Camunda Community Podcast Recap: Inbound and Outbound Connectors: “Woah, it’s so easy!”

Did you miss the latest episode of the Camunda Community Podcast, Inbound and Outbound Connectors: “Woah, it’s so easy!”? It’s well worth a listen for anyone thinking about how to accelerate their process orchestration and development. In this episode, Senior Technical Community Builder Mia Moore joins Bastian Korber, senior product manager for Connectors and the Integration Framework as they delve into the world of Connectors, a new feature introduced into Camunda last year.

Bastian and Mia share insights into the primary purpose of Connectors, which is to bridge Camunda with third-party systems and vice versa. Bastian distinguishes between Outbound Connectors, which activate external systems, and Inbound Connectors, designed to let external systems initiate Camunda processes. A notable example of the latter is the Inbound Web Connector, which can instigate a process every time an SMS is received via platforms like Twilio.

The discussion goes on to talk about the intricacies of developing Connectors, with Bastian emphasizing the challenges posed by the stateful nature of Inbound Connectors. He also introduces the concept of Webhook Connectors, a specific type of Inbound Connector based on the REST protocol.

The podcast also covers the future prospects of Connectors, including plans to support intermediate events and the development of message queues for Inbound Connectors, with RabbitMQ and Kafka being primary targets. And we’ve got to give it up for our community, as we highlight the “Awesome Connectors” list on GitHub and the potential of the Connector SDK for crafting custom Connectors.

Ready to jump in? Listen to the 20-minute podcast here. To hear more first, read on for some of the top takeaways you can expect to hear in the podcast.

Top 5 takeaways from this podcast

• What is the purpose of Connectors: Connectors in Camunda serve as bridges, enabling seamless communication between Camunda and third-party systems, and vice versa.
• The difference between Inbound vs. Outbound: While Outbound Connectors activate external systems, Inbound Connectors, such as the Inbound Web Connector, allow external systems like Twilio to initiate Camunda processes.
• Development complexity is a challenge: Crafting Inbound Connectors presents unique challenges due to their stateful nature, contrasting with the stateless nature of Outbound Connectors.
• All about Webhook Connectors: A subtype of Inbound Connector, Webhook Connectors are based on the REST protocol and are specifically designed to trigger processes.
• What’s next? Plans are underway to support intermediate events in Connectors and to introduce message queues for Inbound Connectors, with a focus on integrating platforms like RabbitMQ and Kafka.

What they said

Want a taste of what each participant says in the podcast? Here’s a quote from each of the participants that we think encapsulates the episode well for you:

“Yeah, it just sounds like it expands the possibilities immensely. I mean, it’s one of those things that before you have it you’re like, oh maybe you don’t envision it, you can’t think of it. But then, once you have it, “You’re like. How did I live without this?”

Mia Moore, Senior Technical Community Builder

“For me, this was really as I saw this for the first time, I was like, “Woah! It’s so easy.” I didn’t expect it honestly, just bring the start event to the Web Modeler and configuring it, and then you have an endpoint. Because in the past it was super complex, and I think this is a big game-changer.”

Bastian Korber, senior product manager for Connectors and the Integration Framework

What do you think?

Let us know what you think of the podcast! Share your questions or feedback about this episode on our forum.

Listen now

Check out the podcast with full show notes and transcript for free by clicking this link, or just stream it directly below.

Learn more

Check out these resources to dig deeper into Connectors:

• [github] Awesome Camunda 8 Connectors
• [docs] Connectors
• [blog] A Deep-Dive into the Architecture of Connectors
• [blog] Maximum Process Flexibility with Inbound Webhook Connectors
• [blog] Streamline Processes by Using Inbound Webhook Connectors as Intermediate Events
• [blog] Start a Camunda Platform 8 Process via REST with Webhooks
• [blog] Integrate External Systems Effortlessly with Custom Connectors in Camunda Platform
• [blog] Contributing to Camunda’s Connector ecosystem
• [blog] How to build a Camunda Platform 8 Connector
• [blog] A Unified Camunda Platform 8 SDK for Node.js
• [blog] Unraveling Connector Templates
•  Camunda Champion Program