Every point-to-point connection involves hidden technical debt:

• Digital signatures: Each country has different requirements for digital certificates. Some require government-issued certificates. Others accept third-party providers. A few require both. Managing these certificates across dozens of connections means tracking hundreds of expiration dates, renewal processes, and vendor dependencies.

• Custom XML/UBL mappings: No two systems use identical data structures. Every integration requires custom field mapping, translating your ERP’s data model into the format each local system expects. Build one mapping wrong, and invoices fail validation. Update your ERP, and every mapping must be rebuilt.

• Local archiving laws: Some jurisdictions require seven years of retention. Others require ten. Some mandate local storage. Others accept cloud storage with specific security requirements. Each connection must handle archiving independently, creating multiple data repositories that must be maintained, secured, and audited separately.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.