals. To enable this, MuleSoft integrates applications across the organization, and Data Cloud consolidates member data from various silos to give AAA Washington a complete, 360-degree view of each member. This results in faster, more personalized service and allows representatives to focus on more valuable interactions.
To enable this, MuleSoft integrates applications across the organization, and Data Cloud consolidates member data from various silos to give AAA Washington a complete, 360-degree view of each member.
The Adecco Group, the world’s leading talent company, is reimagining recruiting and support for job applicants with Agentforce. The organization is harnessing MuleSoft and Data Cloud to centralize data across more than 40 systems, enabling recruiters to use Agentforce to drive faster job placements and personalize service at scale while boosting efficiency and accelerating decision-making.
In these examples, integration serves as the critical foundation for bringing together disparate data and systems to power agents and enable agent action across the enterprise.
The future of the agentic enterprise
Looking ahead, the agentic landscape will become increasingly complex, with a proliferation of different agentic systems, LLMs, and applications. Enterprises will want to be able to connect all of these and orchestrate multi-agent workflows across enterprise systems seamlessly and securely.
As we move into this multi-agent world, integration will be more important than ever. Organizations that prioritize building an agent-ready foundation by connecting their systems and data will be best positioned to harness the transformative power of AI agents and drive lasting business value.
Go deeper:
- Learn more how organizations can prepare for and benefit from agentic transformation
- Get insights on the latest IT and integration trends from the Connectivity Benchmark Report
- Read about MuleSoft’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) support
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Build and customize autonomous AI agents to support your employees and customers 24/7.
